Editing Dynastic Egypt (section)

== 31st Dynasty ==
The Thirty-First Dynasty of Egypt, conventionally dated 343–332 BCE, is the period of the '''Second Persian Domination''', when Egypt was once again absorbed into the '''Achaemenid Empire''' after the fall of Nectanebo II. It represents both the final eclipse of native pharaonic rule and the penultimate chapter of Egypt’s long pre-Hellenistic history. Unlike the first Persian domination (the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty), which endured for over a century and included rulers like Darius I who invested in Egyptian temples and administration, the Thirty-First Dynasty was short, harsh, and remembered with bitterness in later Egyptian and Greek tradition.

The dynasty begins with '''Artaxerxes III''' (358–338 BCE), who reconquered Egypt in 343 BCE. His campaign was massive, marshaling Persian forces along with Greek mercenaries, many of whom defected from Nectanebo II. Memphis fell, and Nectanebo fled south into Nubia, ending native rule. Artaxerxes installed '''Persian satraps to govern Egypt''' and is reported to have punished the Egyptian priesthood severely, stripping temples of resources to fund his empire. Greek and later Egyptian sources portray his rule as sacrilegious and oppressive, though the degree to which this reflects actual policy or later anti-Persian propaganda is debated. Still, archaeological evidence indicates temple activity slowed sharply during this period, and Egypt’s autonomy was effectively extinguished.

Artaxerxes III’s death in 338 BCE, likely by assassination, ushered in a chaotic sequence of Persian kings who briefly held Egypt. Artaxerxes IV Arses (338–336 BCE) reigned only a short time before being killed by his general Bagoas. He was followed by '''Darius III''' (336–332 BCE), the last Achaemenid king, whose rule coincided with the meteoric rise of '''Alexander the Great'''.

Under Darius III, Egypt was governed by satraps, but Persian power was already collapsing under Macedonian assault. Alexander’s campaigns in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia culminated in the Persian defeat at Issus (333 BCE) and Gaugamela (331 BCE). In 332 BCE, after Alexander’s siege of Tyre and advance into the Levant, Persian control of Egypt collapsed almost without resistance. Egyptian elites, weary of Persian rule, welcomed Alexander as a liberator. At '''Memphis''', he was crowned with the full pharaonic titulary, while at Siwa Oasis he was '''declared son of Amun'''. The Thirty-First Dynasty thus ended with the absorption of Egypt into the Macedonian conquest, inaugurating the Hellenistic age under the Argeads and later the Ptolemies.