ser to retreat towards the
apex of the Delta, but this very act of prudence exposed him to one of
those accidental misfortunes which are wont to occur in armies formed
of very diverse elements. While he was concentrating his reserves at
Memphis, the troops of the first line thought that, by leaving
them exposed to the assaults of the great king, he was deliberately
sacrificing them. Pelusium capitulated to Lacrates; Mentor of Ehodes
pushed forward and seized Bubastis, and the other cities in the eastern
portion of the Delta, fearing to bring upon themselves the fate
of Sidon, opened their gates to the Persians after a mere show of
resistance. The forces which had collected at Memphis thereupon
disbanded, and Nectanebo, ruined by these successive disasters,
collected his treasures and fled to Ethiopia. The successful issue of
the rash enterprise of Nicostratus had overthrown the empire of the
Pharaohs, and re-established the Persian empire in its integrity (342
B.C.).*

* The complete history of this war is related by Diodorus
Siculus, who generally follows the narrative of Theopompus.
The chronology is still sufficiently uncertain to leave some
doubt as to the exact date of each event; I have followed
that arrangement which seems to accord best with the general
history of the period. The following table may be drawn up
of the last Egyptian dynasties as far as they can be
restored at present:--

[Illustration: 312.jpg TABLE OF THE LAST EGYPTIAN DYNASTIES]

Egypt had prospered under the strong rule of its last native Pharaohs.
Every one of them, from Amyrtous down to Nectanebo, had done his best
to efface all traces of the Persian invasions and restore to the country
the appearance which it had presented before the days of its servitude;
even kings like Psamutis and Tachos, whose reign had been of the
briefest, had, like those who ruled for longer periods, constructed or
beautified the monuments of the country. The Thebaid was in this respect
a special field of their labours. The island of Philae, exposed to the
ceaseless attacks of the Ethiopians, had been reduced to little more
than a pile of ruins.

[Illustration: 313.jpg SMALL TEMPLE OF NECTANEBO, AT THE SOUTHERN
EXTREMITY OF PHILAE]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Beato.

Nectanebo II. erected a magnificent gate there, afterwards incorporated
into the first pylon of the temple built by the Ptolemies, and on