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Necho II's Red Sea Canal Project

Type Event Region Africa Time c. -610

Around 610 BCE, Egyptian pharaoh Necho II launched a dredging and reconstruction project for a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea, attempting to rest…

Timeline

  1. c. -610Near Bubastis (start of a Nile distributary) · Nile DeltaNecho II conscripted large numbers of laborers to dig a canal from the Nile side toward the Red Sea, intending to connect the two bodies of water for merchant ships to travel between.
  2. c. -610–-609Isthmus of Suez · EgyptAccording to classical sources, the project was forced to halt due to construction difficulties and unfavorable oracles, never achieving a full connection, though some canal sections may have remained as a reference for later generations.

Sources