Histories

The priests told me that Min was the first king of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt, and that first he separated Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaMemphis from the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile by a dam. All the river had flowed close under the sandy mountains on the Libyan side, but Min made the southern bend of it, which begins about twelve and one half miles above Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaMemphis, by damming the stream, thereby drying up the ancient channel, and carried the river by a channel so that it flowed midway between the hills.

And to this day the Persians keep careful watch on this bend of the river, strengthening its dam every year to keep the current in; for were the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile to burst its dikes and overflow here, all Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaMemphis would be in danger of flooding.

Then, when this first king Min had made dry land of what he thus cut off, he first founded in it that city which is now called Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaMemphis (for even Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, AfricaMemphis lies in the narrow part of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt), and outside of it he dug a lake from the river to its north and west (for the Nahr an- Nil [31.1,30.166] (river), AfricaNile itself bounds it on the east); and secondly, he built in it the great and most noteworthy temple of Hephaestus.

After him came three hundred and thirty kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll. In all these many generations there were eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen, native to the country; the rest were all Egyptian men.

The name of the queen was the same as that of the Babylonian princess, Nitocris. She, to avenge her brother (he was king of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt and was slain by his subjects, who then gave Nitocris the sovereignty) put many of the Egyptians to death by treachery.