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| Egyptian & Greek Sources about Nectanebo I | Egyptian Sources about Ramses III |
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Some Background Information of the Times Sources for Ramses III: 1. The Great Inscription of the Second Court at Medinet Habu, 2. Relief Scenes of the Second Court and Outside the North Wall, 3. The Papyrus Harris. Sources for Nectanebo I: None were found. |
| 1. |
The deeds of Pharaoh Nectanebo I are only known from the writings of the Greek Historian Diodorus. Since his time is assigned from 380-363 BC, a period after the close of the Old Testament and before the New Testament (the Bible provides no information on the history of its people from about 450 BC to 4 BC), we find no references to Nectanebo in its pages. The only Hebrew historical sources for the inter-testamental period are the Apogryphical books and some religious, Jewish authors none of which deal with the history of the early 4th century BC. The last of the Old Testament books include those of Esra, Nehemia and Malachi, and so we read: "... I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord ..."[Malachi 4:5] Some 450 years later we read: "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea in the days of Herod the king ..."[Matthew 2:1] During these 450 years no books were written which were included in the canon of holy scriptures for various good reasons. | 1. |
There are no written sources of foreign origin which mention Ramses III. We believe that is the case because he has been misplaced on the BC time scale by many centuries and was known to non-Egyptian writers under a different name. "Year 5 under the majesty of Horus: Mighty Bull ... Usermare Mariamon ... King Ramses III ..."[James Breasted, `Records', Vol. IV, Sec. 37, 38] In conventional chronology Ramses III reigned for 32 years from about 1182-1151 BC. In revised view Nectanebo I/Ramses III reigned from 379-361 and Achoris/Setnakht from 393-380 BC. Nectanebo I/Ramses III usurped the regnal years of his predecessor and so we have again 393-361=32 years. That Ramses III belongs into Persian times may also be deduced from a relief picture at Medinet Habu which is patterned quite like a Persian image. Who copied whom, Ramses the Persians or the Persians Ramses after he was dead already for some 750 years? In Egypt itself he constructed a porch at Philae showing the figure of Isis with graffiti text in Greek alphabet included. In the tomb of the third prophet of Amun (TT148) a scene is dated to Ramses III 27th year and one of his titles is what amounts in modern terms to be like a `general of the generals', a title very unusual for the 12th century but not so unusual for the 4th century BC. |
| Comparing Achoris and Setnakht |
| The Deeds of the King and the Enemies of Egypt |
| 3. |
Again there is no Egyptian information on these Libyan wars from the time of Nectanebo I/Nekhtnebef since the history of these wars is already written up by Ramses III and by the Greek authors who referred to Egyptian kings only by their own, invented, Greek names and so we read:"... The multitude of his [Nectanebo's] monuments might leave the impression of unbroken peace and prosperity; the oldest parts of Philae were built by him; at Edfu he was remembered as the donor of much land to the temple of Horus; a great stela at Ashmunên (Hermopolis Magna) records extensive additions to the temples of the goddess Nehmet`away, of the primeval Ogdoad, and of the twice-great Thoth himself; and a finely inscribed inscription from Naucratis commemorates the imposition of a 10% duty on imports to that town and on goods manufactured in it, the proceeds to be devoted to the enrichment of the goddess Neith of Sais."[Gardiner, `Egypt of the Pharaohs', p. 375; Keep in mind in revised view Nectanebo I was Ramses III and Nekhtnebef was working for the Persian satrap Arsames.] There are no records of this Nekhtnebef which would lead one to conclude that he was a seated pharaoh. All the deeds of Nekhtnebef are well within the duties and privileges of a highly placed Persia oriented official, levying tax rates and supporting religious institutions in order to placate the expectations of the priests and public. A good example just recently discovered is the stela of Naucratis found in 2001 AD dealing with just such an announcement of a new tax to be collected. The point we want to underscore is the fact that in all images and stela of Nekhtnebef he is shown in a worshipful attitude, not as the leader of an army. He is shown that way because he never was a king who led armies to war or fought battles and that is why we say in the beginning of this file that `no sources for Nectanebo I were found' for what was found relates to Nekhtnebef the conventional shoe in for Nectanebo I. | 3. |
While conventional chronology made Setnakht the first king of the 20th Dynasty, just ahead of Ramses III, and has Acoris precede Nectanebo I, we suggest that the 20th Dynasty was the same as the 30th Dynasty and there is no difference between these kings. No doubt the Egyptian problem with the enemies from the direction of Libya had something to do with the Tehenu or people from Cyrenaica, the same people Merneptah had to deal with many years before. We read: "Behold, I will inform you of other things, done in Egypt since my reign. The Libyans and the Meshwesh were dwelling in Egypt, having plundered the cities of the western shore, from Memphis to Kerben. They had reached the great river [probably the Canopic branch of the Nile] on both its banks. They it was who plundered the cities of Egwowe during very many years, while they were in Egypt." [Breasted, Vol. IV, Sec. 405] These many years of plundering clearly include the time of Setnakht. There is therefore every reason to think that Setnakht tried whatever he could to counter the threat. However, that nothing is said about the outright use of military actions by the predecessor of Ramses III probably indicates that none or no significant military actions took place during his reign which had a decisive impact on the problem of these foreigners in Egypt. That is probably very well in keeping with the information of Diodorus about Acoris. A more recently translated stele from Setnakht's reign may contain some tacit information. We read: "[Live] the Majesty of Horus 'Mighty Bull, Great of Power', … Lord of the Two Lands, Son of Re, Lord of Diadems, Seti-nakht-meriamun … His Majesty is like his father Seth, who spreads out both his arms to cleanse Egypt by [expelling] those who [assail] him, having his strength as his protector. [The enemies fall] before him, because the fear of him has seized their hearts. They flee back [like little birds] when the falcon is behind them. They drop silver, gold, [(and) copper - the possessions of] Egypt, which they, [as princi]pals of Egypt, desired to give to those Asiatics in order to persuade the foreign warriors to come to them in haste. Their [hostile] intentions turned out to be without success and their threats were not fulfilled." The translation of this inscription inserts terms like "... expelling ... the possessions of Egypt ... as principals of Egypt". The impression one gets from this description is that these `enemies' had been living among the Egyptian natives, they were not members of a just then arriving enemy raiding party. We believe such `enemies' in the midst of Egypt fit the Persian period better than any other. The attribution of Setnakht as `saviour' of Egypt in the Papyrus Harris fits only a very serious threat to the existence of the `nation of Egypt', a threat lasting many years which does not fit Assyrian times whose war actions against Egypt were not long lasting but sporadic |
| The Outcome of the Libyan Efforts |
| 4. | The Lybian threat was overshadowed by the Persian and we hear nothing further about it from the reign of Acoris or the conventional Nectanebo I/Nekhtnebef. | 4. |
All we are told is that Setnakht `slew the rebels that were in the land of Egypt.' But the Medinet Habu reliefs show Egyptian soldiers, supported by soldiers wearing feathered crowns and horned helmets which were Persians and Greeks. We think that the artists of Ramses III may have detailed here a scene from the reign of his predecessor the effects of which lasted into his own time. Persian forces could support Egypt because earlier on, during the time of the satrap Arsames and perhaps into that of Tissaphernes or an associate of his, the supreme Persian king still received income from Egypt. As soon as that dwindled, Persia took action against their vassal state. The Libyan wars also occupied Ramses III in his earlier years. The Medinet Habu reliefs show that he was supported in this land war by mercenary archers and swordsmen, the `Peleset' and `Denyens' and not `Sherden' as claimed by Breasted for they appear in the same typical uniforms as in later events. |
The Sequence of the Wars from Egyptian Sources
 The layout shows that the order of the war images, if looked at from right to left goes from Ramses' 5th year to his 8th year and 11th year. His 5th year represents 5 scenes from the Libyan War. His 8th year has 7 scenes from his Sea War and his 11th year shows 5 scenes from the Libyan and 5 scenes from the Amorite War. If this lay out intends to convey chronological sequence is not entirely clear however, since in the interior the order of these same events is somewhat different. Other factors like size of artistic layout may have determined where scenes would be carved. |
| Pharaoh's Allies |
| 5. |
Even though at first the allies of Egypt against the Libyans included the Persians and the Greeks, later only the Greeks supported the king and later still he fought alone against them all. During the time of the Athenian general Chabrias in Cyprus and Egypt, just before he was recalled, his troops supported the Egyptians against newly arriving Persian troops in a land war. This war is usually dated between 386-383 BC and "Chabrias, without first securing permission by the Athenian people, took command of the forces in Egypt ...". | 5. |
The records of Ramses III reflect in relief pictures the changing of sides of the mercenary forces Ramses had been dealing with. But in and after each battle scene the glory goes only to Pharaoh, never are his allies given credit in the texts, they only show up in the relief engravings. Among the accompanying members of the soldiers wearing `feather crowns' we notice ox carts about which Herodotus wrote from Persian campaigns during his life time: "They (the Persians) were accompanied, moreover, by covered carriages containing their women and servants, all elaborately fitted out."[Herodotus, Bk. VII, Sec. 83] Such carts can also be seen on coins minted in Sidon in the days of the Persian general Pharnabazus. [Sir G.F. Hill, `Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Phoenicia', (London, 1910), Plates XIX, 5, and others.] |
| The Course of the Battle against the Peoples of the Sea according to Diodorus |
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31. .. Such was the organization [ of the Lacedaemonians (Spartans) and the Athenians against each other], and King Agesilaus was put in command of the campaign. He was renowned for courage and shrewdness in the art of war and had been all but invincible in the former periods. For in all his wars he won admiration and especially when the Lacedemonians were fighting the Persians. For he gave battle and won the victory over the force of many times his own number; then he overran a large part of Asia, mastering the open country, and finally would probably have succeeded, had not the Spartans recalled him because of political affairs, in reducing the whole Persian empire to the direst straits. For he was a man of energy, daring but highly intelligent, engaging in hazardous actions. Accordingly the Spartans, seeing the magnitude of the war called for a first-rate leader, again appointed him commander of the whole war. This is to show why the King of Egypt hired Agesilaus to help him against the Persians. 32. Agesilaus led forth his army and reached Boetia accompanied by all the soldiers, amounting to more than eighteen thousand, in which were the five divisions of Lacedemonians. Each division contained five hundred men. The company known as Sciritae amongst the Spartans is not drawn up with the rest, but has its own station with the king and it goes to the support of the sections that from time to time are in distress; and since it is composed of picked men, it is an important factor in turning the scale in pitched battles, and generally determines the victory. Agesilaus also had fifteen hundred cavalry. ... 38. When Hippodamas was archon at Athens, the Romans elected four military tribunes with consular power, Lucius Valerius, Lucius Manlius, Servius Sulpicius, and Lucretius. During their term of office Artaxerxes, King of the Persians, intending to make war on the Egyptians and being busily engaged in organizing a considerable mercenary army decided to effect a settlement of the wars going on in Greece. For by this means he particularly hoped that the Greeks, once released from their domestic wars, would be more ready to accept mercenary service. Accordingly he sent ambassadors to Greece to urge the cities to enter into a general peace by agreement. The Greeks welcomed his proposal because they wearied of the uninterrupted series of wars, and all agreed to make peace on the condition that all the cities should be independent and free from foreign garrisons. 41. When Socratides was archon at Athens [374 BC], the Romans elected four military tribunes with consular power, Quintus Servilius, Servius Cornelius, and Spurius Papirius. During their term of office King Artaxerxes sent an expedition against the Egyptians, who had revolted from Persia. The leaders of the army were Pharnabazus, commanding the barbarian [Greek writers regularly called the Persians barbarians, meaning foreigners] contingent, and Iphicrates the Athenian, commanding the mercenaries, who numbered twenty thousand. Iphicrates, who had been summoned for the campaign by the King, was given the assignment because of his strategic skill. After Pharnabazus had wasted several years making his preparations, Iphicrates, perceiving that though in talk he was clever, he was sluggish in action, frankly told him that he marveled that anyone so quick in speech could be so dilatory in action. Pharnabazus replied that it was because he was master of his words but the King was master of his actions. When the Persian army had assembled at Ace it numbered two hundred thousand barbarians under the command of Pharnabazus and twenty thousand Greek mercenaries led by Iphicrates. The triremes numbered three hundred and the thirty oared vessels two hundred. The number of those conveying food and other supplies was great. At the beginning of the summer the King's generals broke camp with the entire army, and accompanied by the fleet sailing along the coast proceeded to Egypt. When they came near the Nile they found that the Egyptians had manifestly completed their preparations for the war. For Pharnabazus marched slowly and had given plenty of time for the enemy to prepare. Indeed it is the usual custom for the Persian commanders, not being independent in the general conduct of war, to refer all matters to the King and await his replies concerning every detail. 42. The Egyptian king Nectanebus (I) learned the size of the Persian armies, but was emboldened, chiefly by the strength of the country, for Egypt is extremely difficult to approach, and secondly by the fact that all points of invasion from land or sea had been carefully blocked. For the Nile empties into the Egyptian Sea by the seven mouths,(1) and at each mouth a city had been established along with great towers on each bank of the stream and a wooden bridge commanding its entrance. He especially fortified the Pelusiae mouth because it is the first to be encountered by those approaching from Syria and seemed to be the most likely route of the enemy approach. He dug channels connecting with this, fortified the entrances for ships at the most suitable points, and inundated the approaches by land while blocking the sea approaches by embankments. Accordingly it was not easy either for the ships to sail in, or for the cavalry to draw near, or for the infantry to approach. Pharnabazus' staff, finding the Pelusiae mouth so remarkably fortified and guarded by a multitude of soldiers, rejected utterly the plan of forcing a way through it and decided to make the invasion by ship through another mouth. Accordingly they voyaged on the open sea so that the ships should not be sighted by the enemy, and sailed in by the mouth known as Mendesian, which had a beach stretching over a considerable space. Landing here with three thousand men, Pharnabazus and Iphicrates pushed forward to the walled stronghold at the mouth. The Egyptians rushed out with three thousand horse and infantry, and a sharp battle ensued, but many men from their ships came to increase the number of the Persians, until finally the Egyptians were surrounded, many slain, and not a few captured alive; and the rest were driven in confusion into the city. Iphicrates men dashed in with the defenders inside the walls, took possession of the fortress, razed it, and enslaved the inhabitants. 43. After this, discord set in amongst the commanders, causing the failure of the enterprise. For Iphicrates, learning from the captives that Memphis,(2) the most strategically situated of the Egyptian cities, was undefended, advised sailing immediately up to Memphis before the Egyptian forces arrived there, but Pharnabazus thought they should await the entire Persian force; for in this way the campaign against Memphis would be less dangerous. When Iphicrates demanded that he be given the mercenaries that were on hand and promised if he had them to capture the city, Pharnabazus became suspicious of his boldness and his courage for fear lest he take possession of Egypt for himself. Accordingly when Pharnabazus would not yield, Iphicrates protested that if they let slip the exact moment of opportunity, they would make the whole campaign a failure. Some generals indeed bore a grudge against him and were attempting to fasten unfair charges upon ... Meanwhile the Egyptians, having had plenty of time to recuperate, first sent an adequate garrison into Memphis, and then, proceeding with all their forces against the ravaged stronghold at the Mendesian mouth of the Nile and being now at a great advantage owing to the strength of their position, fought constant engagements with the enemy. With ever increasing strength they slew many Persians and gained confidence against them. As the campaign about this stronghold dragged on, and the Adhesion winds had already set in, the Nile, which was filling up and flooding(3) the whole region with the abundance of its waters, made Egypt daily more secure. (Navy battles taking place here.) The Persian commanders, as this state of affairs constantly operated against them, decided to withdraw from Egypt. Consequently, on their way back to Asia, when a disagreement arose between him and Pharnabazus, Iphicrates, suspecting that he might be arrested and punished as Conon(4) the Athenian had been, decided to flee secretly from the camp. Accordingly, having secured a ship covertly got away at night and reached port at Athens. Pharnabazus dispatched ambassadors to Athens and accused Iphicrates of being responsible for the failure to capture Egypt. The Athenians however replied, to the Persians that if they detected him in wrongdoing they would punish him as he deserved, and shortly afterwards appointed Iphicrates general in command of their fleet. 44. It will not be out of place to set forth what I have learned about the remarkable character of Iphicrates. For he is reported to have possessed shrewdness in command and to have enjoyed an exceptional natural genius for every kind of useful invention. Hence we are told, after he had acquired his long experience of military operations in the Persian War (374/73 BC), he devised many improvements in the tools of war, devoting himself especially to the matter of arms. For instance, the Greeks were using shields which were large and consequently difficult to handle; these he discarded and made small ovale ones of moderate size, thus successfully achieving both objects, to furnish the body with adequate cover and to enable the user of the small shield, on account of its lightness, to be completly free in his movements. After a trial of the new shield its easy manipulation secured its adoption, and the infantry who had formerly been called "hoplites" because of their heavy shield, then had their name changed to "peltasts"from the light pelta they carried. As regards spears and swords, he made changes in the contrary direction: namely, he increased the length of the spears by half, and made the swords almost twice as long. These changes are reflected in the relief carvings of Ramses III at Medinet Habu. While the Greeks are shown with small size targets, the Egyptians and the Persians have larger size targets. We may see Greek soldiers using both, shorter and longer swords. [See drawings in N.K.Sanders, `The Sea Peoples', (London, 1978), p. 127.] 90. When Molon was archon in Athens, in Rome there were elected as consuls Lucius Genucius and Quintus Servilius. During their term of office the inhabitants of the Asiatic coast revolted from Persia, and some of the satraps and generals rising in insurrection made war on Artaxerxes.(5) At the same time Tachos the Egyptian king decided to fight the Persians and prepared ships and gathered infantry forces. Having procured many mercenaries from the Greek cities, he persuaded the Lacedaemonians likewise to fight with him, for the Spartans were estranged from Artaxerxes because of the Messenians had been included by the king on the same terms as the other Greeks in the general peace. 92. ....... In Egypt king Tachos, having completed his preparations for the war, now had two hundred triremes expensively adorned, ten thousand chosen mercenaries from Greece, and besides these eighty thousand Egyptian infantry. He gave the command of the mercenaries to the Spartan Agesilaus,(6) who had been dispatched by the Lacedaemonians with a thousand hoplites to fight as an ally, being a man capable of leading troops and highly regarded for his courage and for his shrewdness in the art of war. The command of the naval contingent he had entrusted to Chabrias the Athenian, who had not been sent officially by his country, but had been privately prevailed upon by the king to join the expedition. The king himself, having command of the Egyptians and being general of the whole army, gave no heed to the advice of Agesilaus to remain in Egypt and conduct the war through the agency of his generals, though the advice was sound. In fact when the armament had gone far afield and was encamped near Phoenicia, the general left in charge of Egypt revolted from the king, and having thereupon sent word to his son Nectanebos prevailed upon him to take the kingship in Egypt, and thereby kindled a great war. For Nectanebos (II), who had been appointed by the king commander of the soldiers from Egypt and had been sent from Phoenicia to besiege the cities in Syria, after approving of his father's designs, solicited the officers with bribes and the common soldiers with promises, and so prevailed upon them to be his accomplices. At last Egypt was seized by the insurgents, and Tachos, panic stricken, made bold to go up to the King by way of Arabia and beg forgiveness for his past errors. Artaxerxes not only cleared him of the charges against him but even appointed him general in the war against Egypt. 93. Shortly after, the King of Persia died, having ruled 43 years, and Artaxerxes III, who now assumed a new name, Artaxerxes Ochus, succeeded to the kingdom and ruled 23 years; ...... When King Tachos had returned to the army of Agesilaus, Nectanebos, who had collected more than a hundred thousand men, came against Tachos and challenged him to fight a battle for the kingship. Now Agesilaus, observing that the king was terrified and lacked the courage to risk a battle, bade him take heart.... Afterwards Tachos easily recovered the Egyptian kingship, and Agesilaus, as the one who had single-handed restored his kingdom, was honored with appropriate gifts. On his way back to his native land by way of Cyrene Agesilaus died, and his body packed in honey was conveyed to Sparta where he received kingly burial and honor." Why are no triremes shown in the Egyptian carvings? No doubt that was due to the highlighted portion were it speaks of the defenses used to protect the entrances to the Nile and its shores. There were barriers and/or shallow water, making it difficult or impossible to maneuver triremes which need space to be effective. Other recommended reading: George Rawlinson, `History of Ancient Egypt', (New York, 19xx) Reading the chapter on Ramses III in his book one gets the feeling of reading Diodorus even though Rawlinson had no intention of sounding that way. |
| Pharaoh's Army Wins the War |
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"Lo, the northern countries, which are in their isles, are restless in their limbs; they infest the ways of the harbour mouths. Their nostrils and their hearts cease breathing breath, when his majesty goes forth like a storm-wind against them, fighting upon the strand (beach) like a warrior. ... His arrows pierce whomsoever he will among them, and he who is hit falls into the water. ... He has laid low the lands, he has crushed every land beneath his feet ..." [Breasted, `Records', Vol. IV, Sec. 75] "The foe had allied himself against Egypt ... They disregarded the beauty of this god [namely Ramses himself] who slays the invader of Egypt, saying .... `We shall settle in Egypt'. So spake they with one accord, and they continually entered the boundaries of Egypt. Then was prepared for them death ... The land re[joices] and exalts at the sight of his valor, the Lord of the Two Lands, Ramses III. Every ... is in his hand as far as the [southern] towns, as well as the northern marshes. .... fire, strong-armed, hurtling flame ..." [Ibid. Sec. 86, 89, 90] |
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