struggle for bare existence. While the Assyrian armies were employed
elsewhere, Psammetikhos shook himself free of its authority, and, with
the help of Greek and Karian mercenaries from Lydia, overcame his rival
satraps and mounted the throne of the Pharaohs. Once more, under the
Twenty-sixth dynasty, Egypt enjoyed rest and prosperity; the
administration was re-organised, the cities and temples restored, and
art underwent an antiquarian revival. Psammetikhos even dreamed of
recovering the old supremacy of Egypt in Asia; the Assyrian empire was
falling into decay, and Egypt was endeavouring to model its life after
the pattern of the past. After a long siege Ashdod was taken, and the
control of the road into Palestine was thus secured.

But the power of the Twenty-sixth dynasty rested upon its Greek
mercenaries. The kings themselves were, it is probable, Libyans by
descent, and the feelings of the native priesthood towards them do not
seem to have been cordial. Their policy and ideas were European rather
than Egyptian. Necho, the son and successor of Psammetikhos, cleared out
the old canal which united the Red Sea with the Nile, and did all that
he could to encourage trade with the Mediterranean. An exploring fleet
was even sent under Phoenician pilots to circumnavigate Africa. Three
years were spent on the voyage, and the ships finally returned through
the Straits of Gibraltar to the mouths of the Nile. Meanwhile, the
Pharaoh had marched into Palestine. Gaza was captured, and the Jewish
king, Josiah, slain in his attempt to bar the way of his unexpected
enemy. Jerusalem surrendered, and a nominee of the Egyptians was placed
upon its throne.

The Asiatic empire of the Eighteenth dynasty was thus restored. But it
lasted barely three years. In B.C. 605 the Egyptians were defeated by
Nebuchadrezzar under the walls of Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Asia