| Battle of Mendes | |||||||
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 Statue of Nectanebo I | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Egypt | Greeks mercenaries | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Nectanebo I | Pharnabazus II | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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The Battle of Pelusium (373 BC) or the Battle of Mendes took place after the Persian king Artaxerxes II launched an attack on Egypt with the aim of restoring Egypt to Persian rule. The campaign failed, and ended with the defeat of the Persians and their Greek mercenaries
In 525 BC, a Persian force led by Cambyses II invaded Egypt. This force was able to enter Memphis, but could not control all of Egypt when Cambyses II sent his forces to occupy Siwa Oasis. This force became known as the Lost Army of Cambyses. Cambyses was also unable to occupy much of Upper Egypt and Nubia. Egypt was full of turmoil and fighting, until an uprising succeeded in 404 BC, led by an Egyptian prince called Amyrtaeus. [1] Amyrtaeus was able to gain independence for Egypt, but Egypt suffered a local rule full of internal problems between the royal princes. Nectanebo I became the first king of the 30th dynasty, after he was able to wrest the rule from the last king of the 29th dynasty (Nepherites II). The Persians viewed Egypt as just a rebellious province of Persia, so they tried to reconquer it several times during the reign of the 29th Dynasty. They tried to invade Egypt and failed twice, in 385 and 383 BC. The Persian King Artaxerxes was aware of the turmoil in Egypt between the royal family, so he planned to invade and restore Egypt. As part of that plan, Artaxerxes concluded a peace treaty with the Athenians. Under this treaty, Egypt became without allies, and the Athenian general Shabrias was summoned in 379 BC.
The Achaemenid concluded a peace treaty with the Athenians in order to leave Egypt without allies and The Persians gathered a large fleet of 500 ships that were collected in Phoenicia and Acre, almost all full of Greek mercenaries [2] and The Persians collected a Huge ground forces consisting of 220,000 soldiers that passed through Gaza [3]
The Persians’ march began during a five-day journey from Gaza to Pelusium (Port Said). The Persians attacked Pelusium, however the Egyptians succeeded in defending it, so the Persians decided to use the Nile branch and rally around them. The Persians and their Greek mercenaries wanted to march towards Memphis and leave Pelusium after they succeeded in entering the country through the Nile branch, but they differed among themselves. This hesitation caused a counterattack by Nectanebo I, taking advantage of the Nile floods, which caused swamps. This hindered the movement of the Persians and their Greeks mercenaries and they were defeated and withdrew in July 373 BC. [4] [5]
This article concerns the period 409 BC – 400 BC.
This article concerns the period 349 BC – 340 BC.
This article concerns the period 389 BC – 380 BC.
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Pharnabazus II was a Persian soldier and statesman, and Satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia. He was the son of Pharnaces II of Phrygia and grandson of Pharnabazus I, and great-grandson of Artabazus I. He and his male ancestors, forming the Pharnacid dynasty, had governed the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia from its headquarters at Dascylium since 478 BC. He married Apama, daughter of Artaxerxes II of Persia, and their son Artabazus also became a satrap of Phrygia. According to some accounts, his granddaughter Barsine may have become Alexander the Great's concubine.
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Nectanebo II was the last native ruler of ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh of the Thirtieth Dynasty, reigning from 358 to 340 BC.
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Nectanebo I was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, founder of the last native dynasty of Egypt, the 30th.
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Djedhor, better known as Teos or Tachos, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 30th Dynasty.
Hakor or Hagar, also known by the hellenized forms Achoris or Hakoris, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty. His reign marks the apex of this feeble and short-lived dynasty, having ruled for 13 years – more than half of its entire duration.
The Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the First Egyptian Satrapy, was a province (Satrapy) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire between 525 BC and 404 BC. It was founded by Cambyses II, the King of Persia, after the Battle of Pelusium and the Achaemenid conquest of Egypt, and his subsequent crowning as Pharaoh of Egypt. It was disestablished upon the rebellion and crowning of Amyrtaeus as Pharaoh. A second period of Achaemenid rule in Egypt occurred under the Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt.
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire, was the ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the largest empire by that point in history, spanning a total of 5.5 million square kilometres. The empire spanned from the Balkans and Egypt in the west, West Asia as the base, the majority of Central Asia to the northeast, and parts of South Asia to the southeast.
The Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the Second Egyptian Satrapy, was effectively a satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire between 343 BC to 332 BC. It was founded by Artaxerxes III, the King of Persia, after his reconquest of Egypt and subsequent crowning as Pharaoh of Egypt, and was disestablished upon the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great.
