Psamtik and the Saite Revival

Assyria had installed Psamtik as its man in Sais, but he took advantage of its wars in the east, hired Greek and Carian soldiers, and brought the whole country under his hand. The last flowering of independent Egypt begins: temples are built on Old Kingdom models, scribes copy the ancient texts, craftsmen imitate work two thousand years old. In the delta appears the Greek trading city of Naucratis; mercenaries from all over the Mediterranean serve in the army; and on the southern frontier, on the island of Elephantine, stands a garrison with Judean soldiers.