there was little left of the ancient Egyptian splendour; threatened by Persian expansionism, at that time no pharaoh possessed sufficient strength to prevent not only its borders from being crossed but even the loss of some points of his own territory. The Assyrians had already conquered the country in the late 7th century BCE, and the Egyptian army had proven itself no match for the superior weapons and tactics of the Mesopotamian forces. [2], According to Herodotus, another motivation that solidified Cambyses's expedition into Egypt was Phanes of Halicarnassus. Related Content This was the age of the Egyptian Empire during which its borders expanded and treasury filled. Bibliography Web. 21 Jul 2022. Memphis fell, then. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. This time is characterized by a lack of a strong central government, civil war, and social instability although it was not as dark or dismal as early Egyptologists would claim. At first glance it is a bit disconcerting to imagine felines in combat which are not major beasts for example, it is said that Ramesses II had a trained lion who fought beside him in the Battle of Kadesh and there are no lack of similar cases with tigers or leopards and it does not seem that the nails of a cat have enough power to face a warrior. It has been suggested that cats were sacrificed to Bastet in the same way dogs were to Anubis, but this claim has been challenged. The young woman was insulted by this decision - especially since it was a tradition that Egyptian women were not given to foreign kings - and when she arrived at Cambyses II's court, she revealed her true identity. It is the demonic aspect that mainly features in the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead and in medical spells. The period of the New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1570 - c. 1069 BCE) was a time of prosperity and growth in every area of the civilization. Bastet was extremely popular throughout Egypt with both men and women from the 2nd Dynasty (c. 2890 - c. 2670 BCE) onward, with her cult centered at the city of Bubastis from at least the 5th century BCE. Herodotus narrates a curious cause as the trigger of everything: Amasis had sent an Egyptian doctor they were famous all over the world to the court of Cambyses II, but the doctor (probably an ophthalmologist, according to some scholars), resentful of this forced mission, decided to take revenge by sowing tares between the two kings and suggested his new master to ask Pharaoh for the hand of his daughter, aware that the proposal would not please him. According to Herodotus, Cambyses initially behaved with a certain moderation, sparing the son of Psamtik due to feeling "a touch of pity",[6]:54 but later, dissatisfied with his victory and unable to punish the already deceased Amasis for his trickery, decided to commit what Herodotus calls an un-Persian act: he desecrated the tomb of the mummified Amasis and ordered the mummy burned. Psamtik then drank of it and made every other councilman drink their blood before the battles.[2]. Cambyses II had written to Amasis asking for one of his daughters as a wife, but Amasis, not wishing to comply, sent the daughter of his predecessor Apries. The Battle of Pelusium: A Victory Decided by Cats. The Persian king, knowing the veneration the Egyptians held for cats, had the image of Bastet painted on his soldiers' shields and, further, "ranged before his front line dogs, sheep, cats, ibises and whatever other animals the Egyptians hold dear" (Polyaenus VII.9). There would still be a fascinating epilogue collected also by Herodotus: that of the Persian army sent to seize the oasis of Siwa, where the famous Oracle of Amon was located, the same that Alexander the Great would later visit to be invested with mysterious divinity. The Battle of Pelusium: A Victory Decided by Cats, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. The fact is that Herodotus puts the gloomy image of a sea of skulls (according to him, the Egyptians were distinguished by having the hardest skin, the result of their habit of shaving from an early age), while Ctesias details that the Persians caused them fifty thousand casualties for only seven thousand of their own. Of course, there were deeper reasons -economic and political- to initiate the campaign and it was under the reign of Psamtik III when the disaster arrived. This might suggest that the battle took place on the edge of the desert, rather than on cultivated land, although it does seem a long time for the bodies to have remained visible and unburied. Unable to resist the enemys push, Psamtik and the survivors had to turn back in a dramatic retreat -practically a save yourself- and get to safety behind the walls of Pelusium. He suggested that this was because the Egyptians normally shaved their heads, and the sunlight thickened their bones. The young pharaoh, who had only ruled for six months at the time, must have felt confident he could repel any attack. Of course, the Greek historian only picks up the version of the losers. The most common recounting of the events leading to the battle of Pelusium is from Greek historians, particularly Herodotus. Mark, published on 13 June 2017. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Mark, Joshua J.. "The Battle of Pelusium: A Victory Decided by Cats." After the Battle of Pelusium, the Persians would rule Egypt in the 27th and 31st Dynasties and pose a constant threat, even when they were driven out, in the 28th - 30th. As this place is inland, in the middle of the desert, the Cambyses soldiers were surprised by a sandstorm that made them get lost forever. According to Herodotus, an Egyptian physician was requested by Cambyses from Amasis on good terms, to which Amasis complied. He further observes that one must never trust in one's own strength or goodness in battle but instead prepare for any contingency. Amasis, unable to let go of his offspring, and unwilling to start a conflict with the Persians, instead sent an Egyptian girl named Nitetis, who was a daughter of an Egyptian named Apries. Sources: Los nueve libros de la Historia (Herdoto)/The complete fragments of Ctesias of Cnidus: translation and commentary with an introduction (Andrew Nichols)/Stratagems (Polyaenus en Attalus)/The world of Ancient Egypt. Now according to Herodotus, the bitterness between the two empires was sparked when Psammenitus father, Amasis, decided to dupe Cambyses by sending him a wrong woman. ins.style.display='block';ins.style.minWidth=container.attributes.ezaw.value+'px';ins.style.width='100%';ins.style.height=container.attributes.ezah.value+'px';container.appendChild(ins);(adsbygoogle=window.adsbygoogle||[]).push({});window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId,'stat_source_id',44);window.ezoSTPixelAdd(slotId,'adsensetype',1);var lo=new MutationObserver(window.ezaslEvent);lo.observe(document.getElementById(slotId+'-asloaded'),{attributes:true}); Given such propensity for feline symbolization, cats were uniquely sacred in Egypt so much so that the punishment for killing a cat was death by stabbing. ins.dataset.adChannel=cid;if(ffid==2){ins.dataset.fullWidthResponsive='true';} Those Egyptians not killed at Pelusium fled to the safety of Memphis with the Persian army in pursuit. The Egyptians regarded certain animals, especially cats, as being sacred (they had a cat goddess named Bastet), and would not injure them on any account. The mighty Assyrians had tried their luck in 8th century BC, when Sennacherib attempted to conquer Egypt but was supposedly defeated when a swarm of field-mice destroyed Assyrian bows, quivers and shields (according to Herodotus). While this may be sound advice, the refusal of the Egyptians to compromise their beliefs - no matter the cost - is a telling detail in understanding what made their culture so admirable and their civilization among the most impressive. [2] According to Polybius, even with all the precautions taken on entering the border of Egypt, only the city of Gaza resisted the Persians, which fell after a long siege. He then cut them one by one, draining their blood and mixing it with wine. According to Ctesias, fifty thousand Egyptians fell, whereas the entire loss on the Persian side was only seven thousand. However, there is at least one case in which this species was responsible for the capture of a city: the Battle of Pelusium. The fields around were strewn with the bones of the combatants when Herodotus visited. [2] The Egyptians were now besieged in their stronghold of Memphis. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Certain animals, like the cat and dog, did seem to have a special significance, however, due to their association with deities and it was this knowledge of Egyptian culture and values which gave Cambyses II the victory at Pelusium regardless of the youth of his opponent or Egypt's decline as a world power after the New Kingdom. When word of the Persian mobilization reached him, however, he did his best to mount a defense and prepare for battle. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/43/the-battle-of-pelusium-a-victory-decided-by-cats/. Psametik III was therefore left on his own to handle the crisis. What Psametik III did not count on, however, was Cambyses II's cunning. Upon sighting the Persian vessel at the port of Memphis, the Egyptians ran out, attacking the ship and killing every man in it, carrying their torn limbs with them back to the city. Often viewed as the first major battle fought between the burgeoning Achaemenid Empire and Ancient Egypt (still ruled by native Pharoahs), the Battle of Pelusium was surely a decisive conflict before the advent of the Classical Age. But according to fewancient writers, beyond grand strategies and sea-borne armies, the deciding factor in the Battle of Pelusium oddly pertained to cats. Herodotus visited the battlefield about seventy-five years later, and reported that the bones of the dead were still lying in the desert. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/article/43/the-battle-of-pelusium-a-victory-decided-by-cats/. This value is visible everywhere throughout their culture from art to Egyptian religion but is epitomized by the Battle of Pelusium of 525 BCE. September 5, 2015. Phanes was captured in Lycia but outwitted his guards by getting them drunk and escaped to Persia, and assisted the Persian king in all manners of strategy, and was instrumental in shaping his resolve for conquest of Egypt. Egypt became a possession of Persia, and Cambyses its Pharaoh. Map of the Third Intermediate PeriodJeff Dahl (CC BY-SA). The Battle of Pelusium was the first major battle between the Achaemenid Empire and Egypt. It is possible the mummified cats found at Bubastis were pets who had died naturally and were brought to be interred at a sacred spot. This engagement was the decisive clash between the Pharaoh Psametik III (526-525 BCE) and the Persian king Cambyses II (525-522 BCE), resulting in the first Persian conquest of Egypt. Alexander the Great arrived with his armies in 331 BCE and conquered the land, and it was then ruled by a Greek monarchy until annexed by Rome in 30 BCE. Herodotus, however, makes no mention of any such strategy, and "gives hardly any information" about the fighting in general. When the news of the impending battle reached Egypt, Psamtik III (Psammenitus), son and heir of Amasis II, gathered the Egyptian army, stationing it along the fork of the Red Sea and the river Nile. Now interestingly, in spite of the crucial nature of the conflict, much of the information about the battle is only available to us through the writings of ancient authors and historians, namely Herodotus and Polyaenus. (2017, June 13). Except for brief periods, Egypt ceased to be an autonomous nation following the Persian victory. Your email address will not be published. As Herodotus describes a sea of skulls at the Nile basin, upon the remnants of which he remarks on the differences between the Persian and the Egyptian heads. The very fact that he used their values against them in battle attests to this admiration; he knew the Egyptians would respond exactly as they did because they could not do otherwise.