This page needs to be proofread.
CHAPTER XIV.
Psammetichus and the Saite Dynasty—The Persian Conquest—Last Independent Dynasties. (666-340 B.C.)
After the capture and sack of Thebes, the
successors of Tirhakah made no further attempts
to recover their lost dominion. The princes
who ruled in the north, more or less as the
vassals of Assyria, were often engaged in
mutual strife, and the twenty satrapies established
there by Esar-haddon had dwindled
down to twelve—the 'Dodecarchy,' of Greek
writers. Bravest and most conspicuous amongst
the twelve princes was Psamtek (Psammetichus),
son of that Necho who had been imprisoned
and restored by Assur-bani-pal[1] (p.260).
Banished by the jealousy of his rivals, Psammetichus[2]
determined on a new and energetic*
