Djedhor, better known as Teos ( grc, Τέως) or Tachos ( grc, Τάχως), was an ancient Egyptian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

of the

30th Dynasty The Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXX, alternatively 30th Dynasty or Dynasty 30) is usually classified as the fifth Dynasty of the Late Period of ancient Egypt. It was founded after the overthrow of Nepherites II in 380 BC by Necta ...

Biography

A son of his predecessor

Nectanebo I Nectanebo I ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτάνεβις ; died 361/60 BCE) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, founder of the last native dynasty of Egypt, the 30th. Name Nectanebo's Egyptian personal name was Nḫt-nb.f, which means "the stron ...

, Teos was his

co-regent A coregency is the situation where a monarchical position (such as prince, princess, king, queen, emperor or empress), normally held by only a single person, is held by two or more. It is to be distinguished from diarchies or duumvirates such ...

for three years before ascending to the throne in 361–60 BCE.

Expedition against Persians

Nectanebo's success in the Nile Delta against the invading Persian armies in 374–73 BCE encouraged Teos to start to plan a military expedition into Palestine and

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

, which were territories controlled by the Persians. Taking advantage of a moment of weakness for the Achaemenid Empire due to riots in some

satrapies A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with con ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, Teos sought assistance from both the octogenarian king

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemo ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

general

Chabrias Chabrias ( el, Χαβρίας; bef. 420–357 BC) was an Athenian general active in the first half of the 4th century BC. During his career he was involved in several battles, both on land and sea. The orator Demosthenes described him as one o ...

, including a number of mercenaries and 200

trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...

s, from Greece. However, to finance such an expedition, Teos had to impose new taxes and to expropriate the goods of the temples, destroying the delicate balance artfully established by his father Nectanebo. This action ensured to Teos both the required finances and a great unpopularity. Agesilas in Egypt 361 BCE

The operation against the Persians started with Chabrias as the admiral of the fleet, Agesilaus as the commander of the Greek mercenaries and Teos's nephew Nakhthorheb as the leader of the ''

machimoi The term ''máchimoi'' ( el, μάχιμοι, plural of μάχιμος, ''máchimos'', meaning "pugnacious") commonly refers to a broad category of ancient Egyptian low-ranked soldiers which rose during the Late Period of Egypt (664–332 BCE) and ...

'' ( Diodorus Siculus, certainly exaggerating, claimed that the ''machimoi'' were 80,000 in number). Teos placed himself in the supreme command of the expedition (the position claimed by Agesilaus) leaving his brother Tjahapimu, the father of Nakhthorheb, in Egypt as his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

. The expedition made its way to Phoenicia without particular problems.

Betrayal and end

Unfortunately for Teos, his brother Tjahapimu was plotting against him. Taking advantage of Teos's unpopularity, and with the support of the priestly classes, Tjahapimu convinced his son Nakhthorheb to rebel against Teos and to make himself pharaoh. Nakhthorheb persuaded Agesilaus to join his side by taking advantage of the several disagreements that had arisen between the Spartan king and the pharaoh. Nakhthorheb was acclaimed pharaoh – better known today as

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prosper ...

– and the betrayed Teos had no alternative but to flee to Susa, the court of his enemies. Knowledge of the final fate of Teos comes from the inscription by a noble called Wennefer, who also participated in Teos's unfortunate expedition as a physician. Wennefer was sent by Nectanebo II in search of Teos and managed to have him held by the Persian king

Artaxerxes II Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and suc ...

at Susa. Wennefer then had Teos brought back with him in chains to the Egyptian pharaoh.

Sources

Bibliography

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External links

Livius.org: Teos
{{authority control 4th-century BC Pharaohs Pharaohs of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt 4th-century BC Egyptian people