Egyptians had rebelled more than once (most persistently about 460),
calling in the sea-lords to their help on each occasion. Finally, just
before the death of Darius Nothus, and some five years before Cyrus left
Sardes, they rose again under an Egyptian, and thereafter, for about
sixty years, not the kings of Susa, but three native dynasties in
succession, were to rule Egypt. The harm done to the Persian Empire by
this defection was not measured by the mere loss of the revenues of a
province. The new kings of Egypt, who owed much to Greek support, repaid
this by helping every enemy of the Great King and every rebel against
his authority. It was they who gave asylum to the admiral and fleet of
Cyrus after Cunaxa, and sent corn to Agesilaus when he invaded Asia
Minor; they supplied money and ships to the Spartan fleet in 394, and
helped Evagoras of Cyprus in a long resistance to his suzerain. When
Tyre and the cities of the Cilician coast revolted in 380, Egypt was
privy to their designs, and she made common cause with the satraps and
governors of Western Asia, Syria and Phoenicia when, in combination,
they planned rebellion in 373 to the grave peril of the Empire. Twelve
years later we find an Egyptian king marching in person to raise
Phoenicia.

The Persian made more than one effort to recover his province. After
conspicuous failure with his own generals Artaxerxes adopted tardily the
course which Clearchus, captain of the Ten Thousand, is said to have
advised after the battle of Cunaxa, and tried his fortune once more with
Greek _condottieri_, only to find Greek generals and Greek mercenaries
arrayed against them. It had come to this, that the Persian king and his
revolted province equally depended on mercenary swords, neither daring
to meet Greek except with Greek. Well had the lesson of the march of the
Ten Thousand been read, marked and digested in the East!