PSAMTIK III

flourished 6th century BC last king (reigned 526525 BC of the 26th dynasty of Egypt, who failed to block the Persian invasion of 525 and was later executed for treason. The 5th-century-BC Greek historian Herodotus, the primary source for knowledge of the reign, states that in 525 BC, after only six months on the throne, Psamtik confronted a Persian invasion led by King Cambyses II. After the enemy had crossed Sinai with the aid of the Arabs, a bitter battle was fought at Pelusium, a city on Egypt's eastern frontier. The Egyptians with their mercenaries were compelled to withdraw to Memphis, the traditional capital, near Cairo. Cambyses besieged the city and captured it, seizing Psamtik. The former king was initially well treated but he was later executed for conspiracy against the Persians.