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Psametik III

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Psammetichus III (also spelled Psammeticus, Psametik or Psamtik) was the last Pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt from 526 BC – 525 BC. Most of what we know about his reign and life was documented by the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century. He ruled no longer than six months before he was defeated by King Cambyses II of Persia at Pelusium, carried to Susa in chains, and executed.

Family

Psametik III was the son of the pharaoh Amasis II and one of his wives, Queen Takheta. He succeeded his father as pharaoh in 526 BC, when Amasis died after a long and prosperous reign of some 44 years. According to Herodotus, he had a son named Amasis and a wife and daughter, both unnamed in historical documents.

Defeat and imprisonment

Psametik ruled no more than six months. The young and inexperienced pharaoh probably did all he could to defend his country from invasion, but Egypt was no match for the Persians. After the enemy, led by Cambyses, had crossed Sinai and the desert with the aid of the Arabs, a bloody battle was fought near Pelusium, a city on Egypt's eastern frontier, in the spring of 525 BC. His father Amasis had hoped that Egypt would be able to withstand the threatened Persian attack by an alliance with the Greeks, but this hope failed, as the Cypriot towns and the tyrant Polycrates of Samos, who possessed a large fleet, now preferred to join the Persians, and the commander of the Greek troops, Phanes of Halicarnassus, went over to them. Being defeated at the battle of Pelusium, after he was betrayed by one of his allies, Phanes of Halicarnas, Psametik fled to Memphis. The Persians captured the city after long siege, and caught Psametik shortly after its fall. Upon the fall of the city, Cambyses ordered the public execution of two thousand of the principal citizens, including (it is said) a son of the fallen king.

Captivity and execution

In book III of The History by Herodotus, Psametik's daughter had been enslaved, his son given a death sentence, and a companion was turned into a beggar. They were all brought before him to test his reaction, and he only became upset over seeing the state of the beggar. Psametik was spared, however his son was cut to pieces. The deposed pharaoh was imprisoned and taken to Susa in chains where he was at first treated relatively well. After a while Psametik began plotting a rebellion against Cambyses, and so he was forced to drink bull's blood, causing his death.

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Last updated on Saturday March 01, 2008 at 13:09:45 PST (GMT -0800)
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