king Psamtek I (original) (raw)

King of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty

Between 664 and 657 Psamtek I eliminated local rulers in Lower Egypt (Twenty-third Dynasty), ended the authority of the Napatan kings at Thebes (Twenty-fifth Dynasty) and thereby reunified Egypt. At the start of his reign he seems to have been governor of Egypt for the Assyrian kings: as their power collapsed in Asia, he became de facto independent ruler in Egypt.

Horus name: Aaib Nebty name: Neba Golden Falcon name: Qenu Prenomen: Wahibre Nomen: Psamtek	Burial place: Sais

Attestations in the Petrie Museum:

UC 40317 (Petrie 1935: no. 574)

click on the images to see a larger picture

| | UC 14734 (fragment of the king's sarcophagus?) | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | |

Further Attestations:

Neit temple at Sais (Arnold 1999: 71)
Atum temple at Sais (Arnold 1999: 71)
Second temple at Tell el-Balamun (Arnold 1999: 71)
Colonnaded building at Tanis (Arnold 1999: 71)
Temple building at Hermopolis Parva (Arnold 1999: 71)
Blocks found at Elephantine (Junge 1987: 67)
Building work at Elkab (El Kab 1940: pl. 13-16)
Block from Koptos (Lyon 2000: 74, no. 38)
Establishing a defensive line of fortresses at the eastern and western Delta border (Arnold 1999: 70)

Bibliography:

Arnold 1999 70-74 (on the building activity of the king)
Herodotus II, 151-157 (the Greek historian is, though not always very reliable, one of the main sources for the history of the Late Period)
Kitchen 1986: 400-408 � 360-370
Mysliwiec 2000: 110-117
Petrie 1905: 325-334 (list of sources then known)