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Timeline › 27th Dynasty

Cambyses II c. 525–522 BC

The Persian king who defeated Psamtik III at Pelusium in 525 BC and made Egypt part of his empire. He took the Egyptian throne name Mesutire, chosen for him by the official Udjahorresnet, whose statue telling the story is in the Vatican Museums. Herodotus says he killed the Apis bull, but records from the Serapeum show an Apis buried with full honours in his reign.

Throne name: Mesutire

mswt-rꜥ: “Offspring of Ra”

Sign by sign

  1. Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
  2. Three fox skins F31ms To be born (as in Ramesses, Thutmose).
  3. Quail chick G43w The sound w. Also a plural ending.
  4. Pestle U33ti The sounds ti.
Now draw this cartouche yourself

Birth name: Kembudj

kmbḏ

Sign by sign

  1. Basket with handle V31k The sound k. Also means 'you, your'.
  2. Owl G17m The sound m. Also means 'in'.
  3. Foot D58b The sound b.
  4. Quail chick G43w The sound w. Also a plural ending.
  5. Fire-drill U28ḏꜣ The sound ḏꜣ.
Now draw this cartouche yourself

Where to see Cambyses II's name today

Museum

Gregorian Egyptian Museum, Vatican Museums

The Vatican's Egyptian rooms hold real pharaonic inscriptions beside Roman copies of Egyptian art. You can read the cartouches of Persian kings on the statue of Udjahorresnet and the title 'king's mother' on a colossal statue of Queen Tuya.

Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).