Late Period of ancient Egypt

Late Period of ancient Egypt
c. 664 BC – c. 332 BC
The Egyptian Kingdom within the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 671 BC.
Capital		Sais, Mendes, Sebennytos
Languages		Ancient Egyptian
Religion		Ancient Egyptian religion
Government		Monarchy
History
•	Established	c. 664 BC
•	Disestablished	c. 332 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by Third Intermediate Period of Egypt Ptolemaic Egypt Argead Dynasty
Today part of		Egypt

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Prehistoric Egypt pre–3100 BC
Ancient Egypt Early Dynastic Period 3100–2686 BC Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BC 1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BC Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BC 2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BC New Kingdom 1550–1069 BC 3rd Intermediate Period 1069–664 BC Late Period 664–332 BC
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The Late Period of ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period from the 26th Saite Dynasty into Achaemenid Persian conquests and ended with the conquest by Alexander the Great and establishment of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. It ran from 664 BC until 332 BC.

Libyans and Persians alternated rule with native Egyptians, but traditional conventions continued in the arts.

It is often regarded as the last gasp of a once great culture, during which the power of Egypt steadily diminished.

26th Dynasty

The Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, also known as the Saite Dynasty after Sais, reigned from 672–525 BC, and consisted of six pharaohs. Canal construction from the Nile to the Red Sea began.

One major contribution from the Late Period of ancient Egypt was the Brooklyn Papyrus. This was a medical papyrus with a collection of medical and magical remedies for victims of snakebites based on snake type or symptoms.

Egypt 664-332 BC - Brooklyn Museum

Artwork during this time was representative of animal cults and animal mummies. This image shows the god Pataikos wearing a scarab beetle on his head, supporting two human-headed birds on his shoulders, holding a snake in each hand, and standing atop crocodiles.

Figure of Pataikos, 664-30 BC - Brooklyn Museum

27th Dynasty

Main article: Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt

The First Achaemenid Period (525–404 BC) period saw Egypt conquered by an expansive Achaemenid Empire under Cambyses. A total of eight pharaohs from this dynasty ruled over Egypt.

The initial period of Achaemenid Persian occupation when Egypt (Old Persian: 𐎸𐎭𐎼𐎠𐎹 Mudrāya) became a satrapy, known today as the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt.

28th–30th Dynasties

The Twenty-Eighth Dynasty consisted of a single king, Amyrtaeus, prince of Sais, who rebelled against the Persians. He left no monuments with his name. This dynasty reigned for six years, from 404 BC–398 BC.

The Twenty-Ninth Dynasty ruled from Mendes, for the period from 398–380 BC.

The Thirtieth Dynasty took their art style from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. A series of three pharaohs ruled from 380 BC until their final defeat in 343 BC led to the re-occupation by the Persians. The final ruler of this dynasty, and the final native ruler of Egypt until nearly 2,300 years later, was Nectanebo II.

31st Dynasty

Main article: Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt

There was a Second Achaemenid Period of the Thirty-First Dynasty (343–332 BC), and consisted of four pharaohs: Artaxerxes III (343–338 BC), Artaxerxes IV (338–336 BC), Khababash (338–335 BC), and Darius III (336–332 BC).

Sources

• Roberto B. Gozzoli: The Writing of History in Ancient Egypt During the First Millennium BCE (ca. 1070-180 BCE). Trend and Perspectives, London 2006, ISBN 0-9550256-3-X
• Lloyd, Alan B. 2000. "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw". Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 369-394
• Quirke, Stephen. 1996 "Who were the Pharaohs?", New York: Dover Publications. 71-74

Primary sources

• Herodotus (Histories)
• Fragments of Ctesias (Persica)
• Thucydides (History of the Peloponnesian War)
• Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca historica)
• Fragments of Manetho (Aegyptiaca)
• Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews)