In 525 BC, the Persian king Cambyses conquered Egypt, deposing the XXVIth Dynasty and establishing Egypt as a province (or "satrapy"") of the Persian Empire. This was the great Persian state of Darius I (521-486) and Xerxes I (486-466) who ruled most of the Middle East and entered into a long struggle for power with the mainland city- states of Greece (especially Athens and Sparta). Throughout the fifth century BC, the Persians ruled Egypt as the XXVllth Dynasty, generally respecting local traditions but benefiting greatly by the taxes that they levied. Nevertheless, there were frequent Egyptian rebellions against Persian rule during the fifth century BC, and on several occasions the Greek enemies of the Persian Empire sent military expeditions to Egypt to assist the rebels. The purpose of these expeditions was by no means altruistic. For example, it is likely that an Athenian expedition to Egypt in the 450's BC (an expedition that ended in disaster) aimed not only at driving the Persians from the Nile Valley, but also at giving Athens control over Egypt's principal resources: grain and gold.
Thus, in spite of Persian rule, the fifth century was one in which Greece's involvement with Egypt continued to grow. In was at this time, for example, that Herodotus made his celebrated visit to Egyptand perhaps Plato too, although the evidence for his trip is much more obscure. But Persian rule came to an end in 400 BC, when Amyrtaeus, an Egyptian from Sais succeeded in driving the Persians out of the Egypt. Amyrtaeus (404-399) founded a short-lived dynasty, the Twenty-Eighth, which ended with his death but ushered in a period of seventy years during which most of the Nile Valley was ruled by native kings. These kings maintained their independence (often with the aid of Greek mercenaries) in spite of constant pressure from the still-powerful Persian Empire. The Twenty-Ninth Dynasty (399379) ruled Egypt from the city of Mendes, and the Thirtieth (379-341) from Sebennytus. The later dynasty was distinguished by the reigns of two able kings, Nectanebo I and Nectanebo II, who carried out a number of building projects and restoration works throughout the Nile Valley.
