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( Taharqa)
Taharqa located in Nubia, Sudan was pharaoh of Egypt , and a member of the Nubian or Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. His reign can be dated from 690 BC to 664 BC. He was the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata who had first conquered Egypt, and the younger brother and successor of Shebitku.[2] Scholars have identified him with Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, who waged war against Sennacherib during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah (2 Kings 199; Isaiah 379) and drove him from his intention of destroying Jerusalem and deporting its inhabitants—a critical action that, according to Henry T. Aubin, has shaped the Western world. For at this time, the Bible had not yet been written, nor had the concept of YWEH been fully defined.[6] The events in the Biblical account are believed to have taken place in 701 BC, whereas Taharqa came to the throne some ten years later. A number of explanations have been proposed one being that the title of king in the Biblical text refers to his future royal title, when at the time of this account he was likely only a military commander. Taharqa indulged in rebuilding the temple at Kawa, across the Nile from present-day Dongola, which became a major center for the Nubian kings. He built at a number of other sites in Nubia, and carried out numerous restoration and building projects at the temple of Amun at Karnak—especially the First Court of Amun there—as well as at Medinet Habu.[7] He was described by the ancient Greek historian Strabo as being counted among the greatest military tacticians of the ancient world.[8] It was during his reign that Egypt's enemy Assyria at last invaded Egypt. Esarhaddon led several campaigns against Taharqa, which he recorded on several monuments. His first attack in 677 BC, aimed to pacify Arab tribes around the Dead Sea, led him as far as the Brook of Egypt. Esarhaddon then proceeded to invade Egypt proper in Taharqa's 17th regnal year, after Esarhaddon had settled a revolt at Ashkelon. Taharqa defeated the Assyrians on that occasion. Three years later in 671 BC the Assyrian king captured and sacked Memphis, where he captured numerous members of the royal family. Taharqa fled to the south, and Esarhaddon reorganized the political structure in the north, establishing Necho I of the 26th dynasty as king at Sais.
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