Amasis was the Egyptian king against whom Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, later led a military expedition. Cambyses ruled over a vast Persian Empire, which included many different peoples and nations. When he marched against Egypt, his army was made up not only of Persians but also of many subject peoples, including Ionic and Aeolic Greeks.
The invasion of Egypt did not happen without cause. According to the Persian version of events, a personal conflict and an act of deception played a major role in bringing war between Persia and Egypt The Desertion of Phanes.
The Egyptian Physician’s Revenge
The trouble began with an Egyptian physician who held a deep grudge against King Amasis. Earlier, Cyrus, the father of Cambyses, had asked Amasis to send him the most skilled Egyptian eye doctor. Amasis chose this particular physician and sent him to Persia, separating him from his wife and children in Egypt.
The physician was angry and bitter about this forced removal. Seeking revenge against Amasis, he advised Cambyses to ask for the hand of the Egyptian king’s daughter in marriage. His advice was not given in good faith. Instead, it was meant to place Amasis in a difficult and dangerous position.
The physician believed that if Amasis agreed, it would cause him humiliation, and if he refused, it would anger Cambyses and lead to conflict. Either way, Amasis would suffer.
Amasis’ Difficult Decision
When the Persian messenger arrived with Cambyses’ request, Amasis was deeply troubled. He feared the power of Persia and knew how dangerous it would be to offend its king. At the same time, he also knew that Cambyses did not intend to make the Egyptian princess his lawful wife. Instead, she would likely be taken as a concubine, which would dishonor the royal family of Egypt Customized Round Turkey Tours.
Caught between fear and pride, Amasis carefully considered his options. In the end, he chose a path of deception rather than open refusal.
The Deception of Nitetis
Amasis decided not to send his own daughter. Instead, he selected Nitetis, the daughter of the former king Apries. She was tall, beautiful, and the last surviving member of that royal family. Apries had once ruled Egypt before being overthrown and killed in a rebellion, in which Amasis himself had played a leading role.
Amasis dressed Nitetis in fine clothes, decorated her with gold and rich ornaments, and sent her to Persia, pretending that she was his own daughter.
The Truth Revealed
For a time, the deception remained hidden. But one day, Cambyses addressed Nitetis by calling her the daughter of Amasis. At that moment, she revealed the truth. She told Cambyses that he had been deceived and that she was not Amasis’ daughter at all. She explained that she was the daughter of Apries, the former king, whom Amasis had betrayed and put to death.
The Road to War
This revelation deeply angered Cambyses. He felt insulted and dishonored by Amasis’ trickery. According to the Persian account, it was this moment—combined with the old resentment stirred by the Egyptian physician—that finally pushed Cambyses to take up arms against Egypt.
Thus, through deception, revenge, and wounded pride, a personal dispute between kings grew into a great war between empires. Such is the story told by the Persians about the beginning of Cambyses’ invasion of Egypt.
