Early in his career, Psammetichus, so Herodotus informs us[460], had been one of twelve kings who had each received a twelfth of the country to reign over[461]. [Sidenote: according to Herodotus by means of Greek and Carian mercenaries,] One day some bronze-clad Ionian and Carian freebooters were driven to Egypt by stress of weather. Psammetichus “made friends with the Ionians and Carians, and by great promises persuaded them to join him: and having persuaded them he thereupon, in conjunction with his supporters in Egypt and the mercenaries, put down the (other eleven) kings, and became master of all Egypt[462].” The man who among twelve or more rivals[463] secured the monopoly of Greek and Carian mercenaries must have been a man of outstanding wealth. But this is not all our information about him. A fuller account is preserved in Diodorus[464]: [Sidenote: according to Diodorus by trading with Phoenicians and Greeks.] When the twelve had ruled Egypt for fifteen years it befel that the kingdom passed into the hands of one of them through the following causes. Psammetichus of Sais, who was one of the twelve kings, and ruler of the parts beside the sea, used to provide cargoes (φορτία) for the merchants, and particularly for Phoenicians and Greeks; by such means he disposed profitably of the products of his own land and secured a share of the products of the other nations, and enjoyed not only great wealth (εὐπορίαν) but also friendship with nations and princes. Could it be more plainly stated that Psammetichus owed his throne to his wealth and his wealth to trade? [Sidenote: Value of these statements of Herodotus and Diodorus.] The commercial origin of Psamtek’s power can only be questioned by questioning the value of our authorities. The rest of this chapter will be devoted to showing that there is no reason for doing this, while there is much to confirm the passages just quoted.