B. C. 521. Darius I. (Hystaspes) endeavoured to open up the ancient routes of commerce; he established a coinage, and adopted a conciliatory and tolerant system of government, and favoured all attempts to promote the welfare of Egypt. 486. Xerxes I. 465. Artaxerxes I., during whose reign the Egyptians revolted, headed by Amyrtæus. 425. Darius II. (Nothus), during whose reign the Egyptians revolted successfully, and a second Amyrtæus became king of Egypt. 405. Artaxerxes II. Dynasty XXVIII, from Saïs. Amen-rut (Amyrtæus), reigned six years. Dynasty XXIX, from Mendes. 399. Naifaaurut I. 393. Hakar. 380. P-se-mut. 379. Naifaaurut II. Dynasty XXX, from Sebennytus. 378. Nekht-Heru-heb (Nectanebus I.) defeated the Persians at Mendes. 360. T'e-her surrendered to the Persians. 358. Nekht-neb-f (Nectanebus II.) devoted himself to the pursuit of magic, and neglected his empire; when Artaxerxes III. (Ochus) marched against him, he fled from his kingdom, and the Persians again ruled Egypt. B. C. PERSIANS. 340. Artaxerxes III. (Ochus). 338. Arses. 336. Darius III. (Codomannus) conquered by Alexander the Great at Issus. MACEDONIANS. 332. Alexander the Great founded Alexandria. He showed his toleration of the Egyptian religion by sacrificing to the god Amen of Libya. PTOLEMIES.* 323. Ptolemy I. Soter, son of Lagus, became king of Egypt after Alexander's death. He founded the famous Alexandrian Library, and encouraged learned Greeks to make Alexandria their home; he died B.C. 284. 285. Ptolemy II. Philadelphus built the Pharos, founded Berenice and Arsinoë, caused Manetho's Egyptian history to be compiled, and the Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint) to be made. 247. Ptolemy III. Euergetes I. The stele of Canopus † was set up in the ninth year of his reign; he obtained possession of all Syria, and was a patron of the arts and sciences. * For the chronology of the Ptolemies, see Lepsius, Königsbuch, Synoptische Tafeln 9. This important stele, preserved at Gizeh, see page 590, is inscribed in hieroglyphics, Greek and demotic with a decree made at Canopus by the priesthood, assembled there from all parts of Egypt, in honour of Ptolemy III. It mentions the great benefits which he had conferred upon Egypt, and states what festivals are to be celebrated in his honour and in that of Berenice, etc., and concludes with a resolution ordering that a copy of this inscription in hieroglyphics, Greek and demotic shall be placed in every large temple of Egypt. Two other copies of this work are known. B.C. 222. Ptolemy IV. Philopator defeated Antiochus, and founded the temple at Edfû. 205. Ptolemy V. Epiphanes. During his reign the help of the Romans against Antiochus was asked for by the Egyptians. Coelesyria and Palestine were lost to Egypt. He was poisoned B.C. 182, and his son Ptolemy VI. Philometor, died in that same year. The Rosetta Stone was set up in the eighth year of the reign of this king. Ptolemy VI. Philometor did not reign a full year. 181. Ptolemy VII. Eupator was taken prisoner at Pelusium by Antiochus IV., B.C. 171, and died B.C. 146. He reigned alone at first, then conjointly (B.C. 170-165) with Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. (also called Physcon), and finally having gone to Rome on account of his quarrel with Physcon, he reigned as sole monarch of Egypt (B.c. 165). Physcon was overthrown B.C. 132, reigned again B.C. 125, and died B.C. 117. 170. Ptolemy VIII. Neos Philopator is murdered by Physcon. 146. Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. (Physcon). 117. Ptolemy X. Soter II. Philometor II. (Lathyrus), reigns jointly with Cleopatra III. Ptolemy X. is banished (B.C. 106), his brother Ptolemy XI. Alexander I. is made co-regent, but afterwards banished (B.C. 89) and slain (B.C. 87); Ptolemy X. is recalled, and dies B.C. 81. 88. Ptolemy XI. Alexander I. is killed. 81. Ptolemy XII. Alexander II. is slain. 81. Ptolemy XIII. Neos Dionysos (Auletes), ascends the throne; dies B.C. 52. B.C. 52. Ptolemy XIV. Dionysos II. and Cleopatra VII. are, according to the will of Ptolemy XIII., to marry each other; the Roman senate to be their guardian. Ptolemy XIV. banishes Cleopatra, and is a party to the murder of Pompey, their guardian, who visits. Egypt after his defeat at Pharsalia. Cæsar arrives in Egypt to support Cleopatra (B.C. 48); Ptolemy XIV. is drowned; Ptolemy XV., brother of Cleopatra VII., is appointed her co-regent by Cæsar (B.C. 47); he is murdered at her wish, and her son by Cæsar, Ptolemy XVI. Cæsarion, is named co-regent (B.C. 45). 42. Antony orders Cleopatra to appear before him, and is seduced by her charms; he kills himself, and Cleopatra dies by the bite of an asp. Egypt becomes a Roman province B.C. 30. ROMANS. Cæsar Augustus becomes master of the Roman Empire. Cornelius Gallus is the first prefect of Egypt. Under the third prefect, Aelius Gallus, Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, invades Egypt, but is defeated. In the consulship of Marcus Silanus and Lucius Norbanus, Germanicus set out (A.D. 19) for Egypt to study its antiquities. His ostensible motive, however, was solicitude for the province. He sailed up the Nile from the city of Canopus, which was founded by the Spartans because Canopus, pilot of one of their ships, had been buried there, when Menelaus on his return to Greece was driven into a distant sea and to the shores of Libya. "Next he visited the vast ruins of ancient Thebes. There yet remained on the towering piles Egyptian inscriptions, with a complete account of the city's past grandeur One of the aged priests, who was desired to interpret the language of his country, related how once there had dwelt in Thebes 700,000 men of military age, and how with such an army Rhamses conquered Libya, Ethiopia, Media, Persia, Bactria, and Scythia, and held under his sway the countries inhabited by the Syrians, Armenians, and their neighbours, the Cappadocians, from the Bithynian to the Lycian Sea. There was also to be read what tributes were imposed on these nations, the weight of silver and gold, the tale of arms and horses, the gifts of ivory and of perfumes to the temples, and the amount of grain and supplies furnished by each people, a revenue as magnificent as is now exacted by the might of Parthia or the power of Rome. But Germanicus also bestowed attention on other wonders. Chief of these were the stone image of Memnon, which, when struck by the sun's rays, gives out the sound of a human voice; the pyramids, rising up like mountains amid almost impassable wastes of shifting sand; raised by the emulation and vast wealth of kings; the lake (i.e., Moeris) hollowed out of the earth to be a receptacle for the Nile's overflow; and elsewhere the river's narrow channel and profound depth which no line of the explorer can penetrate. He then came to Elephantine and Syene, formerly the limits of the Roman empire, which now extends to the Red Sea.”—Tacitus, book ii., §§ 59–61 (Church and Brodribb). A. D. 14. Tiberius. In his reign Germanicus visited Egypt. 37. Caligula. In his reign a persecution of the Jews took place. 41. Claudius. 55. Nero. In his reign Christianity was first preached in Egypt by Saint Mark. The Blemmyes made raids upon the southern frontier of Egypt. 69. Vespasian. Jerusalem destroyed A.D. 70. |