Necho II was an Egyptian king of the 26th Dynasty (610–595 BC), who ruled from Sais. Necho undertook many construction projects across his kingdom. In his reign, according to the Greek historian Herodotus, Necho II sent out an expedition of Phoenicians, which in three years sailed from the Red Sea around Africa to the Strait of Gibraltar and back to Egypt. His son, Psammetichus II, upon succession may have removed Necho’s name from monuments.
Necho played a significant role in the histories of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah. Necho II is most likely the pharaoh Necho who was mentioned in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Jeremiah of the Bible. The aim of the second of Necho’s campaigns was Asiatic conquest, to contain the westward advance of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and cut off its trade route across the Euphrates. However, the Egyptians were defeated by the unexpected attack of the Babylonians and were eventually expelled from Syria.
The Egyptologist Donald B. Redford observed that Necho II was “a man of action from the start, and endowed with an imagination perhaps beyond that of his contemporaries. He had the misfortune to foster the impression of being a failure.”
Necho II
Necho II Family Background and Accession
Necho II was a son of Psamtik I. He was the founder of the 26th Dynasty. Growing up in the royal court at Sais, Necho would have received an education in administration, religion, and military command.
His accession appears to have been smooth, reflecting the stability Psamtik I had achieved. Necho inherited a strong state and significant resources, giving him the freedom to pursue ambitious policies.
An imaginary image of Sais city in Egypt
Necho II Lineage and Early Life
Necho II was the son of Psammetichus I by his Great Royal Wife Mehtenweskhet. His prenomen or royal name Wahem-Ib-Re means “Carrying out the Heart Wish of Re.” Upon his ascension, Necho was faced with the chaos created by the raids of the Cimmerians and the Scythians, who had not only ravaged Asia west of the Euphrates but had also helped the Babylonians shatter the Assyrian Empire.
That once mighty empire was now reduced to the troops, officials, and nobles who had gathered around a general holding out at Harran, who had taken the throne name of Ashur-uballit II. Necho attempted to assist this remnant immediately upon his coronation, but the force he sent proved to be too small, and the combined armies were forced to retreat west across the Euphrates.
Royal Ideology and Kingship
Necho II ruled as a traditional Egyptian pharaoh but with an unusually international outlook.
Balance of Tradition and Innovation
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Supported ancient temples and priesthoods
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Honored traditional gods
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Embraced foreign technology and expertise
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Looked beyond Egypt’s borders for opportunity
This blend defined his reign and set him apart from many predecessors.
CalciteVaseWithNameOfNecho
Military campaigns of Necho II
First campaign
In the spring of 609 BC, Necho personally led a sizable force to help the Assyrians. At the head of a large army, consisting mainly of his mercenaries, Necho took the coast route Via Maris into Syria, supported by his Mediterranean fleet along the shore, and proceeded through the low tracts of Philistia and Sharon. At Megiddo (according to 2 Kings 23) he engaged the Judean king, Josiah, and had the Judean king killed (an alternative version, in 2 Chronicles 35, of a battle in Megiddo also exists.)
Herodotus reports the campaign of the pharaoh in his Histories. Necos, then, stopped work on the canal and turned to war; some of his triremes were constructed by the northern sea, and some in the Arabian Gulf (Red Sea), by the coast of the Sea of Erythrias. The windlasses for beaching the ships can still be seen. He deployed these ships as needed, while he also engaged in a pitched battle at Magdolos with the Syrians, and conquered them; and after this he took Cadytis (Kadesh), which is a great city of Syria. He sent the clothes he had worn in these battles to the Branchidae of Miletus and dedicated them to Apollo.
Necho presently seized Kadesh on the Orontes and advanced, and joined Ashur-uballit and they crossed the Euphrates, and besieged Harran. Even though he did not succeed in capturing Harran and withdrew to northern Syria, Necho was the first pharaoh to cross the Euphrates since Thutmose III. At this stage, Ashur-uballit simply disappeared into history and the Assyrian Empire was captured by the Babylonians.
Leaving a sizable force behind, Necho returned to Egypt. On his return march, he found that the Judeans had selected Jehoahaz to succeed his father Josiah, whom Necho deposed and replaced with Jehoiakim. He brought Jehoahaz back to Egypt as his prisoner, where Jehoahaz ended his days.
The Battle of Megiddo
Battle of Megiddo
In 609 BCE, Necho’s army clashed with the forces of the Kingdom of Judah at Megiddo. The Judean king Josiah was killed, a moment recorded in biblical tradition and Near Eastern history.
Despite this victory, Necho’s larger campaign would soon face greater challenges.
Second campaign
The Babylonian king was strategizing on regaining his control in Syria. Kumukh was captured, and then it cut off the Egyptian army based at Carchemish in the year 609 BC by King Nabopolassar. The next year, Necho took back Kumukh following a four-month siege and killed the Babylonian forces. Another army was collected by Nabopolassar who camped at Qurumati on the Euphrates. But the ill health of Nabopolassar compelled him to go back to Babylon in 605 BC. In turn, in 606 BC the Egyptians invaded the leaderless Babylonians (who likely reigned by the crown prince Nebuchadnezzar by that time) who had abandoned the office.
At this point, the aged Nabopolassar passed command of the army to his son Nebuchadnezzar II, who led them to a decisive victory over the Egyptians at Carchemish in 605 BC, and pursued the fleeing survivors to Hamath. Necho’s dream of restoring the Egyptian Empire in the Middle East as had occurred under the New Kingdom was destroyed as Nebuchadnezzar conquered Egyptian territory from the Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt down to Judea.
Although Nebuchadnezzar spent many years in his new conquests on continuous pacification campaigns, Necho was unable to recover any significant part of his lost territories. For example, when Ashkalon rose in revolt, despite repeated pleas the Egyptians sent no help, and were barely able to repel a Babylonian attack on their eastern border in 601 BC. When he repelled the Babylonian attack, Necho managed to capture Gaza while pursuing the enemy. Necho turned his attention in his remaining years to forging relationships with new allies: the Carians and further to the west, the Greeks.
Defeat at Carchemish
Battle of Carchemish
Necho II’s ambitions reached their limit at the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE.
There, Egyptian forces were decisively defeated by the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar II. This defeat ended Egypt’s influence in the Near East and marked a turning point in regional power.
Consequences of the Defeat
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Loss of Egyptian control in Syria-Palestine
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Strengthening of Babylonian dominance
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End of Egyptian land-based expansion
After Carchemish, Egypt retreated from major continental ambitions.
The Battle of Carchemish
Ambitious projects of Necho II
- At some point during his Syrian campaign, Necho II initiated but never completed the ambitious project of cutting a navigable canal from the Pelusiac branch of the Nile to the Red Sea. Necho’s Canal was the earliest precursor of the Suez Canal. It was in connection with a new activity that Necho founded a new city of Per-Temu Tjeku which translates as ‘The House of Atum of Tjeku’ at the site now known as Tell el-Maskhuta, about 15 km west of Ismailia. The waterway was intended to facilitate trade between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
- Necho also formed an Egyptian navy by recruiting displaced Ionian Greeks. This was an unprecedented act by the pharaoh since most Egyptians had traditionally harboured an inherent distaste for and fear of the sea. The navy that Necho created operated along both the Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts. Necho II constructed warships, including questionably triremes.
The Canal of Necho II
Perhaps Necho II’s most famous project was his attempt to dig a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea. It is a precursor to the modern Suez Canal.
The Canal Project
The canal aimed to:
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Connect the Nile Delta to the Red Sea
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Facilitate trade with Arabia and East Africa
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Bypass dangerous overland routes
Ancient sources state that thousands of workers were involved, and the project advanced significantly before being halted.
Why It Was Stopped
According to tradition, Necho abandoned the project after warnings that it might benefit foreign powers. Practical challenges and human cost may also have played a role.
Despite this, the canal concept endured and was later completed under Persian and Ptolemaic rulers.
Phoenician expedition during Necho II Regin
At some point between 610 and before 594 BC, Necho reputedly commissioned an expedition of Phoenicians, who it is said in three years sailed from the Red Sea around Africa back to the mouth of the Nile; and would thereby be the first completion of the Cape Route.
Necho II’s Death and Succession
Necho II died in 595 BC and was succeeded by his son, Psamtik II, as the next pharaoh of Egypt. Psamtik II, however, apparently removed Necho’s name from almost all of his father’s monuments for unknown reasons. However, some scholars, such as Roberto Gozzoli, express doubt that this actually happened, arguing that the evidence for this is fragmentary and rather contradictory.
Statue of Psamtik II
