Late Period of ancient Egypt

History of Egypt
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The Late Period of Ancient Egypt refers to the last flowering of native Egyptian rulers after the Third Intermediate Period from the 26th Saite Dynasty into Persian conquests and ended with the conquest by Alexander the Great. It ran from 664 BC until 323 BC.

It is often regarded as the last gasp of a once great culture, where the power of Egypt had diminished.

26th Dynasty

The Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period, lasted from 672 BC to 525 BC. Canal construction from the Nile to the Red Sea began.

27th Dynasty

Main articles: Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt and History of Achaemenid Egypt

The First Achaemenid Period (525 BCE - 404 BCE), this period saw Egypt conquered by an expansive Achaemenid Empire under Cambyses.

28th-30th Dynasties

The Twenty-Eighth Dynasty consisted of a single king, Amyrtaeus, prince of Sais, who rebelled against the Persians. He left no monuments with his name. This dynasty lasted 6 years, from 404 BC to 398 BC.

The Twenty-Ninth Dynasty ruled from Mendes, for the period from 398 BC to 380 BC.

The Thirtieth Dynasty took their art style from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty. A series of three pharaohs ruled from 380 BC until their final defeat in 343 BC led to the re-occupation by the Persians.

31st Dynasty

Main articles: Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt and History of Achaemenid Egypt

There was a Second Achaemenid Period of the Thirty-First Dynasty (343 BC- 332 BC).

References

• Roberto B. Gozzoli: The Writing of History in Ancient Egypt During the First Millennium BC (ca. 1070-180 BC). Trend and Perspectives, London 2006, ISBN 0-9550256-3-X
• Lloyd, Alan B. 2000. "The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw". Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 369-394
• Quirke, Stephen. 1996 "Who were the Pharaohs?", New York: Dover Publications. 71-74