The story about a disappeared army of 50,000 men in the Egyptian desert sounded improbable, but now it turns out to be so. The Persians were simply defeated in the sixth century BC. This enormous loss was concealed so as not to further fuel the rebellion of the Egyptians.
Last January, archaeologist and Egyptologist Olaf Kaper of Leiden University made a surprising discovery. During excavations at the temple in the Egyptian Dachla oasis, he unexpectedly found several blocks of hieroglyphs. These blocks were named after the local rebel king Petubastis III, who revolted against the Persian occupier in the sixth century BC. The find turned out to be a missing puzzle piece in history.
Man-eating sandstorm…?
In the months following the find, Kaper has been busy reconstructing the history of this period. What we know today is largely due to the writings of Greek historian Herodotus. Kaper:“According to Herodotus, a Persian army of 50,000 men marched into the desert, after which the soldiers were surprised and engulfed by a sandstorm. Now, sandstorms can be dangerous, but mass slaughter of an entire army is impossible. And why the army went into the desert, Herodotus did not mention either. All in all, a strange story.”
The missing puzzle piece in this story is the Rebel King. He was the object (unknown to Herodotus) of the enterprise. Petubastis III had raised an army in the Dachla Oasis, a quiet corner of the Egyptian empire. According to Kaper, the Persian king Cambyses II deliberately went to this oasis to crush the rebels. This is correct if you follow the route from the southern starting point of Thebes (now Luxor) towards Dachla in the middle of the Western Desert of Egypt.
On the way, after seven days, you arrive at the Kharga Oasis, which corresponds to Herodotus' description of the campaign. Things go wrong when the army travels further west. Kaper:“The huge Persian army, in my opinion, hit the rebels and lost this battle. The rebel army then moved further north to the capital, Memphis. Meanwhile, they conquered the areas they encountered on their route. In order not to stimulate the resistance in Memphis, the defeat was covered up.”
It was to no avail:Petubastis III reached the capital with his army, took it and was crowned pharaoh. He then had the temple built at Ahmeida, probably as a thank you for the victory and to strengthen his position. The blocks found by Kaper were part of this temple and according to him proof of the victory over the Persians. The block with the hieroglyphs contains part of the royal name of Petubastis III. Its first name is Horus, which strengthens the two countries (that is Upper and Lower Egypt).
Horrible end of rebels
The revolt was quite successful and probably with the exception of the Nile Valley, the Persians lost large parts of Egypt. After two years, the famous Persian king Darius I (522 BC to 485 BC) comes to put things in order. This was bloody and many defeated rebel leaders were transported to Persia, where they died a gruesome death. Petoebastis III was also captured, but what happened to him is unclear.
Kaper:“The Bisitun relief tells the story of this revolt in the early years of Darius' reign. It shows Egyptian rebel leaders, but the name Petubastis III is not listed. That is not to say that he is not among them or that he did not meet his horrific end in Persia, like the other rebel leaders. Further research could show this.”
The Persians under Darius have reigned in terror over the Egyptian territories and it is not inconceivable that the inhabitants were afraid to talk. When Herodotus is in Egypt about 75 years later, he is told a story about an army that disappeared in a sandstorm, which he swallows for sweet cake.
More discoveries
The cause behind the disappearance of the Persian army is not the only thing that Kaper has discovered. He also believes to have found the reason for the sudden temple building in the southern oases by King Darius. Kaper:“To prevent later revolts, Darius is reorganizing southern Egypt. He integrates the remote oases with the rest of Egypt, among other things by building temples there. He is introducing new, efficient irrigation systems that are rapidly developing agriculture in this area, and more civil servants are being stationed to increase state involvement. Infrastructure is being expanded and traffic between the oases and the Nile Delta is increasing. All this to make the area less of a corner where rebel armies can be formed in silence.”
Next year, Kaper will return to the Dachla Oasis for excavations. He hopes for new finds, which will tell more about Dachla as the base of operations for Petubastis III and his rebel army.