as temple roles, defeating rebel groups and exiling the
leaders for a time to the western oases.
Psusennes I adorned TANISas a capital, and his mor-
tuary regalia, as well as those of some of his successors,
are masterpieces of gold and silver. These rulers, how-
ever, could not hold on to power in an era of political and
religious change. The Libyans who had settled in the city
of BUBASTIS were ready to launch their own dynastic
claims.
Twenty-second Dynasty (945–712 B.C.E.)
The Libyan rulers who reigned during this dynasty could
trace their ancestry back to OSOCHOR, one of the
pharaohs of the previous line. SHOSHENQ I, a direct
descendant, opened the Libyan period and began military
campaigns recorded in the Bible. He also took the precau-
tion of installing his own sons in the highest offices of
the priesthood of Amun in Thebes. An increase in trade,
lands, and artistic projects demonstrated a revitalization
of Egypt during Shoshenq I’s reign.
Some rather obscure successors to Shoshenq I main-
tained the throne, and Egypt remained a power in the
region. The reign of TAKELOT IIof this line, however, wit-
nessed the first signs of decline. HARSIESE, a prince,
assumed pharaonic titles and fostered a Theban rebellion
that endangered Upper Egypt for decades. SHOSHENQ III
was another usurper, setting aside the true heir, his
brother. The division between Thebes and Tanis widened,
and other cities and nomes began to seek ways in which
they could gain independence.
Twenty-third Dynasty (c. 828–712 B.C.E.)
A prince named PEDUBASTEI, who controlled LEONTOPO-
LIS, started this royal line, and another family opened a
Tanis royal line, contemporaries and rivals for the alle-
giance of the people. There were other petty rulers at
HERMOPOLIS and Herakleopolis as well. Holding such
limited areas, these rulers were vulnerable to the power-
ful Nubians, who had already begun their march into
Egypt.
As the Nubians posed a real threat, the rulers of
Tanis, Leontopolis, Herakleopolis, and Hermopolis joined
a confederation led by TEFNAKHTEof Sais and confronted
the Nubian armies. They were swept aside as the Nubians
moved northward to restore the old traditions and beliefs.
Twenty-fourth Dynasty (724–712 B.C.E.)
Tefnakhte and BAKENRENEF are the only rulers of this
royal line at Tanis. They were contemporaries of the
city-states and faced the Nubian threat. Tefnakhte orga-
nized a confederation of self-appointed “kings” to meet
the army marching out of Nubia, led by a warrior named
PIANKHI(1).
AtHerakleopolis, Tefnakhte’s coalition was routed.
His allies surrendered to Piankhi and were allowed to
rule their own former domains as vassal governors, and
Tefnakhte eventually endured the same humiliation. Bak-
enenref’s reign was that of a vassal and was very brief.
There were too many Nubians in Egypt by then, and they
were intent on restoring the old traditions and the faith-
based society of the past.LATE PERIOD (712–332 B.C.E.)
Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Nubia and Thebes
770–750 B.C.E.; All Egypt 712–657 B.C.E.)
The Late Period of Egypt began with this Nubian
Dynasty, a royal family that marched northward along the
Nile to restore faith and the purity of the god Amun to
the people of the Two Kingdoms. Coming out of the capi-
tal at Napata, the Nubians controlled much of the Theban
domain and then, led by Piankhi, moved to capture the
ancient capital of Memphis. Tefnakhte, who ruled in Sais,
formed a coalition of petty rulers, and they met Piankhi’s
army and suffered a severe defeat. Piankhi celebrated his
victory with a stela and retired to Nubia.
SHABAKA, his brother, mounted another campaign
and took control of Egypt personally. He was followed on
the throne of Egypt by his heir,SHEBITKU, and then by
TAHARQA, all members of the same line. King ESSARHAD-
DONof Assyria entered Egypt in Taharqa’s reign, taking
the abandoned Nubian queen and one of Taharqa’s sons
back to Nineveh as slaves. Taharqa fought back, and his
successor, TANUTAMUN, tried to maintain power, but the
Saite-Arthribis royal line that had served as allies of the
Assyrians would be the ones to free the nation from for-
eign rule.
Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664–525 B.C.E.)
While the Nubians fled from the Assyrians and then
regrouped to oust the Assyrians, NECHO I and PSAM-
METICHUS Iadapted and secured their holdings. Necho I
was slain by the Nubians, but his son, Psammetichus I,
united Egypt and amassed a mercenary and native army.
He ousted the Assyrians and began his royal line. All that
Piankhi had hoped for Egypt’s rebirth was realized by this
dynasty. Old traditions of faith and the skills and vision
of the past flourished on the Nile. NECHO II, the son of
Psammetichus, followed in his stead, and the land flour-
ished. Necho II even connected the Nile and the Red Sea
with a canal.
APRIEScame to the throne and introduced a program
of intervention in Palestine, increasing trade and the use
of Greek mercenaries. His involvement in Libya, how-
ever, led to a mutiny in the Egyptian army and the rise
of AMASIS, his general. Apries died in an attempt to
regain his throne. Amasis was Hellenic in his outlook
and was recorded as aiding Delphi in returning the ora-
cle and the temple of Apollo. The city of NAUKRATIS,
ceded to the Greeks in the Delta, was started in this his-
torical period.
PSAMMETICHUS III, the last ruler of this dynasty, faced
CAMBYSESand the invading Persian army. Psammetichus
was taken prisoner and sent to Susa, the Persian capital.112 dynasty histories