Psammetichus I
Egyptian names: Wahibra Psamtik I
Successor of: Necho I / Aššurbanipal
Relatives
Main deeds
- 666: Aššurbanipal makes Necho I viceroy of Memphis and Sais; Psammetichus is heir apparent
- 664: Death of the Kushite king Taharqo; his son Tanwetamani attacks Lower Egypt but is repelled near Memphis by Necho, who is killed in action; Psammetichus flees to Assyria, receives support and returns; he pursues Tanutamun and sacks Thebes; Upper Egypt is left to a local strong man named Montuemhat
- c.658?: Coalition with Gyges of Lydia
- Psammetichus employs Greek and Carian mercenaries and achieves military supremacy over the other rulers in Lower Egypt and the Libyan tribes in the west
- 656: Psammetichus' daughter Nitocris is adopted as "god's wife of Amun" in Thebes by the current priestesses with that name, a lady named Shepenwepet II and a sister of the Kushite king Taharqa named Amenirdis II; she is received and recognized by Montuemhat and Ibi; as a result, Psammetichus can unify Egypt
- 651-648: Civil war in Assyria; Egypt slips out of Assyrian control forts are built at Pelusiac and Damietta branches of the Nile, Elephantine, and Marea; according to Herodotus, Psammetichus devoted twenty nine-years to the siege of Ashdod in Palestine and warded off a Scythian invasionnote
- c.620: Psammetichus founds Naucratis, a Greek port of trade in the western Delta (Herodotus calls it "the camps"; there is in fact no evidence that it was a Greek town)
- 616: Egyptian troops support the Assyriansnote
- 612: The Assyrian capital Nineveh captured by the Babylonians and Medes
- 610: Death; Psammetichus is succeeded by his son Necho II
Buildings
- Temples of the creator deities Atum and Neith in Sais
- Temple of Banebdjedet at Mendes
- Temples of Buto, Ptah, the Apis, and the Osiris-Apis at Memphis (the latter is a predecessor of the Serapeum in Saqqara)
- Forts at Tell el-Kedua, Daphnae, Tell el-Balamun
- Retaining walls for the sacred lake of Tanis
- A temple at Hermopolis Parva
- A chapel for Osiris at Karnak (dedicated by Nitocris)
Succeeded by: Necho II