preceding centurj^ (Isa. xx). Psammetichns was suc- ceeded by his son Neku, tlae Pliaraoli-Xecho of Scrip- ture, B.C. 610. In his first year he advanced to Pal- estine, niarcliing along the sea-coast on his waj' to Carchcniish on the Euphrates, and was met bj' Josiah, khv of Judah, whom he slew at Megiddo, B.C. 609. The remonstrance of the Egj'ptian king on this occa- sion is very illustrative of the policy of the Pharaohs in the East (2 Chron. xxxv, 21), no less than in his lenient conduct after the defeat and death of the king of Judah. Neku was probably successful in his enter- prise, and on his return deposed Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, and set up Jehoiakim in his stead. He appar- ently wished by this expedition to strike a blow at the falling power of the Assyrians, whose capital was shortly after taken by the combined forces of the Bab- ylonians and Medes. The army, however, which was stationed on the Euphrates by Neku met with a signal disaster three years afterwards, being routed by Nebu- chadnezzar at Carchemish (.Icr. xlvi, 2). The king of Babylon seems to have followed up his success, as we are told (2 Kings xxiv, 7) that "the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egvpt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt." Neku either commenced a canal to connect the Nile and the Ked Sea, or else attempted to clear one previously cut by Kameses II ; in either case the work was not completed. See Neciio. The second successor of Neku was the next sovereign of note, Ku- ahprah, or Vaphrah, called Pharaoh-Hophra in the Bible, and by Herodotus Apries. He took Gaza and Sidon, and defeated the king of Tyre in a sea-fight. He also worsted the Cyprians. Having thus restored the power of Egypt, he succored Zedekiah, king of Ju- dah, and when Jerusalem was besieged, obliged the Chaldaaans to retire (Jer. xxxvii, 5, 7, 11). He was so elated by these successes that he thought " not even a god could overthrow him." In Ezek. xxix, 3, he is thought to bo called "the great dragon (i. e. croco- dile ?) that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said. My river is mine own, and I have made it for raj'self." At last, however, Amosis, or Ahmes II, who had been crowned in a military revolt, took him prisoner and strangled him (B.C. .509), so that the words of .Jeremiah were fulfilled : "I will give Pha- raoh-Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hand of his ene- mies, and into the hand of tliem that seek his life" (Jer. xliv, 30). There seems little doubt that at the time of this rebellion, and probably in conjunction with the advance of Amosis, Egj-pt was invaded and desolated by Nebuchadnezzar. See Hophea. The remarkable prophecies, however, in Ezek. xxix-xxxi may refer for the most part to the invasion of Cambj^- ses, and also to the revolt of Inarus under Artaxerxes. Amosis, the successor of Apries, reigned nearly fifty j'ears, and, taking advantage of the weakness and fall of Babylon, he somewhat restored the weight of Egypt in the East. But the new power of Persia was to prove even more terrible to his house than Babv- lon had been to the house of Psammetichns. He was succeeded by his son Psammenitus, held to be the Psa- metik III of the monuments, B.C. 525. Shortly after his accession this king was attacked by Cambyses, who took Pelusium, or "Sin, the strength of Egypt," and Memphis, and subsequently put Psammenitus to death. — With Cambyses (B.C. 52.5) began the 27th dynasty of Persians, and Egypt became a Persian province, governed b}"- a satrap. The conduct of Da- rius Hystaspis (B.C. 521) to the Egyptians was favor- al)le, and he caused the temples to be adorned with additional sculptures. The large temple in the Great Oasis was principally built by him, and in it is found his name, with the same honorary titles as the ancient kings. Before the death of Darius, however, the . Egyptians rebelled, but were again subdued by Xerxes (B.C. 485), who made his brother Achaemenes governor i
of the country. Under Artaxerxes Longimanus they again revolted, as aUove referred to, and in the 10th year of Darius Nothus contrived to throw off the Per- sian yoke, when Amj'rtosus the Saite became the sole king' of the 28th dynasty (B.C. 41-1). After having ruled six years, he was succeeded by the first king of the 29th or Mendesian d\'nasty. Of the four kings comprising it little is known, and the dates are uncer- tain. It was followed b}- the last, or 30th dynasty of Sebennyte kings. The first of these was Nectanebo, or Nekt-har-heb (B.C. 387), who successfulh^ defend- ed his country against the Persians, had leisure to adorn the temples, and was probablj' the last Pharaoh who erected an obelisk. His son Teos, or Tachos, was the victim of a revolt, from wliich he took refuge in the Persian court, where he died, while his nephew Nectanebo II, or Nekt-neb, ascended the throne as the last native king of Egj'pt (B.C. 361). For some time he successfully opposed the Persians, but eventu- all}' succumbed to Artaxerxes Ochus, about B.C. 343, when Egypt once more became a Persian province. "From that time till our own day," says Mr. Poole, "a period of twenty-two centuries, no native ruler has sat on the throne of Egypt, in striking fulfilment of the prophecy, ' There shall he no more a prince of the land of Egj'pt' (Ezek. xxx, 13)."