Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/814

* EGYPT. 706 EGYPT. Sctnakht, the founder of Djniasty Twenty, re- established order, llis son, Ranicsos 111. (cTilO B.C.), repelled several invasions of the Libyans, and defended Egypt and the Syrian i)rovinccs from the raids of the pirates mentioned above, as well as from barbarians coniinn; by land from Asia Jlinor. A branch of the latter, however, the Philistines, settled in Palestine at that time. Rameses plundered the land of the Amorites north of Palestine. His palace and favorite tem- ple was at Medinet Habu. The nine Eamessides after him reigned peacefully to about 1100, when the high priests of Thebes, who had l)econic very rich, especially through the donations of Rameses III., took the crown. They had soon, however, to yield to a new dynasty (Twenty-one) from Tanis. At that time, the police of Thebes gave up the task of protecting the royal tombs of dynasties Eighteen to Twenty against thieves, and hid most of the ro.val mummies in a secret pit, where they were discovered in 18S1. A few tombs, which a landslide had made inaccessible to thieves and police, were discovered intact in 1898. The Libyan mercenaries had meantime become so powerful that Dynasty Twenty-two (about 950) was founded by one of their generals, Sho- shenk I. (the Shishnk of the Bible), who plun- dered Judea and Israel under Jeroboam and Rehoboam. His successors were called Shoshenk (3). L'sorkon (3),Takelot (2), and Pimay. Un- der D.'s-nasty Twenty-three (from Buhastus, about 800) the country again split up into many small kingdoms ruled by Libyan officers, and the way was thus left open for the attacks of the kings of Ethiopia (q.v.). who had been indejiendent since Dynasty Twenty-pt by the resistance of Tefnakht, the ruler of Sais and ifemphis; but Pankhy's grandson Shaliako succeeded in dethroning Tef- nakhl's son, the wise Bocchoris {liok-cn-renef) . with whom Dynasty Twenty-four came to an end (c. 720 ?). The Klhioi)ians form Dynasty Twen- ty-five. After Sh.ibalako. Taharko "(the Tirhal.-a of the Bilile: c. 700?) pursued a policy 'hostile to Esarhaddon. King of Assyria, who ' attacked Egypt in f)73, and conquered it in 670. The As- syrian monarch divided the country among twenty tributary princes, descendants of the old Libyan families. The Ethiopians twice again invaded Egjpt in 607 under the new King Tan (u)t-amen, but unsuccessfully. The Assyrian vassal Psam- metich. Prince of Sais. a descendant of Dynasty Twenty-four, aided by Oreek and Carian merce- naries, made himself independent master of the country (063). when Assyria's power declined. The new dynasty (Twenty-six) is remarkable for its revival of art with archaistic tendencies. Psammctich's son Nekao (Xecho) II. (609-594), slew .Tosiah of .Tudab. and conquered Syria as far as the Euphrates; but he soon lost it to the new Babylonian Empire, being defeated by Xebu- chadnezzar at Carchemisli. Necho dug the first canal connecting the Nile, and thtis the Mediter- ranean, with the Red Sea. He also built a fleet, and sent Phtenieian sailors around .Africa. .Apries (tjahuhrr. the Hophra of the Bible. r>SS-.')6n). the successor of Psammetieh II.. vainly tried to pre- vent the destruction of .Teriisalcm by Nebu- chadnezzar (586). Amosis II. (Amasis, .569- 526). in consequence of a military revolt, first took Upper Egj'pt, and three j'ears later slew Apries in battle. With diplomatic skill he main- tained himself against the Babylonians, and later against the Persians; but his son Psam- metieh III. closed this flourishing dynasty by a reign of only one year. In 525 Cambyses de feated him at Pelusium, and Egj-pt became a Persian province. The revolts of the Libyan officers Khabbash (487), Inarus, and AnnTtteus (400-450, aided by the Athenians) were suppressed; but in 414 the Persians were expelled, and Eg>'pt was free from their rule until 343. In the interval, how- ever, the country was a prey to internal strifes. The Persian reeonquest was followed by many cruelties; the last Egyptian King, Xectanebus, fled to Ethiopia. Alexander occupied Egj-pt in 332, and founded Alexandria in 331. On the death of Alexander (B.C. 323) one of his generals. Ptolemy, son of Lagos, became ilacedonian gov- ernor of Egj'pt. From the first he was virtually an independent ruler, though he did not assume the royal title till B.C. 30G. He was a wise and politic sovereign, and under his reign Egjpt be- came a power of the very first rank. He concili- ated his native subjects by treating with respect their religion and the long-establisherought vast wealth into the hands of its merchants. As a centre of lit- erary culture it was even more famous than as a centre of commerce. The celebrated musemn and library founded by Itoleniy I. exerted a pro- found influence and attracted to .Alexandria men of letters and of science from all parts of the Hellenic world. Ptolemy I. died in B.C. 284. His grandson, Ptolemy lir." (B.C. 247-222), waged a successful war with Syria, and greatly extended the foreign possessions of Egypt. .After this there followed a period of steady decline. Antiochxis the Great of Syria and Philip V. of 'Macedon deprived Ptolemy V. (B.C. 205-181) of his Syrian and -I^^gean possessions, and but for the inter- vention of Rome would have seized Egypt as well. Henceforth, although her commerce in- creased in importance, and Alexandria was still the great centre of literature and science. Eg^'pt existed as an independent kingdom only by the sufferance of Rome, and lost all external influ- ence. Ptolemj- XIII. (B.C. 80-521 bequeathed his kingdom to his elder daughter Cleopatra (q.v.) and his elder son Ptolemy XIV. CIeo])atra made herself sole ruler, and finally terminated an ad- venturous career by suicide in n.c. 30. With lier the kingdom of the Ptolemies came to an end, and Egy])t became a Roman province. Augustus made Egyjit a Roman province imder a Governor of equestrian rank. It remained rather a quiet possession of the Romans. Many temples were erected under the Roman dominion. The invasi(m by the Ethiopians (B.C. 24) and that by Zenobia of Palmyra (a.d. 270) are the most important events of this period. The rapaciotis desert tribes of the Blemmyans were often trou- blesome. Christianity spread with special success among the Egyptians. Agnosticism and monas- ticism (on heathen models) had their origin here. Paganism was persecuted and forbidden in A.T>. 391, being tolerated only on the island of