Cambyses II (r. 530-522 BCE) was the second king of the Achaemenid Empire. The Greek historian Herodotus portrays Cambyses as a mad king who committed many acts of sacrilege during his stay in Egypt, including the slaying of the sacred Apis calf. This account, however, appears to have been derived mostly from Egyptian oral tradition and may therefore be biased. Most of the sacrileges attributed to Cambyses are not supported by contemporary sources. At the end of his reign, Cambyses faced a revolt by a man who claimed to be his brother Smerdis, and he died on his way to suppress this revolt.
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Definition
Timeline
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530 BCE - 522 BCEReign of Cambyses II of Persia.
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526 BCE - 525 BCEReign of Psamtik (Psammetichus) III in Egypt, ending with the Persian invasion.
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525 BCE - 522 BCECambyses II of Persia rules Egypt and leads campaign to Nubia.
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525 BCECambyses II of Persia takes the city of Pelusium, conquers Egypt.
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522 BCEDarius I (Darius the Great) succeeds to the throne of Persia after the death of Cambyses II.
