In the spring of the year 525 BC, the sands of Pelusium, a key fortress in the eastern Nile Delta, were the setting for one of the most unusual military episodes of antiquity. The Achaemenid army of Cambyses II advanced determined to conquer the last great empire of the Near East, ruled by the young pharaoh Psamtik III.
Aware that the Egyptian fortress had formidable archers and Greek mercenaries, Cambyses resorted to an audacious psychological warfare tactic recorded centuries later by the Macedonian historian Polyaenus in his Stratagems:
- Sacred animals in the vanguard: The Persians placed a living barrier of animals revered by the Egyptians in front of their front lines, including dogs, sheep, ibises, and, above all, cats.
- Shields bearing the image of Bastet: According to the chronicles, Persian soldiers painted feline images on their shields to reinforce the moral dilemma of their adversaries.
For Egyptian soldiers, harming or killing a cat was considered an unpardonable sacrilege punishable by death, as the animal embodied Bastet, protector of the home and symbol of cosmic harmony. Paralyzed by fear of divine wrath, the archers stationed on the walls refused to fire their volleys. The Egyptian line collapsed in complete disarray, enabling an overwhelming Persian victory that culminated in the fall of Memphis and the beginning of Achaemenid rule over Egypt.
Source: Polyaenus, 'Stratagems' (Stratagemata, Book VII, 9); Herodotus, 'Histories' (Book III).
