Nectaneb I

Origin

Nectaneb I is the founder of XXX (Sebennite), the last indigenous ancient Egyptian dynasty. He was a native of Sebennite (Egypt. Teb-Noether). He took the throne, overthrowing the pharaoh Neferit II . Nektaneb made his hometown Sebennit his residence.

Board

War with the Persians

Nectaneb I inherited certain relations from the Mendes dynasty with Evagor Salaminsky and the Persians . The reports of ancient authors are very brief and indicate only that the dynasty changed during the war with the Persians and that Evagor could not count on Nectaneba.

Nektaneb, meanwhile, was actively preparing for war, being sure that, having freed himself from the Cypriot war and set up Asian affairs, Artaxerxes II would have to move to Egypt in full to restore the Achaemenid empire . Since then no one could do without Greek mercenaries , he invited the skilled Athenian commander Habria to his service. But Farnabaz , appointed Artaxerxes as commander in chief, persuaded the Persian king to make the Athenians an idea of ​​the incompatibility of Khabria's stay in Egypt with the good relations of Athens with the Persian state. The Persian king was at that time the manager of the fate of Hellas, and the Athenians not only obediently obeyed his command and recalled Khabrius, but even sent commander Iphicrates to the service of the king.

In 374 BC e. A huge Persian army marched from Acre to Egypt , numbering, according to ancient historians, 200,000 Persians, 20,000 Greek mercenaries and 300 military ships. Farnabaz commanded this army. Meanwhile, Nektaneb strengthened the entire mouth of the Nile , and at Pelusius blocked the entrance to the country with canals and dams. This defense could not be penetrated, but the Farnabaz fleet bypassed the fortifications, and the Persians landed on the Mendean’s channel. The garrison of Mendes, 3,000 soldiers, entered a desperate battle, but was destroyed by the superior forces of the enemy, who took possession of the city, tore down its walls, and turned the inhabitants into slavery. This happened quite quickly, while the entire Persian army had not yet arrived. Ififrat advised immediately, without waiting for him, to go to Memphis , not yet protected. Farnobaz was opposed and did not allow Ifikrat, at his own peril and risk, to try to take Memphis, fearing that he would not then give the city to the Persians.

Meanwhile, time dragged on. Persian warriors began to plunder the country and its temples, organize a massacre of the population, and sell it into slavery. While the Persian command was gathering its army engaged in looting, Nektaneb greatly strengthened Memphis and even went on the offensive to the fortress taken by the Persians. In the ongoing skirmishes, the Egyptians often remained victors. Meanwhile, floods occurred on the Nile, after which the Persian army had to retreat from Egypt with losses. Ifikrath fled to Athens. In 373 BC e. the Athenian commander Timothy offered his services to Artaxerxes II, but he also failed to conquer Egypt ^[1] . Nektaneb had the right to triumph in victory and to draw on a wall in Karnak a traditional list of Asian barbarians defeated by him.

Domestic Policy

Nectaneb I in every way pleased the priesthood. In the very first year of his reign, he gave tithes to the temple of Nate in Sais from gold, silver and everything else imported from the countries of the “Greek Sea” and produced in Navkratis . In the inscription dedicated to this donation, the king was portrayed not only caring for the construction and supply of churches, but also asking the priests for advice in any temple business and acting on their word. Nevertheless, he apparently did not support the interests of the priesthood to the extent that it was desirable for them, since the demotic chronicle hints that the pharaoh used his power over Egypt and the temples only with the purpose of obtaining silver.

Under Nectanebe, Egypt experienced a significant economic heyday. Many relics of art have been preserved from his reign, which indicate a return to the old traditions that existed before the Persians captured the country. Traces of the construction and artistic activities of Nectaneb are scattered throughout Egypt and even exist in the Great Oasis . They are especially decorated with the Delta: in particular Memphis - and his hometowns of Pahebi (Behbait), in which he built a temple from expensive solid Assuan granite, and Sebennit , where a new temple was built to the war god Onuris- Shu. The name Nektaneba I in this temple, Nekht-Khor-Neb Mary-Anhur, explains the Manethon transcription that the king changed his name. Nectaneb presented colossal gifts to the temple of the living Apis . Found sarcophagus and uhebti indicate that Nectaneb died on the throne. The king’s sarcophagus , found in one of the Cairo mosques and covered with images from the Book of the Dead , is now in London .

Sextus Africa , quoting Manetho , indicates that Nektaneb I ruled for 18 years, but Eusebius of Caesarea (from Sinkella and the Armenian version), referring to the same Manetho, reports that he reigned only 10 years. ^[2]

• Turaev B.A. . History of the Ancient East / Edited by Struve V.V. and Snegireva I.L. - 2nd stereot. ed. - L .: Sotsekgiz, 1935. - T. 2. - 15,250 copies.
• Ancient East and antiquity . // Rulers of the World. Chronological and genealogical tables on world history in 4 vols. / Compiled by V.V. Erlikhman . - T. 1.
• Nektaneb // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Nectaneb I (English) . - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

• Nectaneb I on livius.org
• Nectaneb I on antikforever.com