NECTANEBO I

Nectanebo I and his successors came originally from the town of Sebennytos; as the rulers of the Thirtieth Dynasty, they provided Egypt with its last line of great independent kings. This dynasty built extensively; they constructed or consolidated towns and temples, and Nectanebo I's monuments give a superficial impression of stability. On the island of Philae, he built a pylon gateway in the Temple of Karnak (which may have replaced an earlier one erected by *Shoshenk I), and a mammisi (birth house) near the main Temple of Hathor at Denderah. He also donated land to the temple at Edfu, extended temples at Hermopolis, and enriched the domain of the goddess Neith at Sais.

According to *Diodorus Siculus (xv.41-43), Nectanebo I faced danger from the *Persians who, under Artaxerxes III (404-358 BC), wished to re-establish supremacy over Egypt. Under the satrap Pharnabazus, the *Persians set out for Pelusium in 373 BC, together with the *Greek mercenaries under Iphicrates. When Pharnabazus and Iphicrates disagreed over tactics, Nectanebo I was able to encircle them in the Delta and force them to retreat.

For the rest of his reign, Nectanebo I experienced local rebellions. His son, Tachos (Teos), inherited the throne only briefly (362-361 BC), and then the last ruler, Nectanebo II, held the kingdom from 360 to 343 BC, when it again passed to the *Persians.

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See Nakhtnebef.