Abstract
Recollections of the Babylonian invasion into Egypt under Nebuchadnezzar II in 567 BC were preserved in historical and literary evidence, including the Bible tradition, the Coptic Romance of Cambyses, the historical works by John of Nikiu and Ibn Abd al-Khakam. Some of them tell that after the Babylonian incursion Egypt remained devastated for 40 years and afterwards was somehow restored. At an early stage of its evolution this story might have stated that the Babylonians, whose incursion put to death the king Apries, acted in favour of his counterpart in feud Amasis; his reign was perceived as the “devastation” of Egypt and the subsequent advent of the Persians under Cambyses II as its “restoration”. Probably the earlier version depicted Cambyses as a positive fi gure (cf. the story of Cambyses and the princess Neitetis known in the Classical tradition), and the whole story was forwarded by the partisans of Apries and the opponents of Amasis, who saluted the Persian conquest dismissing his family from power. In due course the story was infl uenced by the anti-Persian trend that grew prevailing both in the Egyptian and the Classical tradition; the negative image of Amasis was eliminated, and the images of Cambyses and Nebuchadnezzar were mingled together. Besides, the story acquired the fl avour of the Egyptian Demotic epic glorifying the Lybian military caste, the probable milieu of Amasis’ opponents bringing the story to life.
Ivan А. Ladynin
Institute of World History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia; Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
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Acknowledgements: Russian Science Foundation, project no. 24-18-00378
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