Assyrian conquest of Egypt: Difference between revisions

|date= circa 673-663673–663 BCE

|result=Assyrian military conquest of the Nile valleyEgypt over a period of about 10 years. Later, continued influence under the [[Twenty-Sixthsixth Dynasty]] of Egypt]]

|place= Nile Valley[[Egypt]]

The '''Assyrian conquest of Egypt''' covered a relatively short period of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] from 673 BCE to 663 BCE. The conquest of Egypt not only placed a land of great cultural prestige under Assyrian rule but also brought the Neo-Assyrian Empire to its greatest extent.{{Sfn|Frahm|2017|p=187}}

The [[Egyptians]] and [[Kushite Kingdom of Kush|Kushites]] had begun agitating peoples within the [[Assyrian empire]] in an attempt to gain a foothold in the region.<ref name="JE66">{{cite book |last1=Elayi |first1=Josette |title=Sennacherib, King of Assyria |date=2018 |publisher=SBL Press |isbn=978-0-88414-318-5 |pages=66–67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVNtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66 |language=en}}</ref> As a result, in 701 BCE, [[Hezekiah]] of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], Lule king of [[Sidon]], Sidka, king of [[Ashkelon|Ascalon]] and the king of [[Ekron]] formed an alliance with Egypt against Assyria. The Neo-Assyrian ruler [[Sennacherib]] (705–681 BC) attacked the rebels, conquering Ascalon, Sidon and Ekron and defeating the Egyptians and driving them from the region. He marched toward [[Jerusalem]], destroying 46 towns and villages (including the heavily defended city of [[Lachish]]) in his path. This is graphically described in [[Isaiah]] 10; exactly what happened next is unclear (the Bible says an angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers at Jerusalem after Hezekiah prayed in the temple).<ref>II Kings 18–19</ref> There are various theories (Taharqa's army,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rescue of Jerusalem|date=2002|publisher=Soho Press, Inc.|isbn=1-56947-275-0|location=New York, NY|pages=x, 127, 129-130129–130, 139–152|last1=Aubin|first1=Henry T.}}</ref> disease, divine intervention, Hezekiah's surrender, Herodotus' mice theory) as to why the Assyrians failed to take Jerusalem and withdrew to Assyria.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rescue of Jerusalem|date=2002|publisher=Soho Press, Inc.|isbn=1-56947-275-0|location=New York, NY|pages=x, 119|last1=Aubin|first1=Henry T.}}</ref> Sennacherib's account says Judah paid him tribute and he left.<ref name="JE66"/>

In 681 BCE, Sennacherib was murdered while praying to the god [[Nisroch]] by one or more of his own sons (allegedly named Adremelech, Abimlech, and Sharezer), perhaps as retribution for his destruction of Babylon.<ref>{{cite book |title=Esther's revenge at Susa |first=Stephanie |last=Dalley |authorlink=Stephanie Dalley |pages=63–66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tRY39cGC_K8C&pg=PA63 |isbn=9780199216635 |date=2007-11-29|publisher=OUP Oxford }}</ref><ref>According to 2 Kings 19:37, while praying to the god [[Nisroch]], he was killed by two of his sons, [[Adramalech]], and [[Sharezer]], and both of these sons subsequently fled to [[Urartu]]; this is repeated in Isaiah 37:38 and alluded to in 2 Chronicles 32:21.</ref>

[[Esarhaddon]] (ruled 681–669 BCE), the son of Sennacherib, led several campaigns against [[Taharqa]] of Egypt, which he recorded on several monuments. His first attack in 677 BCE, aimed at pacifying [[Arab]] tribes around the [[Dead Sea]], led him as far as the [[Brook of Egypt]].

[[Esarhaddon]] then raided Egypt in 673 BCE. This invasion, which only a few Assyrian sources discuss, ended in what some scholars have assumed was possibly one of Assyria's worst defeats.'''{{Sfn|Ephʿal|2005|p=99}}''' Taharqa and his army defeated the Assyrians outright in 674 BC, according to Babylonian records.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Rescue of Jerusalem|date=2002|publisher=Soho Press, Inc.|isbn=1-56947-275-0|location=New York, NY|pages=x, 158-161158–161|last1=Aubin|first1=Henry T.}}</ref> The Egyptians had for years sponsored rebels and dissenters in Assyria and Esarhaddon had hoped to storm Egypt and take this rival out in one fell swoop.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Because Esarhaddon had marched his army at great speed, the Assyrians were exhausted once they arrived outside the Egyptian-controlled city of [[Ashkelon]], where they were defeated by the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Kushite]] [[Pharaoh]] [[Taharqa]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}} Following this defeat, Esarhaddon abandoned his plan to conquer Egypt for the moment and withdrew back to Nineveh.'''{{Sfn|Mark|2014|p=}}'''

{{quoteblockquote|When Esarhaddon marched to Egypt, a temple of cedar wood was erected at Harran. There, the god [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]] was enthroned on a wooden column, two crowns on his head, and standing in front of him was the god [[Nuska]]. Esarhaddon entered and placed the crowns onto his head, and the following was proclaimed: 'You shall go forth and conquer the world!' And he went and conquered Egypt.{{Sfn|Radner|2003|p=171}}}}

{{quoteblockquote|I slew multitudes of his ''[e.g. Taharqa's]'' men and I smote him five times with the point of my javelin, with wounds from which there were no recovery. Memphis, his royal city, in half a day, with mines, tunnels, assaults, I besieged, I captured, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. His queen, his harem, Ushanahuru, his heir, and the rest of his sons and daughters, his property and his goods, his horses, his cattle, his sheep, in countless numbers, I carried off to Assyria. The root of Kush I tore up out of Egypt and not one therein escaped to submit to me. Over all of Egypt I appointed anew kings, viceroys, governors, commandants, overseers and scribes. Offerings and fixed dues I established for Assur and the great gods for all time; my royal tribute and tax, yearly without ceasing, I imposed upon them.<br>I had a stele made with my name inscribed thereon and on it I caused it to be written the glory and valor of Assur, my lord, my mighty deeds, how I went to and from the protection of Assur, my lord, and the might of my conquering hand. For the gaze of all my foes, to the end of days, I set it up.|[[Victory stele of Esarhaddon]]{{Sfn|Luckenbill|1927|p=227}}}}

Upon the Assyrian king's departure, however, Taharqa intrigued in the affairs of [[Lower Egypt]], and fanned numerous revolts. In 669 BC, Taharqa reoccupied Memphis, as well as the Delta, and recommenced intrigues with the king of Tyre.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Welsby |first1=Derek A. |title=The Kingdom of Kush |date=1996 |publisher=British Museum Press |location=London, UK |isbn=071410986X |pages=103,107-108 107–108,158-169 158–169 |language=English}}</ref> The Assyrian governors and local puppet rulers Esarhaddon had appointed over Egypt were obliged to flee the restive native populace who yearned for independence now that the Kushites and Nubians had been ejected.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The remains of three colossal statues of Taharqa were found at the entrance of the palace at [[Nineveh]]. These statues were probably brought back as war trophies by [[Esarhaddon]], who also brought back royal hostages and numerous luxury objects from Egypt.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=William Stevenson |last2=Simpson |first2=William Kelly |title=The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt |date=1 January 1998 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-07747-6 |page=235 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJYMRcibM_QC&pg=PA235 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomason |first1=Allison Karmel |title=From Sennacherib's bronzes to Taharqa's feet: Conceptions of the material world at Nineveh |journal=IRAQ |date=2004 |volume=66 |page=155 |doi=10.2307/4200570 |jstor=4200570 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/iraq/article/abs/from-sennacheribs-bronzes-to-taharqas-feet-conceptions-of-the-material-world-at-nineveh/D17D4A6C2CCD658A6B6985EA8D389BC8 |language=en |issn=0021-0889|quote=Related to the subject of entrances to buildings, the final case study that allows insight into conceptions of the material world at Nineveh and in Assyria concerns the statues of the 25th Dynasty Egyptian king Taharqa excavated at the entrance to the arsenal on Nebi Yunus. I have argued elsewhere that Egypt was a site of fascination to the Neo-Assyrian kings, and that its material culture was collected throughout the period.}}</ref>

[[Ashurbanipal]], or "Ashur-bani-apli" (''Ashurbanapli, Asnapper''), succeeded his father [[Esarhaddon]] to the throne. He continued to campaign in and to dominate Egypt, when not distracted by having to deal with pressures from the Medes to the east, and [[Cimmerians]] and [[Scythians]] to the north of Assyria. He installed a native Egyptian Pharaoh, [[Psammetichus I|Psammetichus]], as a vassal king in 664 BCE.

However, after [[Gyges of Lydia]]'s appeal for Assyrian help against the Cimmerians was rejected, [[Lydia]]n mercenaries were sent to Psammetichus. By 656/655 BCE, this vassal king was able to declare outright independence from Assyria with impunity, <ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, 3rd Edition |last= De Mieroop |first= Van|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell |year= 2015 |pages=276}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt/Egypt-from-1075-bce-to-the-Macedonian-invasion#ref306840 |title= The Late period (664–332 BCE)}}</ref> particularly as Ashurbanipal's older brother, Shamash-shum-ukin of Babylon, became infused with Babylonian nationalism, and began a major civil war in that year. However, the new dynasty in Egypt wisely maintained friendly relations with Assyria.

{{quoteblockquote|[[File:Rassam cylinder (BW).jpg|50px|left|Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal]]In my first campaign I marched against Magan, Meluhha, Taharqa ([[File:Tar-qu-u in Neo-Assyrian.jpg|60px]] ''Tar-qu-u''), king of [[Egypt]] ([[File:Rassam cylinder Mu-ṣur.jpg|45px]], ''Mu-ṣur'') and [[Ethiopia]] ([[File:Rassam cylinder Ku-u-si.jpg|60px]] ''Ku-u-si'' "[[Kingdom of Kush|Kush]]"), whom [[Esarhaddon]], king of Assyria, the father who begot me, had defeated, and whose land he brought under his sway. This same Taharqa forgot the might of Ashur, Ishtar and the other great gods, my lords, and put his trust upon his own power. He turned against the kings and regents whom my own father had appointed in Egypt. He entered and took residence in Memphis, the city which my own father had conquered and incorporated into Assyrian territory....|[[Rassam cylinder]] of AssurbanipalAshurbanipal.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pritchard |first1=James B. |title=Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement |date=2016 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-8276-2 |page=294 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UEWWCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA294 |language=en}}</ref>}}

As late as 665 BC, the vassal rulers of Sais, Mendes, and Pelusium were still making overtures to Taharqa in Kush.<ref name=Torok>{{cite book |author=Török, László |title=The Kingdom of Kush: Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic Civilization |publisher=BRILL |location=Leiden |year=1998 |isbn=90-04-10448-8 |pagepages=132-133132–133,170-184 170–184}}</ref> The rebellion was stopped and Ashurbanipal appointed as his vassal ruler in Egypt [[Necho I]], who had been king of the city Sais, and Necho's son [[Psamtik I]], who had been educated at the Assyrian capital of [[Nineveh]] during Esarhaddon's reign.'''{{Sfn|Mark|2009|p=}}''' After his victory, Ashurbanipal left Egypt.

Taharqa died in city of [[Thebes (Egypt)|Thebes]]<ref>''Historical Prism inscription of Ashurbanipal I'' by Arthur Carl Piepkorn page 36. Published by University of Chicago Press [http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/as5.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319214845/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/as5.pdf |date=2012-03-19 }}</ref> in 664 BCE. He was followed by his appointed successor [[Tantamani]], a son of [[Shabaka]], himself succeeded by a son of Taharqa, [[Atlanersa]].<ref>[http://www.nubia2006.uw.edu.pl/nubia/abstract.php?abstract_nr=69&PHPSESSID=472ec4534c78263b6d4a0194e6349d8b Why did Taharqa build his tomb at Nuri?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200711/http://www.nubia2006.uw.edu.pl/nubia/abstract.php?abstract_nr=69&PHPSESSID=472ec4534c78263b6d4a0194e6349d8b |date=2016-03-03 }} Conference of Nubian Studies</ref>

File:Kushite soldiers of Taharqa fighting the Assyrians.jpg|AmouredArmoured Kushite soldiers of Taharqa defending their city from the Assyrian assault

File:Exhibition I am Ashurbanipal king of the world, king of Assyria, British Museum (45973251301).jpg|Nubian prisoners escorted by Assyrian guards out of the Egyptian city.<ref name="Wall panel; relief British Museum">{{cite web|title=Wall panel; relief British Museum|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1856-0909-33|website=The British Museum|language=en}}</ref>

File:Egyptian prisoners, Memphis relief.jpg|thumb|Nubian prisoners.They wear the typical one-feathered headgear of Taharqua's soldiers.<ref>{{cite web|titlename="Wall panel; relief British Museum|url=https:"//www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1856-0909-33|website=The British Museum|language=en}}</ref>

Once the [[Assyria]]ns had appointed [[Necho I]] as king and left Egypt, Tantamani marched down the [[Nile]] from Nubia and reoccupied all of Egypt including Memphis. Necho I, the Assyrians' representative, was killed in Tantamani's campaign.

In reaction, the Assyrians led by [[Ashurbanipal]] returned to Egypt in force. Together with [[Psamtik I]]'s army, which comprised [[Carians|Carian mercenaries]], they fought a pitched battle in north [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], close to the temple of Isis, between the [[Serapeum]] and [[Abusir]]. Tantamani was defeated and fled to Upper Egypt but just 40 days after the battle, Ashurbanipal's army arrived in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]. Tantamani had already left the city for Kipkipi, a location that remains uncertain but might be [[Kom Ombo]], some {{convert|200|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Thebes.{{sfn|Kahn|2006|p=265}} The city itself was conquered "''smashed (as if by) a floodstorm''" and heavily plundered, in the [[Sack of Thebes]].{{sfn|Kahn|2006|p=265}} The event is not mentioned in Egyptian sources but is known from the Assyrian annals,<ref>Robert G. Morkot: ''The Black Pharaohs, Egypt's Nubian Rulers'', London {{ISBN|0948695234}}, p. 296</ref> which report that the inhabitants were deported. The Assyrians took a large booty of gold, silver, precious stones, clothes, horses, fantastic animals, as well as two obelisks covered in electrum weightingweighing 2.500 [[Talent (measurement)|talents]] (c. 75.5 tons, or 166,500 lb):{{sfn|Kahn|2006|p=265}} However, archaeologically, there is no positive evidence of destruction, plunder and major changes in Thebes, with more signs of continuity than of disruption, all the officials remaining in their offices, and development of tombs continuing without interruption.<ref>{{cite journal |url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349251197|title= Assyria in Egypt: How to Trace Defeat Ancient Egyptian Sources|pages=216–217}}</ref>

{{quoteblockquote|This city, the whole of it, I conquered it with the help of Ashur and Ishtar. Silver, gold, precious stones, all the wealth of the palace, rich cloth, precious linen, great horses, supervising men and women, two obelisks of splendid electrum, weighing 2,500 talents, the doors of temples I tore from their bases and carried them off to Assyria. With this weighty booty I left Thebes. Against Egypt and Kush I have lifted my spear and shown my power. With full hands I have returned to Nineveh, in good health.|[[Rassam cylinder]] of Ashurbanipal<ref>Ashurbanipal (auto) biography cylinder, c. 668 BCE; in James B. Pritchard, ed., ''Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement'' (Princeton UP, 1950/1969/2014), 294-95. {{ISBN|9781400882762}}. Translated earlier in John Pentland Mahaffy et al., eds., ''A History of Egypt, vol. 3'' (London: Scribner, 1905), 307. Google Books partial-view: [https://books.google.com/books?id=04VUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307 p.307]; and E. A. Wallis Budge, ''A History of Ethiopia: Volume I, Nubia and Abyssinia'' (London: Taylor & Francis, 1928/2014), 38. {{ISBN|9781317649151}}</ref>}}

{{cquote|text=Just as my servant Isaiah has gone stripped and barefoot for three years, as a sign and portent against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away stripped and barefoot the Egyptian captives and Cushite exiles, young and old, with buttocks bared—to Egypt’sEgypt's shame. Those who trusted in Cush and boasted in Egypt will be dismayed and put to shame.}}

==Egyptian-themed artifacts in Assyria (not of Egyptian origin)==
Various artifacts depicting Egyptian pharaohs, deities or persons have been found in [[Nimrud]], and dated to the Neo-Assyrian period, 9th-7th centuries BCE.<ref>{{cite web|title=Furniture plaque carved in high relief with two Egyptianizing figures flanking a volute tree |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art|url= https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/325564 }}</ref>)==

File:Egypto-Assyrian cylinder seal.jpg|thumb|Egypto-Assyrian cylinder seal, combining the [[Assyrian cuneiform]] script with Egyptian deities.

[[File:Battle of Carchemish.png|thumb|In 605 BCE, a last Egyptian force fought the Babylonians at the [[Battle of Carchemish]], helped by the remnants of the army of the former Assyria, but this too met with defeat.]]

*{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancient.eu/Ashurbanipal/|title=Ashurbanipal|last=Mark|first=Joshua J.|date=2009|website=Ancient History Encyclopedia|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=28 November 2019}}

*{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancient.eu/Esarhaddon/|title=Esarhaddon|last=Mark|first=Joshua J.|date=2014|website=Ancient History Encyclopedia|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=23 November 2019}}

[[Category:Neo-Assyrian Empire|670s BC]]

[[Category:Ancient660s EgyptBC]]

[[Category:Former7th-century empiresBC in Asia|Assyrian Empire, Neoconflicts]]