Having subdued the mountainous districts east of Egypt, and part of the Arabian peninsula, he fitted out a fleet of war-galleys to scour the Indian seas. The naval engagements sculptured on the walls of Medínet Abú and Karnac fully support the account of these expeditions given by the historians, and show that they were extended to the western coast of Hindost'an. Ethiopia was subdued, and compelled to pay a tribute of ebony, gold, and elephants' teeth. The battle, the victory, the offering of the booty and tribute, are represented on the monuments at Kalabshè, in Lower Núbia. His campaigns in Asia and Europe were equally remarkable. Northward he subdued Syria, Anatólia, and part of Thrace; eastward he is said to have advanced as far as Bac'tria and India. There can, however, be no doubt of his exploits in the neighborhood of Assyria and the Euphrátes; for they are represented on the sculptures of the building called the tomb of Osyman'dyas, but which should rather be called the temple-palace of King Ram'eses.

It is singular that no record of such a conqueror should be found in the Scriptures; for he must have subdued the land of Canaan and Syria, countries which were always coveted by the rulers of Egypt. Mr. Milman very plausibly argues that the conquests of Sesos'tris took place while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, and that this providential arrangement was intended to facilitate the conquest of the promised land. There can, however, be no doubt that some king of Egypt performed many of the exploits attributed to Sesos'tris, though it is very difficult to ascertain the exact period in which he flourished.

The successors of Sesos'tris seem to have sunk into the usual indolence of oriental monarchs. Their history, for nearly three hundred years, presents little more than a catalogue of names, until we come to Sesoúchis, the Shishak of the Holy Scriptures, who was the first monarch of the twenty-second dynasty. In the fifth year of the reign of Rehoboam, the foolish and wicked son of Solomon (B. c. 970), Shishak made war against Palestine, and pillaged Jerusalem. His army consisted of twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and an innumerable body of infantry, consisting not only of Egyptians, but also of Libyans, Ethiopians, and Troglody'tes. His empire consequently extended beyond the bounds of Egypt, and included a large portion of southern and western Africa.

In the next century the Egyptian monarchy declined rapidly, and the country was subjugated by Sab'aco, a foreign conqueror from Ethiopia. The history of the Ethiopian dynasty will be found in the next chapter.

After some time, a priest named Séthos usurped the government, contrary to all precedent. He not only neglected the caste of warriors, but deprived them of their privileges and lands; at which they were so incensed, that they refused to bear arms in his defence. Sennach'erib, king of Assyria, prepared to invade Egypt with a very powerful army, and advanced to Pelúsium (B. c. 713). Séthos, deserted by the military caste, armed the laborers and artificers, and with this undisciplined host marched to meet the invader. A pestilence in the Assyrian camp saved Egypt from ruin, and Sennach'erib returned to meet fresh misfortunes at Jerusalem. When Séthos died, twelve princes, or heads of nomes, shared the kingdom among them; but soon quarrelling about

the limits of their respective principalities, they engaged in mutual war, and drove one of their number, Psammet'ichus, prince of Sáis, into exile. Psammet'ichus levied an army of Greek and Carian mercenaries, most of whom appear to have been pirates; and having overcome all his rivals, once more united all Egypt into a single monarchy, of which Memphis ranked as the capital, though Sáis was usually the seat of government. The intercourse with the nations in the eastern Mediterranean was greatly extended during the reign of Psammet'ichus many Greeks settled in the Egyptian seaports; and a new caste of interpreters and brokers was formed to facilitate commerce. But the patronage of foreigners, and the preference that Psammet'ichus showed for the mercenaries to whom he owed his crown, so disgusted the caste of warriors, that the whole body emigrated from their country, and setttled in Ethiópia (B. c. 650).

SECTION IV.-History of Egypt from the Reign of Psammetichus to its Subjugation by Cambyses.

FROM B.C. 650 TO B.C. 525.

THE accession of Psammet'ichus was followed by a complete revolution in the ancient policy of Egypt; foreign auxiliaries performed the duties of the warrior caste; plans of permanent conquests in Syria succeeded to the predatory expeditions of the ancient Pharaohs; and the political influence of the priesthood rapidly declined, as opinions were imported from abroad, and new institutions rendered necessary by increasing commerce. For several reigns, the great object of Egyptian policy was to obtain possession of the commercial cities of Syria and Phœnícia. Psammet'ichus led the way by laying siege to Azótus, a frontier town of Syria-persevering in successive attacks for twenty-nine years, until he accomplished his object.

Néchus, called in Scripture Pharaoh-Nécho, succeeded his father Psammet'ichus (B.c. 616), and became a powerful prince, both by land and sea. He built fleets in the Mediterranean and the Red seas, and attempted to unite them by cutting a canal across the isthmus of Suez; an enterprise subsequently completed by Daríus Hystáspes.* The increasing strength of the Medes and Babylonians, who had overthrown the ancient empire of Assyria, justly alarmed Nécho. He led an army against the king of Assyria, directing his march toward the Euphrates, but was checked by the interference of Josíah, king of Judah, who tried to prevent him from besieging Car chemish or Circésium, but was defeated and slain.t Nécho, having reached the Euphrátes, captured the important city of Car chemish, or Circésium, which he garrisoned. On his return to Egypt he became master of Jerusalem, led its monarch, Jehoáhaz, away captive, and placed Jehofakim upon the throne.

The Chaldean dynasty in Bab'ylon rose into power on the ruins of

* The navigation of the northern part of the Red sea is so very dangerous that this canal was never of much use. Vessels usually stopped at My'os Hormos, now Cosseir, whence there was a good caravan-road to the Nile.

†2 Chron. xxxv. 21.

the Assyrian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, its mightiest monarch, resolved on the conquest of western Asia; and one of his earliest efforts was the expulsion of the Egyptians from Car'chemish. Nécho tried to check the progress of this formidable opponent; but he was defeated with great slaughter, and stripped of all his possessions in Syria and Judea, to the very walls of Pelúsium. Jeremíah's prophetic description of this important battle has all the minute accuracy of history.*

During his wars in Syria, Nécho did not neglect the improvement of navigation. A Phoenician fleet, equipped at his expense, sailed down the Red sea, passed the straits of Bab-el-Man'deb, and, coasting the African continent, discovered the passage round the Cape of Good Hope, two thousand years before the rediscovery of it by Diaz and Vasco de Gama. The expedition returned to Egypt through the Atlantic ocean, the straits of Gibraltar, and the Mediterranean, after an absence of three years.

During the reign of Psam'mis, the son of Nécho, a remarkable circumstance occurred (B.c. 600), tending to prove the ancient connexion between the institutions of Greece and Egypt, which has been denied by the modern historians of the German school. An embassy was sent from the city of Elis to obtain directions for the management of the Olympic games; and the regulations suggested by the Egyptian priests were implicitly obeyed.

A pries, the Pharaoh-Hoph'ra of Scripture, immediately after his accession (B.c. 594), attacked the Phoenician states, and conquered Sidon. He entered into a close alliance with Zedekíah, king of Judah, promising to aid him in his revolt against Nebuchadnez'zar. A'pries, in fulfilment of his engagement, led an army into Judea, and Nebuchadnez'zar, on receiving intelligence of his approach, broke up the siege of Jerusalem, and hastened to meet him: but the Egyptians were afraid to encounter the Babylonian forces, and retired, without striking a blow, to their own country, leaving their allies to bear the brunt of Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance. For this act of perfidy, God, by the mouth of his prophet Ezekiel,† denounced severe vengeance on the Egyptians and their sovereign. Not less distinct is the prophecy of Jeremiah: "Behold, I will give Pharaoh-Hoph'ra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, his enemy, and that sought his life."

The accomplishment followed close upon the latter prediction. A Grecian colony, established at Cyréne, being strengthened by fresh. bodies of their countrymen, under their third king, Bat'tus the Happy, attacked the neighboring Libyans, and seized their land. An'dican, one of the dispossessed princes, applied for aid to Pharaoh-Hoph'ra, who sent a large army to his relief. The Egyptians were routed with great slaughter by the Cyreneans; and the fugitives, to excuse their defeat, averred that they had been designedly betrayed by their monarch. This calumny was the pretext for a universal revolt. After a long civil war, of which Nebuchadnezzar took advantage to devastate Lower Egypt, A'pries was dethroned by Am'asis, and strangled in prison (B.c. 569).

• Jeremiah xlvi. 1-10. † Ezekiel xxix. 8-15.

Jeremiah xliv. 30.

The usurper was a man of mean birth, but his great abilities enabled him to overcome the Egyptian prejudice of caste, especially as he had the wisdom to conciliate the affection of the priesthood. Following the policy of his predecessors, he tried to establish his supremacy in western Asia, on the decline of the Babylonian power, and entered into close alliance with Cre'sus against Cy'rus. He was defeated, and compellled to become tributary to the conqueror. On the death of Cyrus, he attempted to assert his independence, and thus provoked the rage of Camby'ses, that monarch's successor. At the very moment when the Persian invaders were approaching, Am'asis quarrelled with Phanes, the commander of the Greek mercenaries, and his ally, Poly'crates, the king of Samos, both of whom tendered their aid to Camby'ses. But before the evil hour of the Persian invasion arrived, Am'asis died (B.c. 525), bequeathing to his son Psammen'itus a kingdom torn by internal dissensions, and menaced by a formidable enemy. Scarcely had Psammen'itus ascended the throne, when Camby'ses appeared on the frontiers of Egypt, and laid siege to Pelúsium. This important garrison was taken, after a very weak resistance; and the Persians advanced into the open country. Psammen'itus led an army, chiefly composed of mercenaries, against them; but was so completely overthrown, that he was no longer able to save his capital. Camby'ses, provoked by the murder of one of his ambassadors, put to death the chief of the Egyptian nobles, and reduced their wives and children to slavery. He was at first inclined to spare the life of the unfortunate king; but subsequently learning that he had incautiously expressed a desire for revenge, the cruel conqueror condemned him to drink poison.

Camby'ses was the deadly enemy of the religion and the priestly caste of the Egyptians: he slew their sacred animals, destroyed their idols, scourged their priests as slaves, and pillaged their temples.

The Egyptians, instigated by the heads of the sacerdotal caste, frequently rebelled against the Persians, but were never able to establish their independence; these insurrections were punished with the most relentless severity, and thus the awful prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled to the letter.*

SECTION V.-Egyptian Manufactures and Commerce.

THE monuments show us that the progress of the Egyptians in the mechanical arts was much greater than had been usually supposed, and that an accurate examination of their machinery might suggest useful hints for the present day.

Weaving was an important branch of industry, the cotton and flax being indigenous. It is uncertain whether silk was used. The stuffs were woven in large manufactories, under the superintendence of the priests, who had a monopoly of all the cloths used for sacred purposes, especially for the mummies. These stuffs were generally died in the wool, and many of them embroidered with thread of gold and silver wire; some of them are striped, others stained or flowered, and the

Ezek. xxx. 13-19.

colors of all exhibit those dazzling hues of the East, which we are unable to rival in Europe.

The manufactures in metal rank next in importance. Iron appears to have been but little known: nearly all the implements not made of gold or silver, were, it would seem, either copper or brass. The workmanship of the Egyptians, both in metal and wood, was superior to that of any other ancient nation. The forms of their couches, harps, &c., the elegance of the spindles and work-baskets of the ladies, inspire a high idea of the refinement of their domestic life.

Egypt produced excellent clay for pottery, and earthen ware was used, not only for domestic purposes, but for preserving the mummies of the sacred animals. Their vases, in the indescribable variety and beauty of their shapes, rival the choicest specimens of Grecian or Etruscan art.

Ship-building did not become common in Egypt, until its rulers became masters of the Phoenician forests; but they manufactured vessels of burden for navigating the Nile.

The Thebaïd was the central point of trade between southern Asia and the western regions, and between Ethiopia and northern Africa. Besides the advantages of its position, the most ancient and productive gold mines in the world were in its neighborhood. From Ethiopia and the Negro countries were brought gold, ivory, ebony, skins, and slaves; from Arabia, incense, and from India, spices; and these were sold to the Greek and Phœnician merchants. The native commodities exported were principally corn and cloths: the corn-trade must have been particularly valuable, for Egypt was regarded as the granary of the adjacent countries.