The First Persian Pharaoh - Cambyses II - Achaemenid Empire

By the late 6th century BC, Cyrus the Great had established the Achaemenid Empire as the

first major superpower in the Near East. Following Cyrus’ death, his son and successor,

Cambyses II, sought to continue his father’s legacy by mounting an invasion against the

final great power remaining in the region, the kingdom of Egypt.

Cambyses’ talent for warfare led him to dominate his African neighbor and become the first Persian pharaoh of Egypt!

Cambyses II was born the eldest son of Cyrus the Great and Queen

Cassandana during the early 6th century BC. His family belonged to the Achaemenid dynasty,

which made him a descendant of the dynasty’s legendary eponymous founder, King Achaemenes,

who reigned over the Persian city of Anshan during the late 8th century BC.

His father, Cyrus, had formed the First Persian Empire by conquering the lands of the Medes,

the Neo-Babylonians, and the Lydians. This made Cambyses heir to the largest and

most powerful empire in the world.

Both Cyrus and his son carried the royal titles “King of Babylon" and "King of the

Lands” to reinforce the idea that Cambyses was the intended successor to the Persian throne.

The Cyrus Cylinder, which is a small clay artifact that is inscribed all around in

Akkadian cuneiform script, tells of how Cyrus and Cambyses both received blessings from the

supreme Babylonian deity, Marduk, further solidifying their roles as ruler and heir.

According to the 5th-century Greek historian Herodotus, Cambyses went along with Cyrus on his

final campaign in 530 BC but was sent away before his father’s defeat at the hands of Queen Tomyris

and her nomadic Massagetae warriors. As the new king of the Achaemenid Empire,

Cambyses sought to continue his father’s policies and fulfill his vision of incorporating the whole

of the Near East under Persian hegemony by conquering the kingdom of Egypt.

However, according to Herodotus, Cambyses’ primary motivation for invading Egypt was to

get revenge on Pharaoh Amasis II for deceiving him during a marriage arrangement.

Cambyses had requested to wed the pharaoh’s daughter, which the Egyptian ruler accepted,

but fearing that she would become the king’s concubine, Amasis decided to send an

imposter named Nitetis instead, whom Herodotus described as being "tall and beautiful".

Unwilling to take part in the deception, Nitetis immediately revealed her true

identity and the pharaoh’s nefarious plot upon her arrival in Persia.

Cambyses became enraged and quickly began preparing for a full-scale invasion of Egypt.

The king would never get revenge personally because the aging pharaoh

died soon thereafter and was succeeded by his inexperienced son, Psamtik III in 526 BC.

In preparation, Cambyses established Persia’s navy by ordering the construction of 300

trireme warships, which Phoenicians predominantly built and manned.

Phoenicians had a reputation for being masters of the sea and were often hired by foreign

powers for their seafaring abilities. Leveraging his newly commissioned navy,

Cambyses easily subdued the island of Cyprus, which had been under Egyptian

control for nearly a half-century prior. The native Kings of Cyprus were allowed to

continue ruling but had to pay tribute to the Achaemenid Empire from there forward.