Ancient Egypt: Timelime

Third Intermediate Period (1069 BC – 664 BC)

The decline of the New Kingdom was triggered by low Nile levels, inflation, corruption in the civil service, popular uprisings and an increasingly powerful priesthood based at Thebes. Once again, Egypt split into northern and southern factions. The throne in the north came under Libyan control. A Nubian king, Kashta, conquered Thebes in 770 BC. His successor, Piy, conquered the north and reunited Egypt. But the kingdom was invaded by Assyrians in 671 BC.

Late Period (664 BC – 332 BC)

Plagued with their own domestic problems, the Assyrians were unable to hold Egypt, allowing a native Egyptian, Psamtek I, to rule from the Delta city of Sais. A century of cultural renaissance followed, as the Saite kings concentrated on rebuilding Egypt. But this stability and independence was short-lived. In 525 BC, Egypt was conquered by the Persians, who initially ruled with a light hand. But, following an Egyptian uprising in 486 BC, the Persian king, Xerxes, introduced a far more repressive regime. Egypt managed to shake off the Persians in 404 BC and began to prosper again. But their old enemies returned in 343 BC and Egypt succumbed to Persian rule a second time.

Ptolemaic Period (332 BC – 30 BC)

When Alexander the Great marched against the Persian empire in 332 BC, he was welcomed in Egypt as a liberator. His general, Ptolemy, became governor of Egypt and went on to found a dynasty that lasted three centuries. Egypt prospered again, thanks to a spruced-up civil service and innovative agricultural reforms. The city of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great, became the new capital of Egypt. During the later stages of the Ptolemaic period, Egypt's rulers could only stay on their thrones with the agreement of Rome. When Cleopatra VII was crowned in 51 BC, her ambitions for a revived Egypt empire, brought her into direct conflict with Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) of Rome. Her alliance and love affair with the Roman general Mark Antony wasn't enough to save Egypt and, in 30 BC, the kingdom became a province of the Roman empire.

This timeline is based on the chronology prepared for The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw.