Necho I

Necho I
Horus statuette bearing the cartouches of Necho I. London, Petrie Museum.
Pharaoh
Reign	672–664 BCE (26th Dynasty)
Predecessor	Nekauba or Tefnakht II
Successor	Psamtik I
Royal titulary
Consort	Istemabet
Children	Psamtik I, possibly Ta-khered-en-ta-ihet-[weret]
Father	Tefnakht II
Died	664 BCE

Menkheperre Necho I (Egyptian: Nekau,Greek: Νεχώς Α' or Νεχώ Α', Akkadian: Niku) (? – 664 BCE near Memphis) was a ruler of the Ancient Egyptian city of Sais. He was the first attested local Saite king of the 26th Dynasty of Egypt who reigned for 8 years (672–664 BCE) according to Manetho's Epitome. Egypt was reunified by his son Psamtik I.

In 672 BCE Necho became ruler of Sais, assuming the pharaonic titulary, and a year later the Assyrians led by Esarhaddon invaded Egypt. Necho became one of Esarhaddon's vassals, and the latter confirmed Necho's office and his possessions, as well as giving him new territories, possibly including the city of Memphis.

In 669 BCE, king Taharqa of the 25th Dynasty was advancing from the south toward the Nile Delta principalities which were formally under Assyrian control; once he was aware of that, Esarhaddon prepared himself to return to Egypt to repel the invader, but he died suddenly. Esarhaddon's death led to a political crisis in the Assyrian Empire but at the end his son Ashurbanipal managed to become the new undisputed monarch. The counteroffensive planned by his father took place in 667/666 BCE.

Taharqa was defeated and driven back to Thebes, but Ashurbanipal found that the fleeing king and some of the rulers of Lower Egypt – named Pekrur of Pishaptu (Per-Sopdu), Sharruludari of Ṣinu (maybe Pelusium) and Niku (Necho I) – were plotting against him. The Assyrian king captured the conspirators, killed part of the population of the cities they governed, and deported the prisoners to Nineveh.