Benson, Margaret; Gourlay, Janet: The temple of Mut in Asher: an account of the excavation of the temple and of the religious representations and objects found therein, as illustrating the history of Egypt and the main religious ideas of the Egyptians (London, 1899)

278

THE TEMPLE OF MUT.

[part iv.

The story of the connection of Apries with
Aahmes his successor is overlaid by a swarm
of wholly untrustworthy Greek legends. Aahmes,
the hereditary general of the Egyptian army,
apparently owed his chance of royalty to the
favour of the native Egyptians, and it seems pro-
bable that after some defeat of Apries by the
Babylonians or by the Cyrenian Greeks the king
was forced to accept him as co-regent. Aahmes
then legitimised himself in the orthodox manner
by marrying the sister of Apries, the daughter and
heiress of Psamtek II. A proof of the joint reign
is found in the name of a private person com-
pounded with both cartouches, Uah-ab-ra-Aahmes.

During the joint reign, Nebuchadrezzar paid his
debt to Egypt by an invasion wmich carried him
as far as Syene, at the first cataract. There he
met the Egyptian army under the well-known
general Neshur (Hor), but without any decisive
result, for the imperative summons of trouble with
Persia called Nebuchadnezzar back to Babylon be-
fore he could make his conquest in any way effectual.
The destruction of his kingdom rapidly followed,
and Egypt was freed from one danger only to fall
into a greater. If Babylon were the devil, Persia
assuredly was the deep sea.
b.c. 570. Aahmes had won the throne by popular favour ;
to retain that popularity he was obliged to redress
the great native grievance, Greek commerce. He
destroyed the camp at Defeneh, removing and