Bosses in history have many unexpectedly large impacts. And you will surely be surprised by this fact.
Cat lovers don’t want to do anything to hurt the “boss” . But with the ancient Egyptians, they even worshiped cats, and that love and worship cost them a great defeat. It was the Battle of Pelusium – the battle that decided the fate of Egypt at that time.
The Battle of Pelusium took place in 525 BC, between the Persian army – led by the emperor Cambyses II – and the Egyptian army of Pharaoh Psametik III (also known as Psammenitus).
The cause of the outbreak of war stemmed from the fact that Cambyses II proposed to the daughter of Pharaoh at that time, Amasis. However, he did not want his daughter to become a political tool, so he sent the daughter of the previous Pharaoh.
The daughter, feeling offended, told the truth to Emperor Cambyses. And then Cambyses, with great indignation, decided to wage war. However, by the time he personally went to war, Amasis had died, giving the throne to Psammenitus.
The cause of the outbreak of war stemmed from the event that Cambyses II proposed to Pharaoh’s daughter.
The young pharaoh decided to station himself at Pelusium – an important Egyptian city near the mouth of the Nile to meet the Persian army, and it was the right decision. That fortress was too solid, fully equipped with weapons and food, so it continuously repelled each wave of Persian attacks – at that time a notorious army in the world.
However, the fate of the battle suddenly changed, all thanks to the cunning of Cambyses and… the cats.
One of the most revered goddesses in ancient Egypt was Bastet – often depicted as a woman with the head of a cat. She is the goddess of family, love, fertility, women, and secrets.
The creature that represents the goddess is a cat, so the Egyptians extremely worshiped this animal, considering it a holy beast. Anyone who kills a cat, even one, will be executed. Even according to recorded history, if there is a fire, they will save the cat’s life first and then escape. Cats are also rare creatures to be mummified and buried like humans.
So to know that the Egyptians loved and worshiped cats very much and Cambyses II knew it.
The Egyptians worshiped cats.
Cambyses ordered Bastet to be painted on the soldiers’ shields. More terrible, he put on the front line an army of cats. There are also dogs, sheep, cranes… or any other animal that the Egyptians worshiped.
As a result, the Egyptian army under Psammenitus, when seeing the goddess painted on the enemy’s shield, trembled and did not dare to fight. In addition to the fact that a whole herd of “mascots” rushed at their feet, all of them abandoned their positions and fled. Egyptian soldiers were slaughtered, their bodies overlapping so much that Herodotus – the famous historian of ancient Greece – recorded that their bones were still mixed in the sand many years later.
Caricature of the Battle of Pelusium.
After the battle, Emperor Cambyses II proceeded to lay siege to Memphis. As a result, the stronghold of Memphis fell, Psammenitus was captured, and Egypt belonged to Cambyses II.
So you can see, how influential bosses in history have been, to the point that the Egyptians lost a battle of fate because of them.