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ApriyApries, king of Egypt of the 26th dynasty, reigned 589-570. BC
Country:
 Egypt |
Content:
- Apries: The Ill-Fated Pharaoh of Egypt
- Disastrous War with Cyrene
- Rebellion and Downfall
- Betrayal and Death
Apries: The Ill-Fated Pharaoh of Egypt
Early Reign and Military CampaignsApries, born as Uah-ab-Ra, was the son of Psammetichus II and the fourth pharaoh of the 26th dynasty, reigning from 589 to 570 BC. During his early reign, he engaged in a conflict with the city of Sidon and fought against the Tyrian king at sea.
Disastrous War with Cyrene
However, Apries' reign took a fatal turn when he launched a war against the Greek colonies in Cyrene. As Herodotus recounts, the Cyreneans had seized land from their Libyan neighbors, prompting the Libyans to seek protection from Apries.
Apries assembled a large army and marched against Cyrene. The Cyreneans confronted the Egyptians at the spring of Thesta in the Irasa region and emerged victorious. The defeat shocked the Egyptians, who had never faced the Greeks before.
Rebellion and Downfall
The Egyptians blamed Apries for their devastating loss, believing he had deliberately sent them to their deaths to secure his own power. Infuriated, surviving soldiers and their allies staged a rebellion.
Apries attempted to quell the uprising by sending Amasis (later known as Ahmose) to pacify the rebels with promises. However, the rebels declared Amasis king, who immediately prepared for war against Apries.
Apries, learning of Amasis's rebellion, dispatched a noble named Patarbemis to bring Amasis before him. Patarbemis failed in his mission and reported back on the rebels' preparations. In his anger, Apries had Patarbemis's ears and nose cut off.
Betrayal and Death
This brutal act alienated the remaining loyalists, who immediately defected to Amasis. Apries, determined to quell the uprising, gathered his 30,000 Ionian and Carian mercenaries and marched against the rebel forces.
In the battle near Memphis, the mercenaries fought valiantly but were outnumbered and defeated. Apries, overconfident in his own power, was captured and imprisoned in his former palace in Sais, now under Amasis's control.
Initially, Amasis treated Apries with respect. However, mounting pressure from the Egyptians, who felt it unjust to spare their enemy, forced Amasis to hand Apries over to them. The Egyptians strangled Apries and buried him in his ancestral tomb.
