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[[File: MET_PsamtekI.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|Bust of Psamtek I in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]]__NOTOC__Psamtek I (ruled 664-610 BC), often referred by his Greek name Psammetichus, is considered one of ancient Egypt’s greatest kings because he saved the civilization from centuries of cultural decline and foreign rule. Beginning in the middle of the Twentieth Dynasty, around 1150 BC, Egypt began a long yet steady decline where it first lost its imperial possessions and then was overcome by a series of Libyan invasions and migrations. Egypt eventually entered into what is termed the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1095-664 BC), where the country was fragmented into several autonomous zones, many of which were ruled by Libyans or Egyptians of Libyan descent. The lowest point was when the Assyrians conquered and decimated Egypt in the seventh century. But out of the ashes of Assyrian dominance came Psamtek I, perhaps somewhat ironically because he was of Libyan descent.
Psamtek helped save Egypt by unifying the country once more and establishing a new politically stable dynasty, the Twenty-Sixth, in the Delta city of Sais. From Sais, Psamtek I consolidated his power through a number of different methods. Although he made Egypt independent from Assyria, he maintained diplomatically beneficially ties with the Near Eastern Empire. Psamtek I then modernized the Egyptian army, defeated a major Libyan rebellion in the Western Desert, and patronized two important religious cults that were vital for him to secure his power base outside of the Delta.
