After these events, Cambyses left the city of Memphis and traveled to Sais, a city closely connected with the former Egyptian king Amasis. Cambyses went there with a clear purpose in mind and carried it out as soon as he arrived. He entered the palace that had once belonged to Amasis, showing no respect for the memory of the dead king or for Egyptian customs Ephesus Day Tour.
Cambyses then gave a shocking command. He ordered that the body of Amasis be taken out of its tomb and brought before him. This order alone was deeply offensive to the Egyptians, who believed that the peace of the dead should never be disturbed.
Insults Against the Body of Amasis
When the attendants brought the body from the tomb, Cambyses ordered them to treat it with great cruelty. He commanded that the corpse be whipped, stabbed with sharp sticks, and insulted in every possible way. He even ordered the attendants to pull the hair from the body, as if it were still alive and able to feel pain.
However, the body of Amasis had been carefully embalmed according to Egyptian tradition. Because of this, it did not fall apart, no matter how roughly it was handled. The attendants struggled to carry out Cambyses’ orders, but the body resisted decay and remained whole. Eventually, they grew tired and could not continue.
The Order to Burn the Corpse
When Cambyses saw that his commands were not having the effect he wanted, he gave an even more shocking order. He told the attendants to burn the body. This command was considered deeply impious and offensive by both Persians and Egyptians The Death of the King’s Son.
The Persians believed that fire was a sacred god. Because of this belief, they never burned their dead, as they felt it was wrong to give a human body to a god. The Egyptians also rejected burning the dead, but for a different reason. They believed fire was a living creature that consumed whatever it touched and then died once it had eaten its fill. To them, giving a human body to fire was the same as feeding it to wild animals.
Egyptian Burial Beliefs
Egyptians believed strongly in preserving the body after death. This belief was the reason they practiced embalming. They wanted to protect the body from decay and from being eaten by worms or other creatures in the grave. Burning a body was completely against their religious beliefs and traditions.
Because of this, Cambyses’ order offended both cultures. It ignored Persian religious law and deeply violated Egyptian customs.
An Egyptian Explanation
The Egyptians later claimed that the body treated in this cruel way was not actually that of Amasis. According to their story, it belonged to another man of similar height and appearance. They said that Amasis had been warned by an oracle about what would happen to his body after death. To protect himself, he supposedly arranged for another body to be buried near the entrance of his tomb, while his own body was placed deep inside the tomb.
They claimed that Cambyses and the Persians were tricked and abused the wrong body, believing it to be that of Amasis.
The Historian’s Doubt
However, the writer of this account does not believe the Egyptian explanation. He suggests that the Egyptians invented this story to protect their own pride and the honor of their former king. In his view, Amasis never gave such instructions, and the tale was created later to soften the shame of what had happened.
This episode shows the deep disrespect Cambyses showed toward Egyptian religion and tradition. It also reveals how defeated peoples sometimes reshape stories to protect their dignity. The clash between Persian power and Egyptian belief is clearly seen in the fate of Amasis’ body.
