kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt

398 BCE – 380 BCE · capital Mendes

A Delta dynasty from Mendes that kept Egypt independent of Persia in the early 4th century BCE through Greek alliances.

Origins

Around 399 to 398 BCE Nepherites I, a general from Mendes in the central Delta, overthrew Amyrtaeus of the Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt and founded a new line. He sent grain and ships to Sparta, then at war with Persia, and built at Karnak and Mendes.

Rule and society

The dynasty's strongest king, Hakor (Achoris), ruled for about thirteen years. He allied with Evagoras of Cyprus and Athens, hired Greek mercenaries under the Athenian Chabrias and repelled a Persian attack around 385 to 383 BCE. He was an active builder, restoring temples across Egypt. Rivalry between family branches weakened the throne, with short reigns by Psammuthes and Nepherites II.

Decline and legacy

In 380 BCE Nectanebo I, a general from Sebennytos, deposed Nepherites II and founded the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. The remains of a royal tomb at Mendes, probably that of Nepherites I, have been excavated, and Hakor's building works were often reinscribed by his successors.

Lineage

Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt 404 BCE – 398 BCETwenty-ninth Dynasty of EgyptThirtieth Dynasty of Egypt 380 BCE – 343 BCE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/twenty-ninth-dynasty-of-egypt
MLA
“Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/twenty-ninth-dynasty-of-egypt. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/twenty-ninth-dynasty-of-egypt.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/twenty-ninth-dynasty-of-egypt (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻