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The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXVI, alternatively 26th Dynasty or Dynasty 26)
dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
was the last native dynasty to rule
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (664–525 BC) is also called the Saite Period after the city of Sais, where its pharaohs had their capital, and marks the beginning of the
Late Period of ancient Egypt The Late Period of ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period in the 26th Saite Dynasty founded by Psamtik I, but includes the time of Achaemenid Persian rule over Egypt after th ...
.Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton. ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt''. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004


History

This dynasty traced its origins to the Twenty-fourth Dynasty. Psamtik I was probably a descendant of Bakenranef. Following the Assyrian conquest of Egypt by the
Neo-Assyrian Empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history and the final and greatest phase of Assyria as an independent state. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew ...
during the reigns of Taharqa and Tantamani, and the subsequent collapse of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Psamtik I was recognized as sole king over all of Egypt. Psamtik formed alliances with King Gyges of Lydia, who sent him mercenaries from
Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joine ...
and
ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...
which Psamtik used to unify all of Egypt under his rule. With the sack of Nineveh in 612 BC and the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, both Psamtik and his successors attempted to reassert Egyptian power in the Near East, but were driven back by the
Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and bei ...
under Nebuchadnezzar II. With the help of Greek mercenaries, Pharaoh Apries was able to hold back Babylonian attempts to conquer Egypt. The Persians would eventually invade Egypt in 525 BCE, when their king, Cambyses II, captured and later executed
Psamtik III Psamtik III ( Ancient Egyptian: , pronounced ), known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus ( Ancient Greek: ), or Psammenitus ( Ancient Greek: ), was the last Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt from 526 BC to 525 BC. Most ...
, in the Achaemenid conquest of Egypt, eventually founding the Achaemenid Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt.


Archaeology

In May 2020, an Egyptian-Spanish archaeological mission headed by Esther Ponce revealed a unique cemetery, which consists of one room built with glazed limestone dating back to the 26th Dynasty (also known as the El-Sawi era) at the site of ancient Oxyrhynchus. Archaeologists also uncovered bronze coins, clay seals, Roman tombstones and small crosses. On October 3, 2020, Egypt unveiled 59 coffins of priests and clerks from the 26th dynasty, dating to nearly 2,500 years ago.


Art

File:Pottery vessel. Applique face of god Bes on surface. Pink-brown ware. From Egypt. 26th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg, Pottery vessel showing the face of god Bes, from the 26th Dynasty. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London File:Female amulet E17114 mp3h8679.jpg, Female figure, Louvre Museum. The name of Psamtik I is inscribed under the feet. File:Sphinx of Apries-N 515-IMG 0583-gradient.jpg, Sphinx of Apries, from the collection of Count Caylus File:Sarcophagus of Harkhebit, 595–526 BCE, 26th dynasty of Egypt.jpg, alt=Sarcophagus of Harkhebit ""Royal Seal Bearer, Sole Companion, Chief Priest of the Shrines of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Overseer of the Cabinet", 595–526 BCE, Saqqara, 26th dynasty of Egypt., Sarcophagus of Harkhebit "Royal Seal Bearer, Sole Companion, Chief Priest of the Shrines of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Overseer of the Cabinet", 595–526 BCE,
Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memph ...
, 26th dynasty of Egypt.


Pharaohs of the 26th Dynasty

The 26th Dynasty may be related to the 24th Dynasty. Manetho begins the dynasty with: * Ammeris the Nubian, 12 (or 18) years * Stephinates, 7 years * Nechepsos, 6 years * Necho, 8 years. When the Nubian King Shabaka defeated Bakenranef, son of Tefnakht, he likely installed a Nubian commander as governor at Sais. This may be the man named Ammeris. Stephinates may be a descendant of Bakenrenef. He is sometimes referred to as Tefnakht II in the literature. Nechepsos has been identified with a local king named Nekauba (678–672 BC). Manetho's Necho is King Necho I (672–664 BC); Manetho gives his reign as 8 years.Kitchen, Kenneth A. ''The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt, 1100-650 B.C.'' (Book & Supplement) Aris & Phillips. 1986 Necho was killed during a conflict with the Nubian king Tantamani. Psamtik I fled to Nineveh – capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire – and returned to Egypt when Ashurbanipal defeated Tantamani and drove him back south. Scholars now start the 26th Dynasty with the reign of Psamtik I. Sextus Julius Africanus states in his often accurate version of Manetho's ''Epitome'' that the dynasty numbered 9 pharaohs, beginning with a "Stephinates" ( Tefnakht II) and ending with Psamtik III. Africanus also notes that Psamtik I and Necho I ruled for 54 and 8 years respectively.


Timeline of the 26th Dynasty

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:100 bottom:100 right:100 left:100 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:-664 till:-500 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:-664 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) id:PA value:green id:GP value:red Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Rulers PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Rulers from: -664 till: -610 color:PA text:" Psamtik I (664–610 BC)" from: -610 till: -595 color:PA text:"
Necho II Necho II (sometimes Nekau, Neku, Nechoh, or Nikuu; Greek: Νεκώς Β'; ) of Egypt was a king of the 26th Dynasty (610–595 BC), which ruled from Sais. Necho undertook a number of construction projects across his kingdom. In his reign, accord ...
(610–595 BC)" from: -595 till: -589 color:PA text:"
Psamtik II Psamtik II ( Ancient Egyptian: , pronounced ), known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus, was a king of the Saite-based Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (595 BC – 589 BC). His prenomen, Nefer-Ib-Re, means "Beautiful s theHeart ...
(595–589 BC)" from: -589 till: -570 color:PA text:"
Wahibre Haaibre Apries ( grc, Ἁπρίης) is the name by which Herodotus (ii. 161) and Diodorus (i. 68) designate Wahibre Haaibre, a pharaoh of Egypt (589 BC570 BC), the fourth king (counting from Psamtik I) of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt. He was equ ...
(589–570 BC)" from: -570 till: -526 color:PA text:"
Amasis II Amasis II ( grc, Ἄμασις ; phn, 𐤇𐤌𐤎 ''ḤMS'') or Ahmose II was a pharaoh (reigned 570526 BCE) of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the successor of Apries at Sais. He was the last great ruler of Egypt before the Persian conque ...
(570–526 BC)" from: -526 till: -525 color:PA text:"
Psamtik III Psamtik III ( Ancient Egyptian: , pronounced ), known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus ( Ancient Greek: ), or Psammenitus ( Ancient Greek: ), was the last Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt from 526 BC to 525 BC. Most ...
(526–525 BC)" barset:skip


See also

* History of ancient Egypt * Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt family tree *
Late Period of ancient Egypt The Late Period of ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period in the 26th Saite Dynasty founded by Psamtik I, but includes the time of Achaemenid Persian rule over Egypt after th ...
*
Saite Oracle Papyrus The Saite Oracle Papyrus is a papyrus from the Late Period of Egypt that shows a man petitioning for his father to be allowed to leave the priesthood of his temple and join that of a neighboring city (Montu-Re-Horakhty). In the image, the precessio ...


References


Bibliography

* Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton. ''The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt''. The American University in Cairo Press, London, 2004. * Kenneth Kitchen, ''The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt, 1100–650 B.C.'' (Book & Supplement) Aris & Phillips. 1986 .
Karl Jansen-Winkeln''Bild und Charakter der ägyptischen 26. Dynastie''
''Altorientalische Forschungen'', 28 (2001), 165–182. {{Ancient Egypt topics States and territories established in the 7th century BC States and territories disestablished in the 6th century BC 26 Nile Delta 7th century BC in Egypt 6th century BC in Egypt 664 BC 7th-century BC establishments in Egypt 6th-century BC disestablishments 525 BC 1st-millennium BC disestablishments in Egypt