y of
water to the stations. King Amasis had hoped that Egypt would be able to
withstand the threatened Persian attack by an alliance with the Greeks.
But this hope failed; the Cyprian towns and the tyrant Polycrates of
Samos, who possessed a large fleet, now preferred to join the Persians,
and the commander of the Greek troops, Phanes of Halicarnassus, went
over to them. In the decisive battle at Pelusium the Egyptians were
beaten, and shortly afterwards Memphis was taken. The captive king
Psammetichus was executed, having attempted a rebellion. The Egyptian
inscriptions show that Cambyses officially adopted the titles and the
costume of the Pharaohs, although we may very well believe that he did
not conceal his contempt for the customs and the religion of the
Egyptians. From Egypt Cambyses attempted the conquest of Ethiopia
(Cush), i.e. the kingdom of Napata and Meroe, the modern Nubia. But his
army was not able to cross the deserts; after heavy losses he was forced
to return. In an inscription from Napata (in the Berlin museum) the
Ethiopian king Nastesen relates that he had beaten the troops of
Kembasuden, i.e. Cambyses, and taken all his ships (H. Schafer, _Die
Aethiopische Konigsinschrift des Berliner Museums_, 1901). Another
expedition against the great oasis failed likewise, and the plan of
attacking Carthage was frustrated by the refusal of the Phoenicians to
operate against their kindred. Meanwhile in Persia a usurper, the Magian
Gaumata, arose in the spring of 522, who pretended to be the murdered
Bardiya (Smerdis). He was acknowledged throughout Asia. Cambyses
attempted to march against him, but, seeing probably that success was
impossible, died by his own hand (March 521). This is the account of
Darius, which certainly must be preferred to the traditions of Herodotus
and Ctesias, which ascribe his death to an accident. According to
Herodotus (iii. 64) he died in the Syrian Ecbatana, i.e. Hamath;
Josephus (_Ant._ xi. 2. 2) names Damascus; Ctesias, Babylon, which is
absolutely impossible.

See A. Lincke, _Kambyses in der Sage, Litteratur und Kunst des
Mittelalters_, in _Aegyptiaca: Festschrift fur Georg Ebers_ (Leipzig
1897), pp. 41-61; also PERSIA: _Ancient History._ (Ed. M.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] On the much discussed tablet, which is said to date from his 11th
year, the writer had at first written "10th year of Cyrus," and then
corrected this date into "1st year of Cambyses"; see Strassma