Berkley, E.: The pharaohs and their people: scenes of old Egyptian life and history (New York, [1883])

CHAPTER XIV.

Psammetichus and the Saite Dynasty—The Persian Conquest
—Last Independent Dynasties. (666-340 B.C.)

After the capture and sack of Thebes, the
successors of Tirhakah made no further attempts
to recover their lost dominion. The princes
who ruled in the north, more or less as the
vassals of Assyria, were often engaged in
mutual strife, and the twenty satrapies estab-
lished there by Esar-haddon had dwindled
down to twelve—the ' Dodecarchy,' of Greek
writers. Bravest and most conspicuous amongst
the twelve princes was Psamtek (Psammeti-
chus), son of that Necho who had been impri-
soned and restored by Assur-bani-pal1 (p.260).
Banished by the jealousy of his rivals, Psam-
metichus2 determined on a new and energetic

1 And thus a descendant of Tafneklit, the amhitious prince of Sais,
defeated by Piankhi (p. 246).

2 The story told by Herodotus is that an oracle had declared that
that prince who should make libation out of a brazen goblet should
reign over all Egypt. One day all the princes appeared to offer