General Amasis, sent to meet them and quell the revolt, was proclaimed king by the rebels instead, and Apries, who had now to rely entirely on his mercenaries, was defeated.

According to Herodotus, Amasis, was asked by Cambyses II or Cyrus the Great for an Egyptian ophthalmologist on good terms.

Amasis seems to have complied by forcing an Egyptian physician into mandatory labor causing him to leave his family behind in Egypt and move to Persia in forced exile.

Amasis worrying that his daughter would be a concubine to the Persian king refused to give up his offspring ; Amasis also was not willing to take on the Persian empire so he concocted a trickery in which he forced the daughter of the ex-pharaoh Apries, whom Herodotus explicitly confirms to have been killed by Amasis, to go to Persia instead of his own offspring.

" Nitetis naturally, betrayed Amasis and upon being greeted by the Persian king explained Amasis's trickery and her true origins.

Amasis would die before Cambyses reached him, but his heir and son Psamtik III would be defeated by the Persians.

Amasis would send one of his eunuchs to capture Phanes, but the eunuch is bested by the wise council man and Phanes flees to Persia, meeting up with Cambyses providing advice in his invasion of Egypt.

Herodotus relates that under his prudent administration, Egypt reached a new level of wealth ; Amasis adorned the temples of Lower Egypt especially with splendid monolithic shrines and other monuments ( his activity here is proved by existing remains ).

), Amasis was able to defeat an invasion of Egypt by the Babylonians under Nebuchadrezzar II ; henceforth, the Babylonians experienced sufficient difficulties controlling their empire that they were forced to abandon future attacks against Amasis.

Cambyses wants to marry a daughter of Amasis, who sends him a daughter of Apries instead of his own daughter, and by her Cambyses is induced to begin the war.

The war took place in 525 BCE, when Amasis II had just been succeeded by his son Psamtik III.

King Amasis had hoped that Egypt would be able to withstand the threatened Persian attack by an alliance with the Greeks.

Cyprus gained independence for some time around 669 but was conquered by Egypt under Amasis ( 570-526 / 525 ).

* 567 BC — Former pharaoh Apries invades Egypt with Babylonian help but is defeated by Saite pharaoh Amasis II ( also known as Ahmose II ).

She was taken to Egypt in the time of Pharaoh Amasis, and freed there for a large sum by Charaxus of Mytilene, brother of Sappho, the lyric poet.

Dionysus and two Maenads, as depicted by the Amasis Painter circa 550-530BCE.

A temple attested by its foundation deposits was built by Amasis.

Amasis, however, reportedly treated Apries ' mortal remains with respect and observed the proper funerary rituals by having Apries ' body carried to Sais and buried there with " full military honours.

On Samos he built an aqueduct, a large temple of Hera ( the Heraion, to which Amasis dedicated many gifts ), and a palace later rebuilt by the Roman emperor Caligula.

The work of Lydos and the Amasis Painter was, by contrast, not imitated as frequently.

Although Amasis thus appears first as champion of the disparaged native, he had the good sense to cultivate the friendship of the Greek world, and brought Egypt into closer touch with it than ever before.

Herodotus describes how Amasis II would eventually cause a confrontation with the Persian armies.

In an attempt to exact revenge for his forced exile, the physician would grow very close with Cambyses and would suggest that Cambyses should ask Amasis for a daughter in marriage in order to solidify his bonds with the Egyptians.

However, Amasis was later faced with a more formidable enemy with the rise of Persia under Cyrus who ascended to the throne in 559 B. C. E.

which left Amasis with no major Near Eastern allies to counter Persia's increasing military might.

* c. 540 BC — Amasis Painter makes Dionysos with maenads, black-figure decoration on an amphora.

Voltaire interprets the legacy of Nebuchadnezzar and his relationship with Amasis in a short story entitled The White Bull.

Croesus, now feeling secure, formed an alliance with Sparta in addition to those he had with Amasis II of Egypt and Nabonidus of Babylonia, and launched his campaign against the Persian Empire in 547 BC.

When Apries marched back to Egypt in 567 BC with the aid of a Babylonian army to reclaim the throne of Egypt, he was likely killed in battle with Amasis ' forces.

He then allied with Amasis II, pharaoh of Egypt, as well as the tyrant of Naxos Lygdamis.

The first important painter of this time was the Amasis Painter ( 560 – 525 BC ), named after the famous potter Amasis, with whom he primarily worked.

Amasis indeed converted Naucratis into a major treaty-port and commercial link with the west.

This division of labours appears to have developed along with the introduction of red-figure painting, since many potter-painters are known from the black-figure period ( including Exekias, Nearchos and perhaps the Amasis Painter ).

Herodotus also describes that just like his predecessor, Amasis II relied on Greek mercenaries and council men.

* Amasis Painter, Greek painter

* Amasis Painter, ancient Greek vase painter of the black figure style

Amasis shut down the " camps " and moved the Greek soldiers to Memphis where they were employed " to guard him against the native Egyptians.

The Liddell-Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines ' philhellen ' as " fond of the Hellenes, mostly of foreign princes, as Amasis ; of Parthian kings [...]; also of Hellenic tyrants, as Jason of Pherae and generally of Hellenic ( Greek ) patriots.

According to Strabo the Greek name Ἀμάσεια comes from Amasis, the queen of the Amazons, who were said to have lived here.

Herodotus also relates the desecration of Ahmose II / Amasis ' mummy when the Persian king Cambyses conquered Egypt and thus ended the 26th Saite dynasty:

* Amasis ( Persian general ), Achaemenid military commander in Egypt in ca.