Necho II

Long ago, a king named Necho ruled Egypt.

He was a very busy leader. He built many new things. He even started a big canal. This canal was for trade.

Necho also built a navy. He used ships to sail the sea. This was new for his people.

He sent ships on a long trip. They sailed around Africa. It took three years.

They saw the sun on their right. This helped them find the way home. Necho was a man of action.

Necho II was a king of Egypt. He ruled during the 26th Dynasty. He was the son of Psammetichus I. Necho was a man of action. He wanted to make Egypt strong again.

Necho led many wars. He fought to help the Assyrian Empire. He also fought against the Babylonians. In 609 BC, he led an army to Syria. He fought a battle at Megiddo.

This battle was a hard time for many people. Later, the Babylonians won a big battle at Carchemish. Because of this, Necho lost some of his lands.

Necho also worked on big projects. He tried to dig a canal. This canal would link the Nile River to the Red Sea. It was meant to help trade. He also built a new navy. He used Greek sailors to help him.

Necho sent a famous trip of ships. He sent Phoenician sailors on a voyage. They sailed from the Red Sea. They went all the way around Africa. The trip took three years. The sailors said they saw the sun on their right. This helped people learn about the shape of Africa.

Necho II was a powerful king of Egypt. He ruled during the 26th Dynasty from 610 to 595 BC. He was the son of Psammetichus I and his wife, Mehtenweskhet. His royal name was Wahem-Ib-Re. This name meant "Carrying out the Heart of Re." Necho was a man of great action. He wanted to make Egypt a strong land again.

Necho spent much of his time leading armies. In 609 BC, he led a large force to help the Assyrian Empire. He traveled through Syria using a coast route called Via Maris. He even used a fleet of ships to help his soldiers. During this time, he fought a battle at Megiddo. This battle was a very hard time for the people involved. Necho also fought the Babylonians in later years.

War was a constant part of his reign. In 605 BC, a big battle happened at Carchemish. An Egyptian force fought against the Babylonians there. The Babylonians won this decisive victory. This loss was a hard blow for Necho. It meant he could not keep his lands in the Middle East. The Babylonian leader, Nebuchadnezzar II, took much of that territory.

Necho also worked on huge building projects. He tried to dig a canal from the Nile River to the Red Sea. This was an early version of the Suez Canal. He wanted the canal to help ships trade between seas. He also built a new Egyptian navy. He hired Greek sailors to help him sail the seas. This was new because many Egyptians used to fear the ocean.

One of his most famous ideas involved a long sea voyage. Necho sent Phoenician sailors on a trip around Africa. They started in the Red Sea and sailed for three years. The sailors said they saw the sun on their right side. This meant they were sailing around the bottom of Africa. This voyage helped people learn how big the continent really was. It was a very important discovery for the ancient world.

Necho II was a pharaoh of Egypt during the 26th Dynasty. He ruled from 610 to 595 BC. His capital was located at Sais. Necho was the son of Psammetichus I and Mehtenweskhet. His royal name, or prenomen, was Wahem-Ib-Re. This name translates to "Carrying out the Heart of Re." Necho was a leader who focused on action and large-scale projects. He lived during a time of great change in the ancient Near East.

Necho II faced a world filled with shifting empires. The Neo-Assyrian Empire was falling apart due to raids. Groups called the Cimmerians and Scythians had caused much chaos. These groups helped the Babylonians weaken the Assyrians. Necho wanted to help the remaining Assyrian leaders. He tried to support a general named Ashur-uballit II. Necho sent a force to help him near the Euphrates River. However, the Egyptian force was too small to succeed. The combined armies had to retreat west across the river.

In 609 BC, Necho led a major military campaign into Syria. He personally commanded a large army of mercenaries. This force used the Via Maris, which is a coastal route. Necho also used a Mediterranean fleet to support his troops. During this march, he fought a battle at Megiddo. This battle involved the Judean king, Josiah. Necho's forces were successful in their movement through Philistia. He later captured Kadesh on the Orontes River. Necho was the first pharaoh to cross the Euphrates since Thutmose III.

Despite these movements, Necho's goals for empire were difficult to reach. The Babylonians were a rising power that Necho had to face. In 605 BC, a massive battle occurred at Carchemish. Egyptian forces fought against the Babylonian army there. The Babylonian leader was Nebuchadnezzar II. The Babylonians won a decisive victory at this battle. This defeat destroyed Necho's dream of a restored Egyptian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar II took control of territories from the Euphrates to Judea. Necho could not recover these lost lands.

Necho II was also a builder of great infrastructure. He began an ambitious project to dig a canal. This canal connected the Pelusiac branch of the Nile to the Red Sea. It was an early version of the Suez Canal. The waterway was meant to help trade between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. He also founded a new city called Per-Temu Tjeku. This city was located near what is now Ismailia. These projects show his desire to connect Egypt to global trade routes.

To support his trade and defense, Necho built a navy. This was a very unusual move for an Egyptian pharaoh. Most Egyptians at that time felt a deep fear of the sea. Necho recruited Ionian Greeks to help him form this fleet. His navy operated along both the Red Sea and the Mediterranean coasts. He even constructed advanced warships, such as triremes. This new maritime focus changed how Egypt interacted with the world.

One of the most famous stories from his reign involves a long voyage. Necho commissioned a group of Phoenician sailors for an expedition. They sailed from the Red Sea to find a new route to Asia. The journey took three full years to complete. The sailors sailed around the southern end of Africa, which was called Libya. They reported that the sun was on their right side as they sailed. This detail suggested they had successfully circled the continent. This voyage helped humans understand the true shape of the world.