Teos of Egypt

Djedhor, better known as Teos (Ancient Greek: Τέως) or Tachos (Ancient Greek: Τάχως), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 30th Dynasty.

Biography

A son of his predecessor Nectanebo I, Teos was his coregent for three years[5] before ascending to the throne in 361/0 BCE.

Expedition against Persians

Nectanebo's success in the Nile Delta against the invading Persian armies in 374/3 BCE certainly was an incitement when Teos started to plan a military expedition into Palestine and Phoenicia, therefore in the territories controlled by the Persians. Taking advantage of a sensitive moment time for the Achaemenid Empire due to riots in some satrapies in Asia Minor, Teos recalled both the octogenarian king Agesilaus II of Sparta and the Athenian general Chabrias – as well as several mercenaries and 200 triremes – from Greece.[6] However, in order to have enough money to finance such an expedition, Teos had to impose new taxes and to expropriate the goods of the temples, destroying the delicate balance artfully established by his father Nectanebo. This action ensured to Teos both the required finances and a great unpopularity.[7][8][9]

The operation started, with Chabrias as the admiral of the fleet, Agesilaus as the commander of the Greek mercenaries, and Teos' own nephew Nakhthorheb as the leader of the machimoi (Diodorus Siculus, certainly exaggerating, claimed that the machimoi were 80,000 in number[10]). Teos placed himself at the supreme command of the expedition – the position claimed by Agesilaus – leaving his brother Tjahapimu, the father of Nakhthorheb, in Egypt as his regent. Composed in this way, the expedition was about to arrive in Phoenicia without particular problems.[11][9]

Betrayal and end

Unfortunately for Teos, his brother Tjahapimu was plotting against him: Taking advantage of Teos' unpopularity, which was also instigated by the priesthoods, Tjahapimu convinced his son Nakhthorheb to rebel against Teos and to rise as pharaoh himself. Nakhthorheb persuaded Agesilaus to join his side by taking advantages of the several disagreements between the Spartan king and the pharaoh. Nakhthorheb – from now Nectanebo II – was acclaimed pharaoh and Teos, betrayed by everyone, had no alternatives that to flee at Susa at the court of his enemies.[11][9]
The final fate of Teos came from the inscription of a dignitary called Wennefer, who also participated to Teos' unfortunate expedition as a physician. Wennefer was sent by Nectanebo II in search of Teos, and managed to have him by the hands of the Great King at Susa, and to bring him back to the pharaoh in chains.[8]

Sources

  1. ↑ Alan B. Lloyd, Egypt, 404-332 B.C. in The Cambridge Ancient History, volume VI: The Fourth Century B.C., 1994, ISBN 0 521 23348 8, p. 358
  2. ↑ Leo Depuydt, Saite and Persian Egypt, 664 BC - 332 BC, in Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss and David A. Warburton (eds.), Ancient Egyptian Chronology, Brill, Leiden/Boston, 2006, ISBN 978 90 04 11385 5, p. 270
  3. ↑ Late Period Dynasty 30: Teos accessed January 22, 2007
  4. ↑ Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson. 2004. ISBN 0-500-05128-3
  5. ↑ Lloyd, op. cit., p. 341
  6. ↑ Lloyd, op. cit., pp. 348–49
  7. ↑ Lloyd, op. cit., p. 343
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Toby Wilkinson, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, Bloomsbury, London, 2010, pp. 457–59
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford, Blackwell Books, 1992, p. 377–78
  10. ↑ Lloyd, op. cit., p. 342
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lloyd, op. cit., pp. 341; 349.

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Preceded by
Nectanebo I		 Pharaoh of Egypt
Thirtieth Dynasty 		Succeeded by
Nectanebo II