laitimes

In the 6th century BC, the ancient Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Dynasty, rose on the Iranian plateau. In 522 BC, the Persian king Cambyses II led an army to invade Egypt, and the Persian army invaded Egypt

author:Jiuding Hyun

In the 6th century BC, the ancient Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Dynasty, rose on the Iranian plateau. In 522 BC, the Persian king Cambyses II invaded Egypt with an army, and the Persian army defeated the Egyptian army on the border. The entire Egyptian army collapsed, and Persia won a complete victory. But at this time, something strange happened. Several Persian warriors, who were originally strong, suddenly fell to the ground and convulsed, foaming at the mouth, and then became unconscious. This sudden change made many people feel very terrified, thinking that it was a curse from the Egyptian pharaoh to punish the Persian army for attacking Egypt. But the proud Persian king did not take this matter to heart, but was ambitious and decided to continue the expedition.

In 525 BC, the Persian Empire invaded North Africa and occupied the weakened kingdom of ancient Egypt, in 517 BC, the Persian Empire conquered northwestern India, and in 513 BC, the Persian Empire crossed the Bosphorus and invaded Europe and occupied the Kingdom of Macedonia. So far, after about forty years of expansion, the Persian Empire has successfully established the first super-empire in human history to span three continents: Europe, Asia and Africa.

In 526 BC, the Persian king Cambyses I launched an attack on Egypt, but he failed to defeat Egypt. However, Cambyses II, after taking over the throne, launched another attack on Egypt, and this time he used the cat as a "strategic weapon", which is rare both at the time and in modern times.

The reason Cambyses II chose to use cats as weapons has to do with his understanding of Egyptian culture. The goddess of war in Egyptian mythology, Best, is the head of the cat and the goddess representing the moon. The ancient Egyptians treated cats as sacred animals and revered them very much, so if they were used as weapons, it was possible to confuse and scare off the Egyptian army. Cambyses II brought hundreds of cats to the battlefield, had soldiers tie cats to the front of their shields, and had his troops march forward, with the aim of making the Egyptian army incomprehensible and at the same time frightened and confused.

In 530 BC, Cyrus II, the great monarch who founded the Persian Empire, died, and his eldest son, Cambyses, inherited his father's business and became known as Cambyses II. However, unlike Cyrus's character and the policy of rule, his short reign can be said to be very brutal, far from the benevolent king, for Persia, his most significant achievements can only be regarded as inheriting his father's ambition to conquer, achieving the conquest of Egypt, becoming pharaoh, subjecting Cyrenaica and Libya, further expanding the empire, and taking over the divine symbol of royal power from the Babylonian priests to become the legitimate king of Babylon.

Cambyses received rigorous training as a crown prince from an early age, he followed his father on the crusade to the west, learned the practical skills of marching and fighting wars and the experience of governing the country, he admired his father Cyrus very much, eager to make achievements and expand the territory, so he was waiting for the opportunity to attack the once powerful Egypt.

The two major civilizations of the Two Rivers Civilization and Ancient Egypt were devastated and destroyed by the Persian Empire, the ancient Indian civilization was also invaded, and three of the four ancient civilizations were severely damaged by the Persian Empire, and the Persians created the most glorious highlight moment in their history. The rise of the Persian Empire also marked the end of the era of ancient civilization in the process of world history, and the arrival of the era of classical civilization in world history.

The Persians ruled Egypt for exploitation, not for Egypt's own development and construction, which was the fundamental reason why the Persians faced much resistance to their rule in Egypt. The Ptolemaic dynasty fully absorbed this lesson and deeply built and managed the Egyptian economy. The Ptolemaic dynasty took the Egyptian land under its own ownership, strengthened water conservancy construction, vigorously developed agricultural land, especially the Fayoum area, which not only solved the problem of the resettlement and pay of retired soldiers and mercenaries, but also developed the Egyptian economy. The Ptolemaic dynasty also adopted a monopoly and monopoly system for Egyptian industry, commerce and finance, introduced coinage and banks familiar to the Greeks into Egypt, adopted a series of measures to promote the development of Egyptian trade, and redistributed those taxes in kind and currency collected from agriculture, industry and commerce for royal expenses, military salaries, and various domestic construction.

The Persian rule in Egypt lasted for more than 130 years, which had a multifaceted impact on Egyptian society and history. First, the rule of the Persians caused to some extent changes in the traditional social structure and cultural identity of ancient Egypt. It should be emphasized here that this change is only to a certain extent, and by no means a radical change. Because the Persians simply imposed their own rule on the traditional Egyptian social structure, affecting the political and social organization at the central level, and did not touch the other systems of the Egyptian Nome level and the social structure below it.

Bibliography:

1 Cook, J.M. (1983). Persian Empire. New York: Shawken Books.

   2. Fry, R.N. (1984). History of ancient Iran. Mu Nihei: C.H. Baker.

  3. Curtis, J. (ed.). (2007). The Rise of Islam: A Reader. London: Saatchi Books.

In the 6th century BC, the ancient Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Dynasty, rose on the Iranian plateau. In 522 BC, the Persian king Cambyses II led an army to invade Egypt, and the Persian army invaded Egypt
In the 6th century BC, the ancient Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Dynasty, rose on the Iranian plateau. In 522 BC, the Persian king Cambyses II led an army to invade Egypt, and the Persian army invaded Egypt
In the 6th century BC, the ancient Persian Empire, the Achaemenid Dynasty, rose on the Iranian plateau. In 522 BC, the Persian king Cambyses II led an army to invade Egypt, and the Persian army invaded Egypt

Read on