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Psamtik III (also spelled Psammetichus or Psammeticus) was the last Pharaoh
Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
 of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty
Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt was the last native dynasty to rule Ancient Egypt before the History of Persian Egypt in 525 BC Before Christ ....
 of Egypt
History of Ancient Egypt

The History of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early Predynastic Egypt settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the History of Roman Egypt in 30 BC....
 from 526 BC – 525 BC. Most of what we know about his reign and life was documented by the Greek historian Herodotus
Herodotus

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greeks historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture....
 in the 5th century. Herodotus states that Psamtik had ruled Egypt for only six months before he was confronted by a Persian invasion of his country led by King Cambyses II of Persia
Cambyses II of Persia

Cambyses II was the son of Cyrus the Great.When Cyrus The Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC he was employed in leading religious ceremonies, and in the Cyrus_Cylinder which contains Cyrus' proclamation to the Babylonians his name is joined to that of his father in the prayers to Marduk....
. Psammetichus was subsequently defeated at Pelusium
Pelusium

Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per -Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Sey?n , and Tell el-Farama ....
, and fled to Memphis where he was captured.






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Psamtik III (also spelled Psammetichus or Psammeticus) was the last Pharaoh
Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. In antiquity this title began to be used for the ruler who was the religious and political leader of united ancient Egypt, only during the New Kingdom, specifically, during the middle of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt....
 of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty
Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt was the last native dynasty to rule Ancient Egypt before the History of Persian Egypt in 525 BC Before Christ ....
 of Egypt
History of Ancient Egypt

The History of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early Predynastic Egypt settlements of the northern Nile Valley to the History of Roman Egypt in 30 BC....
 from 526 BC – 525 BC. Most of what we know about his reign and life was documented by the Greek historian Herodotus
Herodotus

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greeks historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture....
 in the 5th century. Herodotus states that Psamtik had ruled Egypt for only six months before he was confronted by a Persian invasion of his country led by King Cambyses II of Persia
Cambyses II of Persia

Cambyses II was the son of Cyrus the Great.When Cyrus The Great conquered Babylon in 539 BC he was employed in leading religious ceremonies, and in the Cyrus_Cylinder which contains Cyrus' proclamation to the Babylonians his name is joined to that of his father in the prayers to Marduk....
. Psammetichus was subsequently defeated at Pelusium
Pelusium

Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per -Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Sey?n , and Tell el-Farama ....
, and fled to Memphis where he was captured. The deposed pharaoh was carried off to Susa
Susa

Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian Empire and Parthian empires of Iran, located about 250 km east of the Tigris River.The modern town of Shush, Iran is located at the site of ancient Susa....
 in chains, and later executed.

Family

Psamtik III was the son of the pharaoh Amasis II
Amasis II

Amasis II was a pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt, the successor of Apries at Sais, Egypt. He was the last great ruler of Ancient Egypt before the Persian Empire conquest....
 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

Psamtik ruled Egypt for no more than six months. A few days after his coronation, rain fell at Thebes, which was a rare event that frightened some Egyptians, who interpreted this as a bad omen. The young and inexperienced pharaoh was no match for the invading Persian
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
s. After the Persians under Cambyses had crossed the Sinai desert with the aid of the Arabs, a bitter battle was fought near Pelusium
Pelusium

Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per -Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Sey?n , and Tell el-Farama ....
, a city on Egypt's eastern frontier, in the spring of 525 BC. The Egyptians were defeated at Pelusium and Psamtik was betrayed by one of his allies, Phanes of Halicarnas. Consequently, Psamtik and his army were compelled to withdraw to Memphis. The Persians captured the city after a long siege, and captured Psamtik after its fall. Shortly thereafter, 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

According to book III of The History
Histories (Herodotus)

The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, The Histories tells the story of the Greco-Persian Wars between the Achaemenid Empire and the Polis in the 5th century BC....
 by Herodotus, Psamtik's daughter was 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. Psamtik III was spared but his son was cut to pieces. The deposed pharaoh was imprisoned and taken to Susa in chains where he was initially treated relatively well. After a while, however, Psamtik reportedly plotted a rebellion against Cambyses and was executed for his involvement in this conspiracy by being forced to drink bull's blood thereby causing his death.

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