Brugsch, Heinrich: Egypt under the pharaohs: a history derived entirely from the monuments (London, 1891)

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SUPPLEMENTABY NOTE ON THE LAST
PHAEAOHS.

DYNASTY XXVI.

[With the Twenty-fifth Dynasty Dr. Brugsch's history'
practically ends, for it was his special object to write
the story of the kingdom of Ancient Egypt from the
evidence of the monuments alone. At this point their
information becomes but very scanty; while in the-
fragments of Manetho and among the Greek and Eoman
authors there is to be found an abundance of material
which, even if some of it must be accepted with caution,
furnishes us with ample means for laying down the
broad outlines of the history of Egypt from the Twenty-
sixth Dynasty until its close.

The national historian of this period was Manetho,
an Egyptian, who was well acquainted with the Greek
tongue, and was ordered by Ptolemy Philadelphus to
write in that language the history of his native land-
He appears to have been both a scribe and a high-
priest, and thoroughly well versed in the language and
literature of his country, as the monuments often afford
confirmation of many of his statements. If only the Book
of Manetho were yet extant, the writing of a history of
Ancient Egypt would be, comparatively speaking, a-
light task ; but the manuscript itself perished, along
with other priceless documents, in the burning of the
great library at Alexandria. All that is left of it are-
the Lists of the Kings, and some fragments which are;