the power of the ruler even before the death of RAMESSES
XI(r. 1100–1070 B.C.E.). These priests acknowledged the
Twenty-first Dynasty kings of TANISinLower Egypt and
married into that royal family but ruled Upper Egypt
from Thebes. The Libyans had also intervened in Egyp-
tian affairs and had come to hold certain territories, in
time becoming the Twenty-second Dynasty. Military cam-
paigns were conducted, especially by SHOSHENQ I (r.
945–924 B.C.E.) in Palestine, and trade was revived,
bringing new prosperity. By the end of the eight century
B.C.E., however, there were many kings in Egypt, each
holding a small area. A Twenty-fifth Dynasty king,
PIANKHI(r. 750–712 B.C.E.), set out from Nubia to subju-
gate other rulers of Egypt and inspired other Nubians to
follow him.
LATE PERIOD (712–332 B.C.E.)Starting in 712 B.C.E. with the reign of SHABAKA, this era
was one fraught with civil wars. The Nubians inhabited
the Nile Valley, eventually taking Memphis and making it
their capital. The Nubians did not actually dispossess
local rulers, who were allowed to continue their rule as
vassals. Throughout their tenure, however, the Nubians
built massive structures and brought about a certain
renaissance of the arts. Another priest of Amun,
MENTUEMHAT, r ose up in Thebes and controlled much of
Upper Egypt. In 671 B.C.E. the ASSYRIANStook Memphis,
destroying the Nubian hold, and forced all of Egypt to
pay tribute. Egypt, no longer isolated, was thus engaged
in the struggles of the Mediterranean.
Greek mercenaries, used by the Egyptian rulers in
their unification struggles, had set up their own commu-
nities on the Nile and by the fourth century B.C.E. had
influenced much of the nation through their skill in trade
and warfare. Reunification was eventually accomplished
by a new royal line, recorded as the Twenty-sixth Dynasty
(664–525 B.C.E.), and Egypt prospered under a central
authority. The era of prosperity was not long lived, how-
ever. In 567 B.C.E. the Babylonians attempted an invasion.
The Egyptians defeated the Babylonians, only to face a
growing Persian menace. The Persians attacked during
the reign of PSAMMETICHUS III(526–525 B.C.E.), success-
fully defeating the armies of Egypt. A line of Persians
ruled Egypt until 404 B.C.E., when AMYRTAIOSof SAISfreed
the Delta of the foreigners. Amyrtaios was listed as the
sole ruler of the Twenty-eighth Dynasty. The Twenty-
ninth and Thirtieth Dynasties presided over troubled
times until 343 B.C.E., when the Persians once again
gained control of the land. This decade-long period of
occupation, listed in historical accounts as the Thirty-
first Dynasty, was the Second Persian Period.
GRECO-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD
(332–30 B.C.E.)In 332 B.C.E.,ALEXANDER III THE GREAT, having defeated
the Persian forces of Darius III Codoman in a series of
military campaigns, took control of Egypt, founding the
city of ALEXANDRIA. At his death the nation became the
property of PTOLEMY I SOTER(r. 304–284 B.C.E.), one of
his generals. For the next 250 years the Greeks success-
fully ruled Egypt, imbuing the land with the Hellenic tra-
ditions in the capital but not affecting rural Nile areas. It
was a time of economic and artistic prosperity, but by the
second century B.C.E., there was a marked decline. Family
feuds and external forces took their toll, even though the
Ptolemaic line remained in power. This royal house died
with CLEOPATRA VII(r. 51–30 B.C.E.) and her short-lived
corulers. Octavian (the future emperor AUGUSTUS) took
control and began the period of Roman occupation, c. 30
B.C.E. Egypt became a prized possession of Rome, pro-
tected by the Caesars.Suggested Readings:Bowman, Alan K. Egypt After the
Pharaohs: 332 B.C.–A.D. 642 from Alexander to the Arab
Conquest.Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996;
Breasted, James Henry. A History of Egypt: From the Earli-
est Times to the Persian Conquest.New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1999; David, A. Rosalie. Handbook to Life in
Ancient Egypt.Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press,
1999; Hornung, Erik, and David Lorton, transl. History of
Ancient Egypt: An Introduction.Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Uni-
versity Press, 1999; Johnson, Paul. The Civilization of
Ancient Egypt.New York: Harper Collins, 1999; Midant-
Reynes, Beatrix, and Ian Shaw, transl. The Prehistory of
Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Pharaohs.Lon-
don: Blackwell, 1999; Mysliwiec, Karol, and David Lor-
ton, transl. The Twilight of Ancient Egypt: 1st Millennium
B.C.Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000; Silver-
man, David P., ed. Ancient Egypt.Oxford, U.K.: Oxford
University Press, 1997; Shaw, Ian, ed. The Oxford History
of Ancient Egypt.Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press,
2000; Wilkinson, Toby A. H. Early Dynastic Egypt.New
York: Routledge, 1999.Egypt and the East The relationship between the Nile
Valley and Mediterranean states was complex and subject
to many historical factors, including dynastic vitality and
foreign leadership. From the Early Dynastic Period
(2920–2575 B.C.E.), Egypt guarded its borders, especially
those that faced eastward, as Egyptians had ventured into
the SINAIand opened copper and turquoise mines in that
area, repulsing the Asiatics and staking their own claims.
The Egyptians maintained camps and fortresses in the
area to protect this valuable fount of natural resources. In
the Old Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.), the Egyptians led
punitive raids against their rebellious eastern vassals and
defended their borders furiously. In the Sixth Dynasty
(2323–2150 B.C.E.), the leadership of General WENIush-
ered in a new period of Egyptian militaryexpansion, and
the people of southern Palestine began to look toward
the Nile uneasily. Weni and his Nubian mercenaries andEgypt and the East 123