king Apries

Wahibre (Greek Apries) Haaibre
(589-570 BC)

King of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. He supported Levantine rulers against the growing empire of Babylon, which became very strong at this time. The captivity of the Jews (capture of Jerusalem and deportation of the population to Babylon) occurred during the reign of Apries (in 586 BC): many managed to flee to Egypt, where they settled at Elephantine, among other places. In 570 the king supported a local leader in Cyrene in struggles against Greeks. The king sent his general Ahmose, but the latter then declared himself king. Apries went into exile, and returned with a Babylonian army, but was defeated. Apries was killed, but Ahmose buried him as king in Sais.

Horus name: Wahib
Nebty name: Nebkhepesh
Golden Falcon name: Swadjtawy
Prenomen: Haaibra
Nomen: Wahibre

Burial place: Sais

Attestation in the Petrie Museum:

(click on the image to see a larger picture)

shabti (Petrie 1935: no. 570)	handle (Petrie 1917 : pl. LVI.26.4.2)	palace at Memphis

Further Attestations:

Palace and temple building at Sais (Arnold 1999: 80)
the temple of Anat erected by Saamun at Tanis was replaced by a new building (Arnold 1999: 80)
Mendes (Tell el-Rub'a), the central part of the temple were built by the king (Arnold 1999: 81)
Naos at Hermopolis Parva (Arnold 1999: 82)
Sphinxes at Heliopolis (Arnold 1999: 82)
Limestone columns found at Athribis (Arnold 1999: 82)
Deir el Abjad, granite block (Arnold 1999: 83)
Blocks found at several sites: Fuah, Gunâg, Mahalla el-Kubra, Memphis (Arnold 1999: 82)
Restoration work at the First Dynasty tomb of Djer at Abydos (Arnold 1999: 83)
Mentioned in a rock inscription near Konossos (de Morgan 1894: 69.2)

Bibliography:

Arnold 1999: 80-83 (on the building activity of the king)
Herodotus II, 161-171 (the Greek historian is, though not always very reliable, one of the main sources for the history of the Late Period)
Petrie 1905: 342-347 (extensive list of the sources then known)
Lloyd 2001 (a summary on his reign)
de Meulenaere 1975a (a summary on his reign)

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