Necho II

Portrait of a pharaoh of the Saite dynasty (Allard Piersonmuseum, Amsterdam)

Necho II: pharaoh of the Saite dynasty, ruler of Egypt from 610 to 595.

Egyptian names: Wehemibra Nekau

Successor of: Psammetichus I

610: Accession; Necho inherits a war against Babylonia, in which Egypt supports Assyria
609: Intervention in Palestine; meeting with king Josiah of Judah in Megiddo (according to 2 Kings 23.29); or battle against Josiah (according to 2 Chronicles 35.20-24); Judah and the Phoenician towns become Egyptian tributaries
Necho builds his HQs at Riblah on the Orontes, supporting the Assyrian king Aššur-Uballit II (Fall of Nineveh Chronicle)
War in Syria (Late years of Nabopolassar chronicle)
605: Nebuchadnezzar defeats Necho near Karchemiš (Early Years of Nebuchadnezzar chronicle)
601: Babylonian attack on Egypt repelled
597: Loss of Judah; Jerusalem is captured by the Babylonians
595: Death of Necho II; he is succeeded by his son Psammetichus II
Without known date: first circumnavigation of Africa (Herodotus, Histories, 4.42)
Necho's names are sometimes erazed from his monuments, which may signify that his foreign policy was seen as a failure; his successor refrained from foreign interventions

According to Herodotus, Histories, 2.158, Necho started to build a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea (finished by Darius I the Great)
An ancient Hyksos fortress at Pithom was rebuilt
Continued building activity at the temple of Neith in Sais

Succeeded by: Psammetichus II