See also: Ahmès, Amasis (homonymy)

Amasis (or Ahmès, Iâhmes or Ahmosis) is a Pharaon of the low Egyptian time , reigning of -571 with -526.

Titulature

Reign

Amasis, general of the Libyan Mercenary S (Berber), and of Libyan origin itself, was covered with glory in forwarding against the Kouchites. After disastrous forwarding that its predecessor and chief Apriès sent to Cyrène to limit the Greek expansion in Cyrénaïque, Amasis is sent by the Pharaon to calm crowd; but this one, instead of calming down, convaint Amasis to seize the power and to drive out Apriès, which it does. Nabuchodonosor {{II}}, king de Babylone, threatens all Close East in its expansion; having already attacked in vain Egypt by twice under Apriès (into -601 and -582), it receives the deposed Pharaon at his court and places it at the head of a powerful army for réessayer to conquer Egypt. But with the final battle, in -567, Amasis crushes Apriès and this one itself is killed.

Babylon having conquered all the Judaea (from there date the exile of the Hebrews in Babylon), Amasis follows a foreign politics openly radically antibabylonienne. With died of Nabuchodonosor, it reconquers the Close East, and even will invade Cyprus, that Apriès had attacked to be folded up in the event of failure in Lebanon. It is thus the first and only time before Ptolémées which Cyprus belongs to the Egyptian Pharaon.

Amasis is then the uncontested Master of Egypt, Napata in Nubie, until Byblos with the Close East and finally of Cyprus, at least until into -545: the rebirth saïte is then with its apogee, and Amasis thus succeeded in almost raising Egypt on the level of what it was with the Nouvel Empire, while having started from little thing and in a very unfavourable context.

Amasis maintains positive ratios with the Greeks. Combined to Cyrène, to Crésus of Lydie, to Polycrate of Samos, it sends offerings with Delphes, valley of many contact with the Greek cities and accommodates new Ionian quotas and cariens. Having obliged Cyprus to subject itself to Egypt, it has a considerable commercial fleet thus.

Being opposed to Persian hegemony, it goes until being combined with its enemy mortal, Babylon, to counter them. This alliance is officialized in a treaty between Babylon, Pharaon and Crésus, king of Lydie. In spite of its efforts and its network of alliances, even with the former Babylonian rival, it cannot contain the Persian expansion and little by little all its supports disappear, to start with Crésus, beaten by Cyrus, king of Persians, and finally Babylon.

A few months before its death take place a battle lost by Egypt against Persians into -526, and a year later is carried the fatal blow and final.

High character colors of plebeian origin he was an innovative and reforming sovereign. He conceives a great number of laws governing the private law to which one continued to refer of the centuries later.

Psammétique {{III}} succeeds to him of -526 with -525.