Psamtik II: The Warrior King of Egypt’s Saite Renaissance

Psamtik II: The Warrior King of Egypt’s Saite Renaissance

Psamtik II was known by the Graeco-Romans as Psammetichus or Psammeticus, and was a king of the Saite-based Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt (595 BC – 589 BC). His prenomen, Nefer-Ib-Re, means “Beautiful is the Heart of Re.” He was the son of Necho II.

Psamtik II ruled Egypt during a short but decisive chapter of the Late Period. Although his reign lasted only about six years, Psamtik II played a crucial role in restoring Egypt’s confidence as an international power. He inherited a stable and prosperous kingdom from his father, Necho II, and used that strength to pursue ambitious military and political goals, especially in the south.

Statue of Psamtik II

Psamtik II is famous for having commanded one of the very last serious Egyptian military campaigns of strength into Nubia, exhibiting the challenge to Egyptian rule extending beyond Attica. His rule saw the revival of a Saite Dynasty in Egypt, trying to entrench an influence in the northeast regions. Psamtik II, a figure somewhat subtitied under rulers like Psamtik I and Amasis II in terms of reign, finds a central place in the study of Egyptian independence in the last few centuries.

Family Background and Accession

Necho II was a ruler who had ambitions of the sea and participation in the politics of the Near East which made his son Psamtik II. Being raised at court, Psamtik II would have had an education of the highest order as pertains to administration, religion, and command of the army.

Succession

This stability allowed him to focus outward rather than on internal consolidation.

Psamtik II Campaigns and Battles

The Nubian Campaign

Psamtik II led a foray into Nubia in 592 BC, marching as far south as the Third or even the Fourth Cataract of the Nile. A contemporary stela at Thebes (Karnak) of the same year tells of a heavy defeat that was meted out to the kingdom of Kush. Another famous example of a graffiti inscribed in Greek on the left leg of the seated colossal statue of Ramesses II on the south side of the entrance to the temple of Abu Simbel states that:

Victory stela of Psamtik II at Kalabsha

When King Psammetichus (Psamtik II) came to Elephantine, this was written by those who sailed with Psammetichus the son of Theocles, and they came beyond Kerkis as far as the river permits. Others who spoke foreign languages (Greek and Carians alike who carved their names on the monument) were under the leadership of Potasimto, the Egyptians under Amasis. Kerkis was located near the Fifth Cataract of the Nile “which stood well within the Cushite Kingdom.”

However, this was clearly the first occasion when Egypt fought directly against Nubia since the time of the pharaoh Tantamami-a Mon Nubian contender revived the power of the Napata Kingdom through the reign of Anlamani. The campaign of Psamtik II was clearly motivated as an essential offensive against the lines of thinking conceived regarding the outright conquest of Egypt.

Such an agenda necessitated that mighty Egypt would have to land over the capital Napata, and in continuous battles, they finally managed to crush Napata along with its capital and other remarkable landmarks while looting temples and tearing royal Kush-frameworks-of-stones up. The capital city was taken down; under the relatively peculiar reign of King Aspelta, for Kush’s kings had seldom allowed their quarters to be overrun, chiefly for being unbuilt. King Aspelta was the younger brother of Anlamani and the son of Senkamanisken.

Results of Psamtik’s Capaign

• As a result of Psamtik’s campaign, Kush’s power was weakened, and it lost the opportunity of regaining control of Egypt as it was intending. Instead, the Nubian rulers decided to shift their capital further south from Napata to the relative safety of Meroë although most Historians agree that this wasn’t the only reason. Curiously, however, Psamtik II does not appear to have capitalized on his victory, possibly because of a lack of troops after the fierce battle. His troops retreated to the First Cataract, and Elephantine continued to be the southern border of Egypt.
• An outcome of this campaign was the deliberate destruction of monuments belonging to the 25th Dynasty Kushite kings in Egypt “by hacking out their names and the emblems of royalty from their statues and reliefs.”
• Later, in 591 BC, during the fourth year of his reign, Psamtik II launched an expedition into Palestine “to foment a general Levantine revolt against the Babylonians” that involved, among others, Zedekiah of the Kingdom of Judah. Or according to Dan’el Kahn, “592 B.C. seems to be the date of the military reconquest of the Levant by Psammetichus II.

Psamtik II Monuments

• Psamtik II was both a dynamic warrior pharaoh as well as a prolific builder in his brief 6-year reign. A significant Saite temple was likely built by Psamtik II and his son Apries at the village of El-Mahalla El-Kubra which lies equidistant from Sebennytos and Behbeit El-Hagar in the Lower Nile Delta.
• Officials from the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt observed “an extraordinary number of pharaonic building elements of granite and turquoise reused in modern buildings” at this site; this discovery was subsequently confirmed by Nestor L’Hôte in 1828 who counted more than 120 granite columns built into this village’s mosque alone.
• A 1.8 metre long fragment of red granite with the name of Psamtik II and a door lintel of Apries were also seen at El-Mahalla El-Kubra.
• Under Psamtik II’s reign, a pair of obelisks more than 21.79 metres high were erected in the temple of Heliopolis; the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus, later had one of the obelisks, today known as the Obelisk of Montecitorio, which had probably been thrown down by the Persian invaders in 525 BC, brought to Rome in 10 BC.

Obelisk of Psamtek II

• Psamtik II also constructed a kiosk on Philae Island. This kiosk today “represents the oldest known monument known on the island” and consisted “of a double row of four columns, which were connected by screen walls.
• Psamtik II was also responsible for founding the Temple-house at Hibis in El-Kharga Oasis for the triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu with significant installations for the cult of Osiris. This 19.5 x 26 metre temple was originally situated on the bank of an ancient lake which has now disappeared and its temple decorations were only completed under the Persian kings Darius I and possibly Darius II. The Hibis temple consisted of a hypostyle hall with two-by-two papyrus capital columns, a hall of offerings, three sanctuaries in the rear section of the temple and a chapel at the side of the sanctuaries for the cult of Psamtik II.

The Temple of Hibis

• A massive sandstone gateway through an outer enclosure wall still stands almost 5 metres tall and was constructed during the Ptolemaic or Roman periods. Many inscriptions and decrees were carved on the gateway on a wide variety of topics such as taxation, inheritance, the court system and the rights of women, with the earliest text dating to 49 AD.
• The Temple of Psamtik II at Hibis was completely preserved until 1832 when its roof and portions of the temple were removed for the construction of an aluminium factory. Only excavation work by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1910-1911 and restorations performed by the Egyptian Antiquities Service arrested its decline. Today, the Hibis temple remains together with the Oracle or Ammoneion of Siwa, as “the best preserved and best-documented temple of the early Egyptian Late Period and is therefore a primary monument to the history of [Egyptian temple] building.”

Religion and Temple Support

Psamtik II supported Egypt’s traditional religious institutions, continuing the Saite policy of temple patronage.

Major Cult Centres

• Karnak

• Memphis

• Sais

An imaginary image of Sais city in Egypt

Temples received donations, restorations, and new inscriptions emphasizing the king’s piety and divine support.

Death and Succession

In 589 BC, Psamtik II passed away and he was replaced by Apries who was his son with Queen Takhut who was one of the Princesses of Athribis. The parents of Menekhubaste, a Priestess of Atum at Heliopolis, and of Ankhnesneferibre, a God’s Wife of Amun who held this powerful office until the complete overthrow of the Persians in 525 BC were also Psamtik and Queen Takhut. In the stela of adoption of Ankhnesneferibre: Year 7, I Akhet day 23 the date of Psamtik II’s death is mentioned.

Apries-FragmentaryStatue

Conclusion

Psamtik II ruled Egypt at a moment when strength still mattered. In a world increasingly dominated by vast empires, he chose action over caution, leading a powerful campaign that reminded Egypt’s rivals of its enduring military capability. His reign reaffirmed national pride, erased the lingering shadow of Nubian domination, and demonstrated that the Saite Dynasty remained a force to be reckoned with. Though brief, Psamtik II’s rule stands as one of the last confident assertions of Egyptian power before the storm of Persian conquest reshaped the ancient world.