care, and made such excellent regulations, that in their opinion, nothing seemed wanting to their perfection, and envy itself could not find any fault with them. However, they did not desire so much to have the opinion as to gair the approbation of the Egyptians, who were looked upon as the wisest and most judicious people in the world.* Accordingly the king assembled the sages of the nation, and after all things had been heard, which could be said in favour of this institution, the Eleans were asked, if the citizens and foreign ers were admitted indifferently to these games; to which answer was made that they were open to every one. To this the Egyptians replied, that the rules of justice would have been most strictly observed, had foreigners only been admitted to these combats; because it was very difficult for the judges in their award of the victory and the prize, not to be prejudiced in favour of their fellow-citizens. APRIES. In Scripture he is called Pharaoh-Hophra; and, succeeding his father Psammis, reigned twenty-five years.† During the first years of his reign, he was as happy as any of his predeces sors. He carried his arms into Cyprus; besieged the city of Sidon by sea and land; took it, and made himself master of all Phoenicia and Palestine. So rapid a success elated his heart to a prodigious degree, and, as Herodotus informs us, swelled him with so much pride and infatuation, that he boasted it was not in the power of the gods themselves to dethrone him; so great war the idea he had formed to himself of the firm establishment of his own power It was with a view to these arrogant conceits, that Ezekiel put the vain air impious words following into his mouth: My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.§ But the true God proved to him afterwards that he han a master, and that he was a mere man; and he had threatened him long before by his prophets, with all the calamities he was resolved to bring upon him, it order to punish him for his pride. Shortly after Hophra had ascended the throne, Zedekiah, king of Judah sent an embassy, and concluded a mutual alliance with him; and the year following, breaking the oath of fidelity which he had taken to the king of Babylon, he rebelled openly against him. Notwithstanding God had so often forbid his people to have recourse to Egypt, or to put any confidence in the people of it, notwithstanding the repeated calamities in which they had been involved for their having relied on the Egyptians, they still thought this nation their most sure refuge in danger, and accordingly could not forbear applying to it. This they had already done in the reign of the holy king Hezekiah; and which gave occasion to "Wo God's message to his people, by the mouth of his prophet Isaiah :¶ to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses and trust in chariots, because they are many; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel neither seek the Lord. The Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, not spirit: when the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they shall fall together." But neither the prophet nor the king were heard; and nothing by the most fatal experience could open their eyes, and make them see evidently the truth of God's threatenings. The Jews behaved in the very same manner on this occasion. Zedekiah notwithstanding all the remonstrances of Jeremiah to the contrary, resolveu to conclude an alliance with the Egyptian monarch, who, puffed up with the success of his arms, and confident that nothing could resist his power, declared himself the protector of Israel, and promised to deliver it from the tyranny of Nebuchodonosor. But God, offended that a mortal had thus dared to intrude himself into his place, expressed his mind to another prophet, as follows: "Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt. Speak and say, Thus saith the *Herod. 1. i. c. 160. Herod 1. ii. c. 161. Diod. I. i. p. C2. †A. M. 3110. Ant. J. C. 594. Jer. xliv. 30. Chap. xxxi. 1. 3 Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws," &c.* God, after comparing him to a reed, which breaks under the man who leans upon it, and wounds his hand, adds,f" Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee and the land of Egypt shall be desolate, and they shall know that I am the Lord; because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it." The same prophet, in several succeeding chapters, continues to foretel the calamities with which Egypt was going to be overwhelmed.‡ Zedekiah was far from giving credit to these predictions. When he heard of the approach of the Egyptian army, and saw Nebuchodonosor raise the siege of Jerusalem, he fancied that his deliverance was completed, and anticipated a triumph. His joy, however, was but of short duration, for the Egyptians, seeing the Chaldeans advancing, did not dare to encounter so numerous and well-disciplined an army. They therefore marched back into their own country, and left the unfortunate Zedekiah exposed to all the dangers of a war in which they themselves had involved him.§ Nebuchodonosor again sat down before Jerusalem, took and burnt it, as Jeremiah had prophesied. Mary years after, the chastisements with which God had threatened Apries (Pharaoh-Hophra) began to fall upon him: for the Cyrenians, a Greek colony which had settled in Africa between Libya and Egypt, having seized upon, and divided among theinselves, a great part of the country belonging to the Libyans, forced these nations, who were thus dispossessed by violence, to throw themselves into the arms of this prince, and implore his protection. Immediately Apries sent a mighty army into Libya, to oppose the Cyrenian Greeks; but this army being entirely defeated and almost cut to pieces, the Egyptians imagined that Apries had sent it into Libya only to get it destroyed, and by that means to attain the power of governing his subjects without check or control. This reflection prompted the Egyptians to throw off the yoke which had been laid on them by their prince, whom they now considered as their enemy. Apries, hearing of the rebellion, despatched Amasis, one of his officers, to suppress it, and force the rebels to return to their allegiance; but the moment Amasis began to address them, they fixed a helmet upon his head, in token of the exalted dignity to which they intended to raise him, and proclaimed him king. Amasis, having accepted the crown, staid with the mutineers, and confirmed them in their rebellion. Apries, more exasperated than ever at this news, sent Paterbemis, another of his great officers, and one of the principal lords of his court, to put Amasis under an arrest, and bring him before him; but Paterbemis, not being able to execute his commands, and bring away the rebel, as he was surrounded with the instruments of his treachery, was treated by Apries at his return in the most ignominious and inhuman manner; for his nose and ears were cut off by the command of that prince, who never considered, that only his want of power had prevented his executing his commission. So barbarous an outrage, committed upon a person of such high distinction, exasperated the Egyptians so much, that the greatest part of them joined the rebels, and the insurrection became general. Apries was now forced to retire into Upper Egypt, where he supported himself some years, during which Amasis enjoyed the rest of his dominions. The troubles which thus distracted Egypt, afforded Nebuchodonosor a favourable opportunity to invade that kingdom; and it was God himself who inspired him with the resolution. This prince, who was the instrument of God's wrath, (though he did not know himself to be so) against a people whom he had resolved to chastise, had just before taken Tyre, where himself Ezek. xxix. 2, 3, 4. † Ezek. xxix. 8, 9. Chap. xxix, xxx, xxxi, xxxii. ii. c. 161, &c. Diod. 1. i. 62. and his army had laboured under incredible difficulties. To recompense their toils, God abandoned Egypt to their arms. It is wonderful to hear the Creator himself revealing his designs on this subject. There are few passages in Scripture more remarkable than this, or which give a clearer idea of the supreme authority which God exercises over all the princes and kingdoms of the earth. "Son of man, (says the Almighty to his prophet Ezekiel,) Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus :* every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled:† yet had he no wages, nor his army, for the service he had served against it. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, behold I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey, and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour, wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God." Says another prophet :§" he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment, and he shall go forth from thence in peace." Thus shall he load himself with booty, and thus cover his own shoulders, and those of his fold, with all the spoils of Egypt. Noble expressions! which show the ease with which all the power and riches of a kingdom are carried away, when God appoints the revolution; and shift like a garment to a new owner, who has no more to do but to take it, and clothe himself with it. The king of Babylon, taking advantage therefore of the intestine divisions which the rebellion of Amasis had occasioned in that kingdom, marched thither at the head of his army. He subdued Egypt from Migdol or Magdol, a town on the frontiers of the kingdom, as far as Syene, in the opposite extremity where it borders on Ethiopia. He made a horrible devastation wherever he came ; killed a great number of the inhabitants, and made such dreadful havoc in the country, that the damage could not be repaired in forty years. Nebuchodonosor, having loaded his army with spoils, and conquered the whole kingdom, came to an accommodation with Amasis; and leaving him as his viceroy there, returned to Babylon. APRIES (Pharaoh-Hophra,)|| now leaving the place where he had concealed himself, advanced towards the sea-coast, probably on the side of Libya; and, hiring an army of Carians, Ionians, and other foreigners, he marched against Amasis, whom he fought near Memphis; but being overcome, Apries was taken prisoner, carried to the city of Sais, and there strangled in his own palace. The Almighty had given, by the mouth of his prophets, an astonishing relation of the several circumstances of this mighty event. It was he who had broken the power of Apries, which was once so formidable; and put the sword into the hand of Nebuchodonosor, in order that he might chastise and humble that haughty prince. "I am (said he) against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms which were strong, but now are broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand. T-But I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and put my sword into his hand.**-And they shall know that I am the Lord."It He enumerates the towns which were to fall a prey to the victors: Pathros,‡‡ Zoan, No, called in the Vulgate, Alexandria, Sin, Aven, Phibeseth, &c.§§ * Ezek. xxix. 19, 19, 20. The baldness of the heads of the Babylonians was owing to the pressure of their helmets; and their peeled shoulders to their carrying baskets of earth, and large pieces of timber, to join Tyre to the conti bent. Baldu 3s was itself a badge of slavery; and, joined to the peeled shoulders, shows that the con queror's army sustained even the most servile labours in this memorable siege. For the better understanding of this passage, we are to know, that Nebuchodonosor sustained incredi ble hardships at the siege of Tyre; and that when the Tyrians saw themselves closely attacked, the no bles conveyed themselves, and their richest effects, on ship board, and retired into other islands. So that, when Nebuchodonosor took the city, he found nothing to recompense his losses, and the troubles he had undergone in this siege.-S. Hieron. Jerem. xliii. 12. Ezek. xxx. 22. Ezek. xxx. 14, 17. Herod. I. ii. c. 163, 169. Diod. 1. i. p. 72. 2 ** Ezek. xxx. 24. I have given the names of these towns as they stand in our English version. In the margin are printagainst Zoan, Tanis; against Sin, Pelusium; against Aven, Heliopolis; against Phibeseth, Pubastur (Bubaste,) and by these last names they are mentioned in the original French of M Rollin VOL. I. 10 G He takes notice particularly of the unhappy end to which the captive king should come. "Thus saith the Lord, behold I will give Pharaoh-Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life."* Lastly, He declares, that during forty years, the Egyptians shall be op pressed with every species of calamity, and be reduced to so deplorable a state, "that there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt." The event verified this prophecy. Soon after the expiration of these forty years, Egypt was made a province of the Persian empire, and has been governed ever since by foreigners. For, since the ruin of the Persian monarchy, it has been subject successively to the Macedonians, the Romans, the Saracens, the Mamelukes, and lastly to the Turks who possess it at this day. God was not less punctual in the accomplishment of his prophecies, with regard to such of his own people as had retired, contrary to his prohibition, into Egypt, after the taking of Jerusalem, and forced Jeremiah along with them. The instant they had reached Egypt, and were arrived at Taphnis, or Tanis, the prophet, after having hid, in their presence, by God's command, stones in a grotto, which was near the king's palace; he declared to them, that Nabuchodonosor should soon arrive in Egypt, and that God would establish his throne in that very place; that this prince would lay waste the whole kingdom, and carry fire and sword into all places; that themselves should fall into the hand of these cruel enemies, when one part of them would be massacred, and the rest led captive to Babylon; that only a very small number should escape the common desolation, and be at last restored to their country. All these prophecies had their accomplishment in the appointed time. AMASIS. After the death of Apries, Amasis became peaceable possessor of Egypt, and reigned over it forty years. He was, according to Plato,|| a native of the city of Sais. As he was but of mean extraction, Le met with no respect, and was contemned by his subjects in the beginning of his reign. He was not insensible of this; but nevertheless thought it his interest to subdue their tempers by an artful carriage, and to win their affection by gentleness and reason. He had a golden cistern, in which himself, and those persons who were admitted to his table, used to wash their feet; he melted it down, and had it cast into a statue, and then exposed the new god to public worship. The people hastened in crowds to pay their adoration to the statue. The king, having assembled the people, informed them of the vile uses to which this statue had once been put, which nevertheless was now the object of their religious prostrations the application was easy, and had the desired success; the people thenceforward paid the king all the respect that is due to majesty. He always used to devote the whole morning to public affairs, in order to receive petitions, give audience, pronounce sentence, and hold his councils :** the rest of the day was given to pleasure; and as Amasis, in hours of diversion, was extremely gay, and seemed to carry his mirth beyond due bounds, his courtiers took the liberty to represent to him the unsuitableness of such a behaviour; when he answered, that it was as impossible for the mind to be always serious and intent upon business, as for a bow to continue always bent. It was this king who obliged the inhabitants of every town to enter their names in a book kept by the magistrates for that purpose, with their profession, and manner of living. Solon inserted this custon among his laws. He built many magnificent temples, especially at Sais, the place of his birth. Herodotus admired especially a chapel there, formed of one single stone, and which was twenty-one cubitstt in front, fourteen in depth, and eight in height; its dimensions within were not quite so large: it had been brought from Jerem. xliv. 30. † Ezek. xxx. 13. Jerem. xliii. xliv. T Herod. 1. ii. c. 172. A. M. 3435. Ant. J. C. 569. ** Herod. l. ii. p. 73. ft The cubit is one foot and almost ten inches.-Vide supra. Elephantina, and two thousand men were employed three years in conveying it along the Nile. Amasis had a great esteem for the Greeks. He granted them large privi leges; and permitted such of them as were desirous of settling in Egypt to live in the city of Naucratis, so famous for its harbour. When the rebuilding of the temple of Delphi, which had been burnt, was debated on, and the expense was computed at three hundred talents,* Amasis furnished the Delphians with a very considerable sum towards discharging their quota, which was the fourth part of the whole charge. He made an alliance with the Cyrenians, and married a wife from among them. He is the only king of Egypt who conquered the island of Cyprus, and made it tributary. Under his reign Pythagoras came into Egypt, being recommended to that monarch by the famous Polycrates, tyrant of Samos, who had contracted a friendship with Amasis, and will be mentioned hereafter. Pythagoras, during his stay in Egypt, was initiated in all the mysteries of the country, and instructed by the priests in whatever was most abstruse and important in their religion. It was here he imbibed his doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls. In the expedition in which Cyrus conquered so great a part of the world, Egypt doubtless was subdued, like the rest of the provinces; and Xenophon positively declares this in the beginning of his Cyropædia, or institution of that prince. Probably, after that the forty years of desolation, which had been foretold by the prophet, were expired, Egypt beginning gradually to recover itself, Amasis shook off the yoke, and recovered his liberty. Accordingly we find, that one of the first cares of Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, after he had ascended the throne, was to carry his arms into Egypt. On his arrival there, Amasis was just dead, and succeeded by his son Psammenitus. PSAMMENITUS. Cambyses, after having gained a battle, pursued the enemy to Memphis; besieged the city, and soon took it: however, he treated the king with clemency, granted him his life, and assigned him an honourable pension; but being informed that he was secretly concerting measures to reascend his throne, he put him to death. Psammenitus reigned but six months: all Egypt submitted immediately to the victor. The particulars of the history will be related more at large when I come to that of Cambyses. Here ends the succession of the Egyptian kings. From this era the history of this nation, as was before observed, will be blended with that of the Persians and Greeks, till the death of Alexander. At that period, a new monarchy will arise in Egypt, founded by Ptolemy the son of Lagus, which will continue to Cleopatra, that is, for about three hundred years. I shall treat each of these subjects in the several periods to which they belong. * Or $29,075. Επῆρξε δὲ καὶ Ἑλλήνων τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, καταβὰς δὲ ἐπὶ θάλατταν, καὶ Κυπρίων καὶ Αἰγυπτίων, p. 5. Edit. Hutchinsoni. A. M. 3479. Ant. J. C. 525. |