The Lost Army of Cambyses: A Mysterious Chapter in Ancient History
Featured in And The Rest Is History by Jodi Taylor
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The story of the Lost Army of Cambyses has captivated historians and archaeologists for centuries, remaining one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world. The army, which belonged to the Persian king Cambyses II, vanished during an ill-fated military campaign in 524BCE. Despite numerous theories and extensive searches, the exact fate of the lost army remains unknown, and the disappearance of this vast force continues to spark intrigue and speculation.
Cambyses II, succeeded his father, Cyrus the Great, and ascended to the throne of the Achaemenid Empire in 530 BCE. Known for his expansionist ambitions, Cambyses sought to extend the empire’s reach by invading Egypt, which Pharaoh Psamtik III then ruled. In 525 BCE, Cambyses launched a successful military campaign against Egypt, defeating the Egyptian forces at the Battle of Pelusium and subsequently capturing the country. However, his success in Egypt was overshadowed by a more mysterious and disastrous episode – the disappearance of his army.
After securing Egypt, Cambyses set his sights on the conquest of the Kingdom of Kush (modern-day Sudan), and it was during this campaign that the fate of his army would take a dramatic turn.
The army’s ill-fated journey began in 524 BCE, when Cambyses II decided to launch a military expedition to the Oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan Desert. According to ancient accounts, the Egyptians had insulted Cambyses by mocking his conquest of their land and religion. In a rage, Cambyses reportedly sought to destroy the Oracle of Amun to punish the Egyptians.
In the harsh desert environment, he gathered an army of 50,000 soldiers to undertake the difficult journey across the unforgiving terrain. The mission was to display power, as Cambyses sought to demonstrate his dominance over the sacred site and avenge the perceived insult to his authority. But what happened next would become the stuff of legend.
The most well-known account of the Lost Army of Cambyses comes from the Greek historian Herodotus, who chronicled the events in his Histories. According to Herodotus, the army set off towards the Siwa Oasis, navigating through the desolate expanse of the Libyan Desert. However, a sandstorm of catastrophic proportions struck the army, burying them alive in the dunes. Herodotus describes the sandstorm as so fierce that it completely obliterated the army, with no survivors.
While Herodotus is the most famous source for the story, his account is often viewed with scepticism. Some scholars suggest that his portrayal of the disaster could have been exaggerated, influenced by the dramatic and sometimes mythical narratives that characterised ancient historical writing. Nevertheless, his tale of the Lost Army, accompanied by his vivid description of the storm, has become the dominant explanation for the army's fate.
Over the centuries, numerous attempts have been made to uncover the truth behind Cambyses’ army's disappearance. Although many Egyptologists regard the story as apocryphal, people have searched for the remains of these legendary Persian soldiers for years, including the Hungarian adventurer László Almásy, on whom the 1992 novel The English Patient is based.
In January 1933, the British military officer Orde Wingate searched unsuccessfully for the Lost Army's remains in what was then known as the Libyan Desert. More recently, both Harvard and Helwan Universities have launched investigations, but despite extensive searches, no conclusive evidence of the army’s fate has ever been found.
Some archaeologists and historians suggest that the army's disappearance could have been caused by more than a sandstorm.
In 2015, as a result of his excavations at the Dakhla Oasis, Olaf E. Kaper of the University of Leiden suggested that a sandstorm did not destroy the Lost Army but was instead ambushed and defeated by a rebel Egyptian pharaoh, Petubastis III. Petubastis was later defeated by Cambyses’ successor, Darius the Great, who is believed to have invented the sandstorm story to erase Petubastis and his rebellion from Egyptian memory.
Another possibility is that the army suffered from natural and human factors, such as dehydration, disease, or disorientation. The desert's extreme conditions, along with the potential for internal strife and military disarray, could have contributed to the army's destruction.
Other theories propose that local tribes could have ambushed the army or that the soldiers may have become lost, leading to their eventual demise from starvation or exhaustion. However, these theories remain speculative, and no physical evidence has been discovered to support any of these explanations conclusively.
Discover how Max fared when she jumped to meet Ronan in the Libyan desert and unexpectedly encounters the Lost Army in And The Rest Is History by Jodi Taylor.
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