Psammetichus II., the successor of Necho, reigned only about five years, and was followed by Uahpra (or Apries, the _Hophra_ of the Old Testament). The aid of this king was sought both from east and west. After the defeat of Necho, and the homeward flight of the Egyptian army, no military expedition had been undertaken. ‘The king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land; for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.’[97] For a moment indeed, Apries seemed to be moved by the cry for aid that came from Jerusalem. In his triumphal march of successful conquest, Nebuchadnezzar had besieged the city, and carried off its king and many others as prisoners to Babylon; he had then placed Zedekiah on the throne, after exacting from him a solemn oath of fealty. But in an evil moment the vassal king rebelled, and, in the hope that is sometimes born of desperation, sent ambassadors into Egypt ‘that they might give him horses and much people’ (see Ezekiel xvii. 11-21). Irritated by the successive acts of submission and revolt, Nebuchadnezzar now advanced upon the unhappy little country of Judah, which had come to be the sport, as it were, of two mighty states, and resolved to make an end of it altogether. The hope of Zedekiah came to naught; only for a brief interval was the siege suspended, by the news that an Egyptian army was on the march. Soon after, however, it was resumed, and, after it had lasted eighteen months, Jerusalem fell with a sad and terrible destruction—by famine, fire, and slaughter (588 B.C.) The only aid actually rendered by Egypt was the shelter given to the fugitives who sought refuge there after the murder of Gedaliah, the governor appointed by the king of Babylon. They dreaded the vengeance of Nebuchadnezzar; they were weary of suffering, and said one to another: ‘We will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread, and there will we dwell.’ And in Egypt they took refuge in spite of the remonstrances of the prophet Jeremiah, whom they forced to accompany them.