The research touched on the ambitions of the Persians of the twenty-seventh dynasty that ruled Egypt towards the African East during the period (525-404 BC)

Abstract

       The research touched on the ambitions of the Persians of the twenty-seventh dynasty that ruled Egypt towards the African East during the period (525-404 BC).

     This East African site was important due to its natural resources, as well as the presence of many mines and quarries within this region, in addition to the fact that East Africa facilitated communications between East and West, as well as easy access to the Ethiopian highlands and then to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

      There were several southern roads linking the Egyptian ports towards East Africa, which had a role in the ancient migrations, or for trade. They also had a role in securing the cross-border trade routes from the raids of neighboring tribes, and they had a ruler called the protector of the southern entrance. These roads also had a role in Trading with Central Africa, the crops of Sudan and the products of Puntland such as gold, silver, ostrich feathers, ivory, precious wood, incense and gum.  

      With regard to the campaign of "Qambiz" on the country of Nubia "Meroe" and its invasion, he himself led an army and ascended the Nile to include the Nuba region, as Cambyses was greedy for the wealth of this region due to its important geographical location in trade and its location on the road leading to Wadi al-Alaqi, where gold mines abound. However, this campaign was exhausted by trouble due to the lack of supplies, so Cambyses changed his project and it was said that he might have met a great defeat at the hands of the Meroitic kings.

      It is attributed to "Dara I" his interest in re-drilling the canal linking the Red Sea with the Nile Valley, which was cared for by "Nicao II" (609-594 BC), the second king of the twenty-sixth dynasty, and the motive behind digging that canal was to facilitate the arrival of tribute ships to the country Persia via the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and then the Arabian Gulf, in addition to reducing the navigational trade activity in the western delta as well to activate the mutual maritime trade with India.