The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Psamtik I

(also Psammetichus I), founder and first pharaoh of the 26th (Saitic) Dynasty; ruled Egypt from 663 B.C. to 610 or 609 B.C.

Psamtik initially ruled the city of Sais. With the aid of Greek mercenaries, he drove the Assyrians from Egypt and then overcame opposition from the Theban priesthood to unify the entire country, making Sais his capital. He gave protection to Greek merchants and artisans, who founded the Greek colony of Naucratis during his reign. The growing strength of Babylonia and Media, which posed a potential threat to Egypt, led Psamtik to support Assyria toward the end of his reign.

References in periodicals archive

King Psammetichus I, the first ruler of the 26th Dynasty (664-625 B.C.), later established a garrison of foreign mercenaries to defend the eastern borders of Egypt from invaders.

Dating to the 7th century BC, the foundations unearthed by the archaeologists most likely belonged to Psammetichus I's fortified garrison town.

First excavated in 1886 by the English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, who recognized it as Psammetichus I's camp for Greek mercenaries, the desert site has since been flattened by wind erosion, which left the archaeological remains originally unearthed by Petrie barely visible.

Archaeologists unearth largest fortress in Egypt's eastern Delta

They were first attested during the reign of Psammetichus I and their presence increased constantly.

Because this information can relate to either Psammetichus I or II (in the reign of Psammetichus III, ca.

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty was not in conflict with Kush in the days of Psammetichus I. The first attestation of hostilities between Egypt and Kush after the expulsion of Tanutamun, king of Kush, was in the days of Psammetichus II (Alt 1910: 294-95).

However, as Sauneron and Yoyotte have shown, an undated fragmentary text from Edfu bearing the cartouche of Psammetichus I describes a war in Lower Nubia (Wawat), which proves that relations between Egypt and Kush were not peaceful during Psammetichus I's reign (Sauneron and Yoyotte 1952b: 201; Habachi 1974: 325-26; Kahn 2006: 263-67).

These scholars suggested identifying the psammetichus of the Letter of Aristeas with Psammetichus I and proposed dating the Judean aid to one of two occasions during the reign of this pharaoh (Sauneron and Yoyotte 1952a: 133-35):

Manasseh, King of Judah (697-642), is known to have sent troops to assist Ashurbanipal and Necho I's successor, Psammetichus I, who returned with the Assyrians to Sais.

Psammetichus I was a vassal of Assyria as well and probably returned with the Assyrians after he had earlier fled (([phi][epsilon][upsilon]ov[tau][alpha]) the Kushites (Herodotus, The Histories, II 152).

Even if he did participate in the Assyrian campaign of 664, Ashurbanipal was still the overlord, while Psammetichus I had only just come to power after the death of his father, Necho I, who had died in a battle against Tanutamun, King of Kush, some months earlier (Herodotus, The Histories, II 152).

In 656 at the latest Psammetichus I gained control over Upper Egypt (Kahn 2006: 266).

Judean auxiliaries in Egypt's wars against Kush