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Battle of Pelusium

Type Event Region Africa Time -525

In 525 BCE, Persian king Cambyses II defeated Psamtik III, the last pharaoh of Egypt, at Pelusium at the eastern edge of the Nile Delta.…

Timeline

  1. -525Sinai Peninsula · SinaiCambyses II continued his father Cyrus the Great's policy of imperial expansion, leading Persian and vassal troops south from Palestine, crossing the Sinai into Egypt, and confronting the Egyptian army led by Psamtik III on the eastern edge of the delta.
  2. -525Pelusium · Nile DeltaUsing their superiority in archery and cavalry, the Persians routed the main Egyptian force near the fortress of Pelusium. Traditional accounts claim the Persians used cats and other sacred animals to disrupt the Egyptian lines; modern historians doubt this, but the Egyptian defense did collapse at this place.
  3. -525Memphis · Lower EgyptShortly after Psamtik III was captured and died, Cambyses received the symbols of Egyptian kingship at Memphis and established Persian rule over Egypt, which became one of the wealthiest provinces of the Achaemenid Empire.

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