Battle of Pelusium (525 BC)
| Battle of Pelusium | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cambyses II of Persia capturing pharaoh Psamtik III after his conquest of Egypt. Image on persian seal, 6th century BCE. |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Kingdom of Egypt Carian mercenaries Ionian mercenaries |
Achaemenid Empire Arabian allies Defected Greek mercenaries |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Psamtik III (Psammenitus) | Cambyses II | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 50,000 (Ctesias) | 7,000 (Ctesias) | ||||||||
The Battle of Pelusium, an important city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said, was the first major battle between the Achaemenid Empire and ancient Egypt. This decisive battle transferred the throne of the Pharaohs to Cambyses II of Persia, king of the Persians. It was fought near Pelusium in 525 BCE. The battle was preceded and followed by sieges at Gaza and Memphis.
The best recounting of the events leading to the battle of Pelusium is from Greek historians, particularly Herodotus. According to Herodotus the conflict between the Pharaoh Amasis II of Egypt, and Cambyses II of Persia was a gradual process involving multiple personalities mostly Egyptians. According to Herodotus an Egyptian physician was requested by Cambyses II from Amasis II on good terms, to which Amasis II complied. The physician (most likely an ancient ophthalmologist) resented the forced labor that Amasis had imposed on him, and in retaliation, persuaded Cambyses II to ask of Amasis II a daughter in marriage, knowing how Amaris would dislike losing his daughter to a Persian. Cambyses II complied requesting the hand of the daughter of Amasis in marriage. Amasis, unable to let go of his offspring, and unwilling to start a conflict with the Persians, instead sent an Egyptian girl named Nitetis who was a daughter of an Egyptian named Apries. According to Herodotus, Apries was the previous pharaoh whom Amasis had defeated and killed, and now whose daughter was to be sent in place of Amasis's own offspring. Once greeted by Cambyses II, as "the daughter of Amasis", Nitetis explained the trickery employed by Amasis to avoid giving away his own daughter to the king. This infuriated Cambyses II who vowed to avenge the insult.
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Wikipedia