The rule of the Persians over Egypt lasted about one hundred and ten years. =Cambyses=, having established himself as king, set out on an expedition to the Sûdân. On his way thither he despatched an army of 50,000 men to the Oasis of Jupiter Ammon, now known as Sîwah, to secure the submission of the tribes; but, after reaching Khârgah, these troops were never more heard of. Cambyses continued his march into Nubia, where, it seems, he came in touch with a native army somewhere near the Third Cataract. According to the annals of =Nȧstasen=, king of Nubia, his boats were captured on the river, and all his soldiers slain after a fierce fight. Greek tradition states that Cambyses committed many sacrilegious acts in Egypt; but the inscription of Utcha-ḥer-resenet, the chancellor of Saïs, records that Cambyses cleared out the temple of Neith in that city, restored its revenues, and reinstated its priests. This done he went to the temple in person, and performed acts of worship, like the Pharaohs of old. The money which he gave the chancellor enabled him “to provide with a coffin the man who was too poor to buy one, and he took care of the children.” [Sidenote: B.C. 521.] =Darius I, Hystaspes=, was a wise and enlightened king, and he tried to understand the religion and customs of the Egyptians. He established a =coinage=, encouraged trade, subscribed money for expenses incurred in the discovery of a new =Apis Bull=, supported religious institutions, and commissioned the chancellor Utcha-ḥer-resenet to found a school for the training of scribes. He was tolerant; and built a temple to Ȧmen-Rā in the Oasis of Al-Khârgah, on the walls of which is cut a remarkable hymn to Ȧmen. He also completed the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea, which Necho began, and so added greatly to the prosperity of the country. In the latter part of his reign the Egyptians, led by =Khabbesha=, revolted against the Persian rule with some success. Darius determined to set out from Persia to put down the rebellion, but died before he could do so. The triumph of Khabbesha was short-lived, for =Xerxes the Great= marched against him, defeated his forces, and reduced the country to servitude worse than before. Xerxes did nothing for the gods or people of Egypt, and left few traces of his reign in the country. An =alabaster vase= inscribed with his name in four languages, Egyptian, Persian, Median and Babylonian, which was found at Halicarnassus, is exhibited in the =Gold Room= in the British Museum. For fragments of other vases, on which his name appears in Egyptian letters, within a cartouche, and with the additions “Pharaoh, the Great,” as here given, see Wall-cases Nos. 28 and 29, in the Babylonian Room. A cast of a stele, dated in his fourth year, with a bilingual inscription in Egyptian and Aramean, is exhibited in the Semitic Room (Second Northern Gallery, Wall-case 29). 𓍹𓐼𓆼𓆷𓇌𓄿𓃭𓆷𓄿𓐽𓍺𓉐𓉻𓅮𓉻𓂝 [Sidenote: B.C. 486.] [Sidenote: B.C. 466.]