To What Extent Did the Rule of Cambyses II and Darius I Influence Egyptian Society?

Abstract

From 525-332 BC, Egypt was conquered and ruled by the Persian empire. Throughout this period, the first two emperors: Cambyses II and Darius I both played an important role in establishing Persian rule over Egypt. As a traditional society, the collision between the Egyptian ideology and the presence of the Persian empire influenced the administrative, cultural-political, and social structure of Egypt. This paper aims to discuss the influence of Cambyses II and Darius I on Egyptian society. As a result, these two Persian rulers mostly influenced the upper group of Egyptian society in order to integrate Egypt into Persia while exerting very few changes to the basic social order of Egypt. The disruption of Egyptian tradition includes establishing the province administration, cultural-political influence through introducing Persian-Egyptian imagery and corporation with the local elites. Although the presence of Persians caused changes in the legal and infrastructural system as well as some secondary effects on the Egyptian ethnicity belief, the Egyptian society mostly remained untouched and able to assimilate just some of the influences.