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29th Dynasty Pharaohs

The Pharaohs - The People

Brief History of the 29th Dynasty

 

This 29th Dynasty spanned from 398 to 380 BC and ruled from the capital city of Mendes, founded by Pharaoh Nefaarud I and ended by Pharaoh Nefaarud II who lost the Dynasty, probably due to his young age.

The 29th Dynasty Pharaohs managed to keep strong diplomatic ties with some of the more notable powers of the age, the Spartans and the Greeks, as examples.

Until the Persians rebelled in 385 BC and tried to retake their former vassal state. The future Pharaoh Nectanebo I overthrew Dynasty 29 and setup the last native Egyptian Dynasty, number 30 at Sebennytos.

 

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Pharaoh Nefaarud I

He reigned from 398 to 393 BC after defeating Pharaoh Amyrtaeus, of Dynasty 28, in battle and then had him executed at Memphis whereupon Pharaoh Nefaarud’s I was crowned. Pharaoh Nefaarud I’s background is thought to have originated in Mendes and this is where he sets up his Capital City.

He has several building achievements to his name which include the locations of Memphis, the Saqqara Necropoli, Mendes, Sohag, and Karnak Temple.

Pharaoh looked to involve Egypt once more in international roles and so when the Spartans were looking to fight against the Persians, he supplied the Spartans with 500,000 measures of Grain and material for 100 seaworthy vessels, known as Triremes.

Unluckily for Pharaoh this did not assist with Pharaoh’s presence on the World Stage as the provisions missed the Spartans and were swallowed up by the Persians instead who had just retaken the Island of Rhodes from the Spartans.

He died in 393 BC and his Tomb is thought to have been destroyed by the Persians although fragments from and of his Funerary Area may well have been located. More investigations are being completed before this can be successfully theorised.

Pharaoh Psammuthis

This ruler probably ruled for less than a year between 393-392 BC. He may have usurped the Throne from Pharaoh Hakor and then lost the Throne back into the hands of Pharaoh Hakor. He is known to have built the Apis Stele in the Serapeum in the Saqqara Necropolis and began a Chapel at Karnak Temple which Pharaoh Hakor seems to have taken over again. The haze of history is not helpful for this Pharaoh, his reign, of his reign dates.

 

Pharaoh Hakor

Probably the son of Pharaoh Nefaarud I, it appears that Pharaoh Hakor’s reign was ceased when Pharaoh Psammuthis took the Throne for less than a year, and then began again after Hakor removed him from the Throne, this probably occurred in Pharaoh Hakor’s Regnal Year 2.

In order to cement his reign in legitimacy Pharaoh highlighted his ancestry to Pharaoh Nefaarud I and engaged many builders to undertake projects on his behalf. These included: Barque Chapel for Amun Deity in Karnak Temple, Thebes (click here to learn more); Temple Complex in Saqqara (click here to learn more); Luxor Temple (click here to learn more); Medinet Habu, the Mortuary Temple of Pharaoh Ramses III (click here to learn more); and Elephantine Island (click here to learn more).

Pharaoh Hakor followed previous Pharaoh’s foreign policy and sided with the Athenians against their foe, the Persians. This included many Greeks’ joining the Egyptian Army and Navy as mercenaries and officers, as Egypt still had no monetary system and often paid its foreign employees in gold. This went smoothly for both the Greeks and the Egyptians until the Peace of Antalcidas was rendered their pairing as obsolete in 387 BC. With this peace between Greece and Persia, Egypt stood only with Cyprus in opposing the Persians and their King Artaxerxes II.

The Persians were now free to turn their attention to Egypt and in 385 BC they attacked and tried to retake their old vassal state. They failed and were successfully rebuffed due to the Greek Commander Chabrias of Athens who had a leading role in the Egyptian Army. Once Cyprus fell to the Persians, Pharaoh Hakor made an alliance with Sparta but again this was short lived as he died soon after in 380 BC. He left the Throne to his son Pharaoh Nepherites II.

Pharaoh Nepherites II

This last Pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty reigned for approximately 4 months in the late summer through to the autumn of 380 BC. An Egyptian Military Officer, Kheperkare Nakhtnebef of Sebennytos, began a campaign of disruption which succeeded in ousting Pharaoh from his rule with the support of the Army and potentially the Greek Commander Chabrias of Athens. This was the beginning of Dynasty 30.

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