Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt

27
Twenty-seventh Dynasty
525 BC — 404 BC
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The Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt was a foreign dynasty, as Egypt was conquered and its status reduced to that of a province of the Persian Empire.

After defeating Psamtik III at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC and conquering Egypt, Cambyses II took the title of pharaoh and ruled the country as part of the Persian Empire. The Achaemenid kings governed Egypt through satraps, or governors, and often left local administration to Egyptian elites under Persian oversight. Satraps such as Achaemenes, who served under Cambyses, enforced Persian authority while allowing some cultural autonomy. Also known as the First Persian Domination or the First Egyptian Satrapy.

Dynasty 27

The chronological order

It is important to note that the chronological order and dates of the kings is still a matter of debate and should therefore be treated with a certain degree of caution. As new research is conducted, the order may be subject to change, which is a fundamental principle that applies to all Egyptian dynasties.

Table 1: The kings of the Twenty-seventh Dynasty
№ Pharaoh Also known as Dates (BC)
1Cambyses IIKambysos525–522
2Darius IDarius the Great522–486
3Xerxes I486–465
4Artaxerxes I465–424
5Darius II424–405
6Artaxerxes II405–404

The Twenty-seventh Dynasty according to Manetho

The kings largely correspond to the Canon of Kings, which forms the basis of the ancient chronology from 747 BC onwards, to which all other dates are synchronised.

ACCORDING TO AFRICANUS

Twenty-seventh dynasty of eight Persian kings

  1. In the fifth year of his reign over the Persians, Kambyses became king of Egypt,
    ruling for 6 years
  2. Dareios, son of Hystaspes 36 years
  3. Xerxes the Great 21 years
  4. Artabanos 7 months
  5. Artaxerxes 41 years
  6. Xerxes 2 months
  7. Sogdianos 7 months
  8. Dareios, son of Xerxes 19 years
  9. Total 124 years
    4 months
ACCORDING TO EUSEBIOS

Twenty-seventh dynasty of eight Persian kings

  1. In the fifth year of his reign, Kambyses became king of Egypt, ruling for 3 years
  2. Magians7 months
  3. Dareios36 years
  4. Xerxes, son of Dareios 21 years
  5. Artaxerxes Longarm 40 years
  6. Xerxes II 2 months
  7. Sogdianos 7 months
  8. Dareios, son of Xerxes 19 years
  9. Total 120 years
    4 months
ARMENIAN TRANSLATION

Twenty-seventh dynasty of eight Persian kings

  1. Kambisēs in the 5th year of his reign, ruled the Egyptians for 3 years
  2. the Magi 7 months
  3. Darius 36 years
  4. Xerxes the son of Dareios, 21 years
  5. Artašēs 40 years
  6. Xerxes II 2 months
  7. Sogdianos 7 months
  8. Darius the son of Xerxes, 19 years
  9. In total 120 years
    and 4 months