Jump to content

Psamtik I

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article containscuneiform script.Without properrendering support,you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbolsinstead of cuneiform script.

Psamtik I[1]
Psammetichus
Bust of Psamtik I, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bust of Psamtik I,Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pharaoh
Reign664–610 BC
PredecessorNecho I
SuccessorNecho II
Royal titulary
Horus name
Aaib
G5
aA
ibZ1
Nebty name
Neba
G16
V30
D36
Golden Horus
Qenu
G8
N29
N35
D40
Prenomen (Praenomen)
Wahibre
"Constant [is the] Heart [of]Ra"[2]
M23L2
rawAHib
Nomen
Psamtik
"The mixed-wine seller"[3]
G39N5
psmT
k
ConsortMehytenweskhet[4]
ChildrenNecho II
Nitocris I
FatherNecho I
MotherQueen Istemabet
Died610 BC
Dynasty26th Dynasty

Wahibre Psamtik I(Ancient Egyptian:Wꜣḥ-jb-Rꜥ Psmṯk) was the first pharaoh of theTwenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt,the Saite period, ruling from the city ofSaisin the Nile delta between 664–610 BC. He was installed byAshurbanipalof theNeo-Assyrian Empire,against the Kushite rulers of theTwenty-fifth Dynasty,but later gained more autonomy as the Assyrian Empire declined.

Name[edit]

The Egyptian namepsmṯk,pronounced asPsamāṯăk,[5]was a short form ofpꜣ-sꜣ-n-mṯk,meaning "the man of Meṯek", with Meṯek presumably a deity.[6]

His name was rendered by the Assyrians asPishamilki(Neo-Assyrian Akkadian:𒁹𒉿𒃻𒈨𒅋𒆠,romanized:Pišamilki[7]), by the Ancient Greeks asPsammētikhos(Ψαμμήτιχος), and by the Romans asPsammētichus.

Psamtik was also calledNabu-shezibanni(Neo-Assyrian Akkadian:𒁹𒀭𒀝𒊺𒍦𒀀𒉌and𒁹𒀭𒉺𒊺𒍦𒀭𒉌[8]Nabu-šezibanni), meaning "ONabu,save me! "[9]by the Assyrians.

Background[edit]

See also:Assyrian conquest of Egypt
Assyrian capture of an Egyptian city from the Kushite PharaohTaharqaorTantamani,possibly Memphis in 663 BCE. British Museum.[10]

In 671 BCE, theAssyriankingEsarhaddoninvaded Egypt.This invasion was directed against theKushiterulers of theTwenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt,who had been in control ofUpper Egypt,rather than against the native Egyptian rulers. The Assyrians created an administration relying on local Egyptian rulers, and put in place the twelve kinglets who formed aDodecarchyruling over theNile Delta.They also formed alliances with the ruler of the city ofSais,Necho I,who was the most powerful of the Delta kinglets, as well as withPakruru,the ruler of the importantnomeofPer-Sopdu.[11]

In 665 BCE, the Kushite kingTantamaniinvaded Lower Egypt again, and Necho I and Pakruru resisted the Kushite attack. Necho I died in battle and his son Psamtik I fled to Syria, while Pakruru became the spokesperson of the Delta kinglets during the peace negotiations with Tantamani atMemphis.[11]

The next year, in 664 BCE, the Assyrians under Esarhaddon's sonAshurbanipalinvaded Egypt again, and the Assyrian army retookMemphis,proceeded with theSack of Thebes,and expelled Tantamani from Egypt. Necho I's son Psamtik I returned to Egypt with this invading force, was installed by the Assyrians as the ruler of Sais and Memphis, and concluded with the Assyrians anadûagreement, some type of superior-inferior relation, but none of the Assyrian sources details the arrangements.[11]

Reign[edit]

For the first two years of his reign, Psamtik I ruled in conformity with the arrangement implemented by the Assyrians in Egypt as one of many vassal kinglets of the Egyptian Dodecarchy. According toHerodotus,during this period, Psamtik unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy by an oracle which promised the kingship of all Egypt to whoever poured a libation from a bronze vessel, after which the other kinglets of the Docecarchy chased him from Memphis, of which he lost the rule, and he had to flee into the swamps of the Nile Delta.[11]

Egyptian ruler Psamtik I during thefall of Ashdodin 635 BCE, illustration by Patrick Gray, 1900.
7th century statue found inKalementioning Psamtik I. TheIonian Greekinscription reads, "Amphimeos' son Pedon brought me from Egypt and gave as a votive; Psammetichos, the king of Egypt gave him a city for his virtue and a golden diadem for his virtue."[12][13]

After being chased from Memphis, Psamtik I received another similar prophecy from the goddessWadjetofButo,who promised him the rule over all Egypt should he employ bronze men from the sea. Beginning in 662 BCE, Psamtik I formed contacts withGyges,the king of the Anatolian kingdom ofLydia,who sent to Egypt theIonianGreekandCarianmercenaries that Psamtik I used to reconquer Memphis and defeat the other kinglets of the Dodecarchy, some of whom fled toLibya.Psamtik I might have been also aided in these military campaigns byArabsfrom theSinai Peninsula.[11]

After having eliminated all his rivals, Psamtik I reorganized these mercenaries and placed them in key garrisons atDaphnaein the East andElephantinein the South to prevent a possible Kushite attack and to control trade.[11]This military aid from Lydia lasted until 658 BCE, at which point Gyges faced an impendingCimmerianinvasion.[14]By Psamtik I's 4th regnal year, he completed the forging of an alliance with the powerful family of the Masters of Shipping fromHeracleopolis,and by his 8th regnal year in 657 BCE, he was in full control of the Delta.[11]

Interpretations of Psamtik I's wars as an alliance between Sais and Lydia against Assyria appear to be inaccurate, despite negative attitudes of the Assyrians towards Gyges's and Psamtik's actions.[11]The Assyrians had risen Sais into preeminence in Egypt after expelling the Saites'Kushiteenemies from the country, but Psamtik I and Ashurbanipal had signed a treaty with each other, and no hostilities between them is recorded. Thus Psamtik I and Ashurbanipal had remained allies ever since the former had been put in power with Assyrian military support. The participation of the Arab tribes of the Sinai, who were Assyrian vassals, further attest to the lack of enmity between Sais and Assyria at this period, and the silence of Assyrian sources concerning Psamtik I's expansion imply there was no hostility, whether overt or covert, between Assyria and Sais during Psamtik I's unification of Egypt under his rule.[14][11]

Likewise, Gyges's military support of Psamtik I was not directed against Assyria and is not mentioned as hostile to Assyria or allied with other countries against Assyria in Assyrian records; the Assyrian disapproval of Gyges's support for Psamtik I was primarily motivated by Gyges's refusal to form an alliance with Assyria and his undertaking of these actions independently of Assyria, which the Assyrians interpreted as an act of arrogance, rather than by the support itself.[14][11]Psamtik I's campaigns were not directed against Assyrian power and appear to have been conducted only against the rival kinglets of the Delta, and Ashurbanipal's disapproval of his actions were motivated not by his claim of kingship over Egypt, but by his revocation of theadûagreement between the two kings, as well as by Psamtik I's elimination of the other kinglets allied to Assyria, especially Pakruru of Per-Sopdu andŠarru-lū-dāri,since Ashurbanipal was aware that he had to rely on those kinglets to maintain Assyrian power in Egypt.[11]

In Psamtik I's 9th regnal year, in 656 BCE, he sent an expedition to the city ofThebeswhich compelled the existingGod's Wife of Amun,Shepenupet II,daughter of the former Kushite PharaohPiye,to adopt his daughterNitocris Ias her heiress in the so-calledAdoption Stela.This was concluded with the approval of the Theban aristocracy and the tacit support ofMentuemhat,who was the Fourth Priest of Amun and the Mayor of Thebes. Psamtik I had unified all of Egypt under his rule.[11]

In 655 and 654 BCE, that is his 10th and 11th regnal years, Psamtik I carried out a war withLibyan tribeswho had seized control of the area from the Oxyrhynchite nome around theBahr Yusseftill theMediterranean Sea,and who had been joined by Psamtik I's previously defeated enemies from his wars in the Delta. Following the successful conclusion of this war, Psamtik I placed an Egyptian garrison atMareato prevent incursions by Libyans from the desert. Thus, by the end of his first decade of rule in 654 BCE, Psamtik I was firmly in control of all Egypt.[11]

According toHerodotus,Psamtik carried out a twenty-nine year siege ofAshdod.[15]The exact dating of this siege is uncertain.[16]

In the later part of Psamtik I's reign, the Neo-Assyrian Empire started unravelling following the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC, leaving a power vacuum in theLevantwhich allowed the Assyrians' formerScythianvassals to overrun the area. Some time between 623 and 616 BCE, the Scythians reached as far south asJudahandEdomuntil Psamtik I met them and convinced them to turn back by offering them gifts.[16]

Following the encounter with the Scythians, Psamtik expanded his military operations through theVia Marisinto the Levant to support the collapsing Assyrian Empire against theMedes,Babylonians,ScythiansandChaldeanswho had revolted against it. Psamtik I's intervention implied that an alliance had already been concluded between him and the Neo-Assyrian Empire, although it is unknown whether it was a new alliance between him and the new Assyrian kingSin-shar-ishkunor a renewal of the old alliance signed when Psamtik I had been enthroned by the Assyrian army as king of Sais in 664 BCE.[16]

Psamtik died in 610 BCE and was succeeded by his son,Necho II.

Investigation into the origin of language[edit]

Legend of the linguistic experiment by Psamtik I.

The Greek historianHerodotusconveyed an anecdote about Psamtik in the second volume of hisHistories(2.2). During his visit to Egypt, Herodotus heard that Psammetichus ( "Psamṯik" ) sought todiscover the origin of language by conducting an experimentwith two children. Allegedly he gave two newborn babies to a shepherd, with the instructions that no one should speak to them, but that the shepherd should feed and care for them while listening to determine their first words. The hypothesis was that the first word would be uttered in the root language of all people. When one of the children cried "βεκός" (bekós) with outstretched arms, the shepherd reported this to Psammetichus, who concluded that the word wasPhrygianbecause that was the sound of the Phrygian word for "bread". Thus, they concluded that thePhrygianswere an older people than the Egyptians, and that Phrygian was the original language of men. There are no other extant sources to verify this story.[17]

Wives[edit]

See also:Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt family tree

Psamtik's chief wife wasMehytenweskhet,the daughter of Harsiese, thevizierof the North and High Priest of Re at Heliopolis. Psamtik and Mehytenweskhet were the parents ofNecho II,Merneith, and the Divine AdoratriceNitocris I.[18]

Psamtik's father-in-law—the aforementioned Harsiese—was married twice: to Sheta, with whom he had a daughter named Naneferheres, and to an unknown woman, by whom he had both Djedkare, who succeeded him as vizier of the North, and Mehytenweskhet.[19]

Discovery of a colossal statue of Psamtik I[edit]

The colossal statue of Psamtik I, discovered at Heliopolis in 2017
Torso of the statue of Psamtik I in the museum garden, 2017.[20]
Reconstruction, with indication of size.[21]

On 9 March 2017, Egyptian and German archaeologists discovered a colossal statue about 7.9 metres (26 ft) in height at theHeliopolissite inCairo.Made ofquartzite,the statue was found in a fragmentary state, with the bust, the lower part of the head and the crown submerged in groundwater.[22]

It has been confirmed to be of Psamtik I due to engravings found that mentioned one of the pharaoh's names on the base of the statue.[23][24][25][26][27]

A spokesperson at the time commented that "If it does belong to this king, then it is the largest statue of theLate Periodthat was ever discovered in Egypt. "[28][29]The head and torso are expected to be moved to theGrand Egyptian Museum.[22]

The statue (colossus) was sculpted in the ancient classical style of 2000 BC, establishing a resurgence to the greatness and prosperity of the classical period of old, and reconstructions bear a strong similarity witha statue of a striding Senusret I(1971-1926 BC), now in the Cairo Museum.[30][31]However, from the many gathered fragments (now 6,400 of them) of quartzite collected, it has also been established that the colossus was at some time deliberately destroyed. Certain discolored & cracked rock fragments show evidence of having been heated to high temperatures then shattered (with cold water), a typical way of destroying ancient colossi.[32]

Gallery[edit]

  • Psamtik I kneeling, Louvre Museum
    Psamtik I kneeling,Louvre Museum
  • Relief of Psamtik I making an offering to Ra-Horakhty (Tomb of Pabasa)
    Relief of Psamtik I making an offering to Ra-Horakhty (Tomb ofPabasa)
  • Slab of Psamtik I. The king kneels and makes offerings to fearsome-looking deities, including a double-headed bull god and a snake. From Alexandria; originally from the temple of Atum at Heliopolis, Egypt. British Museum
    Slab of Psamtik I. The king kneels and makes offerings to fearsome-looking deities, including a double-headed bull god and a snake. From Alexandria; originally from the temple of Atum at Heliopolis, Egypt. British Museum

References[edit]

  1. ^"Psamtek I Wahibre".Digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2011.Retrieved20 November2011.
  2. ^Peter Clayton,Chronicle of the Pharaohs,Thames and Hudson, 1994. p.195
  3. ^Eichler, Ernst (1995).Namenforschung / Name Studies / Les noms propres. 1. Halbband.Walter de Gruyter. p. 847.ISBN3110203421.
  4. ^"Psamtik I".Touregypt.net.Archivedfrom the original on 22 November 2011.Retrieved20 November2011.
  5. ^Ray, J. D. (1990)."The names Psammetichus and Takheta".The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.76:196–199.doi:10.2307/3822031.JSTOR3822031.Retrieved19 August2022.
  6. ^Spiegelberg, Wilhelm(1905)."Die Namen Psammetich und Inaros".Orientalistische Literaturzeitung.8:559–562.Retrieved22 September2022.
  7. ^"Pišamilki [PSAMMETICHUS I, PHARAOH OF EGYPT] (RN)".Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus.University of Pennsylvania.,but the target ORACC page is corrupted. Ashurbanipal Cylinder A iii 28,Ranke, Hermann (1910)."Keilschriftliches Material zum altägyptischen Vokalisation".Abhandlungen der königlich preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaftern, historisch-philologische Klasse.1910, Abhandlungen nicht zur Akademie gehöriger Gelehrter (Abh. II): 1–96.Retrieved21 January2023.,p. 32
  8. ^"Nabu-šezibanni [PSAMMETICHUS OF SAIS, SON OF NECHO] (RN)".Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus.University of Pennsylvania.
  9. ^Dalley, Stephanie(2001). Abusch, Tzvi; Noyes, Carol;Hallo, William W.;Winter, Irene J.(eds.).Proceedings of the XLV Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: Historiography in the Cuneiform World.Vol. 1.Bethesda, Maryland:CDL Press. p. 159.ISBN978-1-883-05367-3.
  10. ^"Wall panel; relief British Museum".The British Museum.
  11. ^abcdefghijklmSpalinger, Anthony (1976)."Psammetichus, King of Egypt: I".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.13:133–147.doi:10.2307/40001126.JSTOR40001126.Retrieved2 November2021.
  12. ^Keesling, Catherine M. (2017).Early Greek Portraiture.Cambridge University Press. p. 116.ISBN978-1-107-16223-5.
  13. ^Smith, Tyler Jo;Plantzos, Dimitris (2018).A Companion to Greek Art.John Wiley & Sons. p. 294.ISBN978-1-119-26681-5.
  14. ^abcSpalinger, Anthony J. (1978)."The Date of the Death of Gyges and Its Historical Implications".Journal of the American Oriental Society.98(4): 400–409.doi:10.2307/599752.JSTOR599752.Retrieved25 October2021.
  15. ^Herodotus,The Histories,section157
  16. ^abcSpalinger, Anthony (1978)."Psammetichus, King of Egypt: II".Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt.15:49–57.doi:10.2307/40000130.JSTOR40000130.Retrieved2 November2021.
  17. ^Herodotus,"2.2.3",Histories,Internet Classics Archive,retrieved18 March2017.
  18. ^Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004.ISBN0-500-05128-3
  19. ^Payraudeau F. Harsiésis, Un Vizir Oublié de L'Époque Libyenne. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 2003;89(1):199-205.doi:10.1177/030751330308900110
  20. ^Magazine, Smithsonian; Trevino, Julissa."4,500 Newly Discovered Fragments Help Piece Together Massive Psamtik I Statue".Smithsonian Magazine.,including a video featuring an analysis of the remains by EgyptologistChris Naunton.
  21. ^Lewis, Nell."Colossal statue of 'forgotten' pharaoh brought to life in 3D images".CNN.
  22. ^ab"Massive Statue of Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Found in City Slum".National Geographic. 10 March 2017. Archived fromthe originalon 11 March 2017.Retrieved12 March2017.
  23. ^Youssef, Nour (17 March 2017)."So Many Pharaohs: A Possible Case of Mistaken Identity in Cairo".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
  24. ^Thompson, Ben (18 March 2017)."Two pharaohs, one statue: A tale of mistaken identity?".Christian Science Monitor.Archivedfrom the original on 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
  25. ^"Egypt Pharaoh statue 'not Ramses II but different ruler'".BBC News. 16 March 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 18 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
  26. ^"Inscription reveals colossus unearthed in Cairo slum not of Ramses II, more likely Pharaoh Psamtek I".Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 16 March 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
  27. ^Bel Trew (17 March 2017)."Statue found in Cairo may be biggest ever from the Late Period".The Times.Archivedfrom the original on 17 March 2017.Retrieved18 March2017.
  28. ^"Egypt Pharaoh statue 'not Ramses II but different ruler".BBC News. 16 March 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2017.Retrieved16 March2017.
  29. ^Hendawi, Hamza."Recently discovered Egyptian statue is not Ramses II".CTVNews.Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2017.Retrieved17 March2017.
  30. ^Magazine, Smithsonian; Trevino, Julissa."4,500 Newly Discovered Fragments Help Piece Together Massive Psamtik I Statue".Smithsonian Magazine.,see video featuring an analysis of the remains by Egyptologist Chris Naunton.
  31. ^Lewis, Nell."Colossal statue of 'forgotten' pharaoh brought to life in 3D images".CNN.
  32. ^Connor, Simon (1 January 2019)."Ashmawy, Aiman, Simon Connor, and Dietrich Raue 2019. Psamtik I in Heliopolis. Egyptian Archaeology 55, 34-39".Egyptian Archaeology:38–39.

Bibliography[edit]

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toPsammetichus I.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Psamtik_I&oldid=1231229200"