27th Dynasty

Fact 1 on 27th Dynasty:

Following the conquest of the Egyptians and the defeat of King Psamtik III, the last of the 26th dynasty of Sais kings, King Cambyses of Persia siezed the throne of Egypt. The 27th line of Persian kings ruled in the era known as the First Persian Period.
 

Fact 2 on 27th Dynasty:

The vicious Cambyses was viewed by the ancient Egyptians as a criminal lunatic due to the thousands of bloodthirsty executions and atrocities he ordered during the conquest of Egypt.
 

Fact 3 on 27th Dynasty:

From his triumph in Egypt, Cambyses attempted the conquest of Nubia (Kush) but unable to cross the desert terrain was forced to return to Egypt. Cambyses also tried to attack Carthage, but his Phoenician allies refused to fight against their own colony.
 

Fact 4 on 27th Dynasty:

Meanwhile in Persia there was political unrest. Some of the rulers in Persia court together with their families were murdered in a conspiracy by a court eunuch. Cambyses returned to Persia but died on the journey.
 

Fact 5 on 27th Dynasty:

King Darius I followed Cambyses and established new laws in Egypt and standardized weights, measures and coinage. The Persian empire was divided into twenty provinces, each ruled by a commander-in-chief and a Persian satrap. (A satrap was the name given to a provincial governor in the ancient Persian empire). Persians were exempted from paying tax in Egypt. Taxes for everyone else were strictly regulated and enforced. Darius used the taxes to wage war against the Greeks.
 

Fact 6 on 27th Dynasty:

Angry Egyptians, were resentful of the heavy taxation imposed to raise money for the war against Greece, and in 486 BC a revolt erupted in Egypt which was soon followed by the death of Darius.
 

Fact 7 on 27th Dynasty:

His eldest son Xerxes, who had been the viceroy of Babylonia, succeeded to the throne. He quashed the rebellion and harshly punished the rebels.
 

Fact 8 on 27th Dynasty:

Xerxes, then launched a massive military campaign against Greece, commanding 180,000 troops. His assault on Greece led to the actions of the brave Spartans. The Persian force  suffered unexpected losses when they met determined the resistance of 300 Spartans at the narrow pass at Thermopylae in 480 BC, led by  the Spartan King Leonidas. The 300 Spartans were killed but their legend of the Battle of Thermopylae lives on.
 

Fact 9 on 27th Dynasty:

The Greek fleet won the Battle of Salamis and then Xerxes was forced to return due to unrest in Babylonia.
 

Fact 10 on 27th Dynasty:

In 465 BC, Xerxes was murdered by Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard, with the help of a eunuch named Aspamitres.
 

Fact 11 on 27th Dynasty:

Artaxerxes took the Persian throne ensuring all other claimants including his brothers were murdered. Artabanus was executed and Aspamitres was tortured to death.
 

Fact 12 on 27th Dynasty:

Artaxerxes instigated harsh taxes in the provinces and the Egyptians finally rebelled. Inaros, a son of Psamtik from the previous Saite line of Egyptian kings, drove out the Persian satrap and tax collectors and requested aid from the Greeks in 460 BC.
 

Fact 13 on 27th Dynasty:

The rebellion of Inaros and the Greeks was defeated  and the rebels were taken to Persia in chains where many were executed by crucifixion.
 

Fact 14 on 27th Dynasty:

There was a short-lived peace treaty but conflicts were halted when a terrible plague spread from Nubia through Egypt on to Athens and the Persian empire.
 

Fact 15 on 27th Dynasty:

King Darius II followed Artaxerxes as the next Persian king and ruled Egypt from a distance. The Persians grip on Egypt weakened. The Egyptians hated the cruel Persians and were crippled by over-taxation.
 

Fact 16 on 27th Dynasty:

The death of King Darius II prompted a revolt was led by Amyrtaeus, a prince of Sais and the grandson of King Psamtik III. The successful rebellion brought Egypt back its independence. Amyrtaeus would become the only king of the 28th Dynasty.