Latest / The Achaemenid Empire: Persia's Golden Age of Power — Fexingo History / Cambyses and the Conquest of Egypt: Persia Takes the Nile
Transcript
- Lucas: When Cyrus the Great died in 530 BCE, his son Cambyses inherited an empire that stretched from Central Asia to the Mediterranean. But there was one wealthy neighbor still standing: Egypt. And Cambyses was determined to add it to the Persian crown. Luna: So he just marched in? Lucas: Not exactly. Egypt was protected by the Sinai desert — a hundred and fifty miles of scorching sand with no water. Any invading army had to either bring its own water or negotiate safe passage with the local Arab tribes who controlled the oases. Lucas: Herodotus tells us that Cambyses made a deal with the Arabian king, sending gifts and securing a guarantee that the Arabs would supply water for the march. Without that, the campaign would have been impossible. Luna: So diplomacy before the sword — even in the desert. Lucas: Exactly. And once the army crossed, they faced the Egyptians at the frontier fortress of Pelusium, near the eastern edge of the Nile Delta. This is where the famous story of the cats comes in. Lucas: Herodotus writes that Cambyses, knowing the Egyptians revered cats, had his soldiers paint or carry images of the goddess Bastet — or even tie live cats to their shields — so the Egyptian archers would hesitate to shoot. Whether it's true or not, it's a great example of psychological warfare. Luna: Did the Egyptians really fall for that? Lucas: We can't be sure — Herodotus might be embellishing. But the battle was a decisive Persian victory. The Egyptian army, led by the Pharaoh Psamtik III, was routed, and Cambyses pushed on to Memphis, the capital. Lucas: Memphis fell after a short siege. Psamtik was captured, and according to some sources, he was later executed after attempting to stir up rebellion. Egypt became a Persian satrapy. Luna: And this is where it gets controversial, right? Cambyses' reputation. Lucas: Right. The Egyptian sources, and later Greek writers, paint Cambyses as a mad king — he supposedly killed the sacred Apis bull with his own hands, plundered temples, and even ordered the destruction of statues. But modern historians are skeptical. Lucas: The Apis bull incident is especially telling. Archaeological evidence shows that the Apis bull that died around 525 BCE was actually buried with full honors in the Serapeum at Saqqara — which suggests Cambyses didn't kill it. The story might have been Persian propaganda to discredit the previous dynasty, or Greek invention. Luna: So the mad king narrative could be a smear campaign. Lucas: Exactly. And if this episode has been worth your time — a coffee, maybe? — you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps us keep the podcast ad-free and diving into these details. Luna: Yeah, honestly, if today's conversation gave you something new, that link is all we ask. Lucas: So back to Egypt. After the conquest, Cambyses established a Persian administration. The first satrap of Egypt was a Persian named Aryandes. The Persians kept many Egyptian officials in place, adopted Egyptian titles like 'Pharaoh,' and even built a temple to the goddess Neith at Sais. Lucas: They also continued the canal project started by the Egyptian king Necho — a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea. This was later completed under Darius the Great and became a vital trade route. Luna: So the Persians were actually building on Egyptian infrastructure, not just looting it. Lucas: Yes. And Cambyses didn't just rule from Persia; he spent three years in Egypt, learning the language and adopting local customs. That's not the behavior of a madman. It's calculated imperial strategy. Lucas: But his reign was short. In 522 BCE, while Cambyses was still in Egypt — or possibly returning to Persia — a usurper named Gaumata seized the throne back home. Cambyses died en route, possibly by suicide or accident, and Darius the Great took over. Luna: And what happened to Egypt after that? Lucas: Egypt remained a Persian satrapy for over a century, but it was never fully pacified. There were revolts, the most famous being the rebellion of Inaros around 460 BCE, which was crushed by the Persian general Megabyzus. Still, the Persians held onto Egypt until the conquest of Alexander the Great. Lucas: One more thing: the Persian conquest of Egypt had huge implications for the rest of the Near East. It brought the Nile valley into the Achaemenid economic network, opened up trade from India to the Mediterranean, and gave Persia control of the eastern Mediterranean seaboard. Luna: So Egypt wasn't just a prize — it was a strategic linchpin. Lucas: Exactly. And that's why Cambyses' campaign, whatever his personal flaws, was one of the most consequential in Persian history. Luna: It's fascinating how much of that history we have to piece together from Greek and Egyptian sources, let alone the Persian perspective. Lucas: It is. The Persians left us inscriptions, of course, but the Egyptian and Greek accounts often contradict each other. Sorting out fact from propaganda is part of the challenge — and the fun. Luna: Maybe we need an episode just on that — how we know what we know about the Achaemenids. Lucas: That might be a good one. But for now, if you want to dive deeper, I'd recommend reading Herodotus's account of the Egyptian campaign — with a grain of salt — and for the Persian side, the Behistun Inscription, which we talked about in an earlier episode.