Phanes of Halicarnassus

Phanes of Halicarnassus (Greek: Φάνης) was a wise council man, a tactician, and a mercenary from Halicarnassus, serving the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis II (570–526 BC). Most of what history recounts of Phanes is from the account of Herodotus in his grand historical text, The Histories. According to Herodotus, Phanes of Halicarnassus was "a resourceful man and a brave fighter" serving Amasis II on matters of state, and was well connected within the Egyptian pharaoh's troops. Phanes of Halicarnassus was also very well respected within the military and royal community of Egypt.

According to Herodotus, a series of events (which he omits to explain, or does not know for sure) led to Phanes of Halicarnassus falling out of favor with Amasis II. Phanes, disgruntled with the pharaoh deserted Egypt and travelled by the ship with the intention of speaking with the Persian emperor Cambyses II. When news reached Amasis II, it caused him great anxiety, leading to him sending his most trustworthy eunuch after Phanes, with the intent of capture or assassination. Phanes originally escaped the assassin, but was eventually captured by him in Lycia. Phanes being of wise mind, however managed to escape by getting the eunuch guards drunk and escaping to Persia. Upon his arrival, he met with a resolute Cambyses II who was about to set out to conquer Egypt but was not sure of the best path possible.

Knowing of the Egyptian way, Phanes of Halicarnassus, wisely advised the Persian king to send a messenger to the Arabian Kings and ask for safe passage to Egypt. Arabs gladly complied blessing Cambyses II on his journey. Phanes would eventually play a critical role in the strategic advancement of the Persian king who eventually defeated Amasis's son Psamtik III, in the battle of Pelusium.

In order to understand the importance of Phanes of Halicarnassus, one has to understand the circumstances surrounding and leading to the battle of Pelusium, and the importance of his council in allowing Cambyses II the easiest path to Egypt.

After the defeat of the Lydian, Median, and Neo-Babylonian empire by Cyrus the Great the Persian empire was a powerful empire stretching from the Indus in the east, to the Northern Arabian deserts and Red Sea in the west, right at the door steps of Egypt. Cyrus the Great would die in battle before he can incorporate Egypt into the empire, but it would be his son, Cambyses II's task to conquer the pharaohs. The background against which Herodotus describes the events leading to the Battle of Pelusium, require one to understand the political tensions of the time.

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