o THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN When, and under exactly what circumstances, the departure of the priests of Amen took place from Thebes cannot be said, but it is probably correct to say that their exodus began under the rule of Shashanq I., the founder of the XXIInd Dynasty, and that it continued until the greater number of the priests had left Thebes. We do not, unfortunately, know what became of the endowments belonging to the god Amen, but it seems certain that the priests would carry away with them a cerlain amount of temple property, apparel, &c., connected with the worship of their god, and treasure sufficient for establishing themselves in their new abode. The remaining revenues were, no doubt, devoted to the maintenance of the sanctuary of the god, the temple-buildings, and the remnant of the priests who, for one reason or other, preferred to remain at Thebes. After the departure of the main body of the priests of Amen from Thebes, the sanctuary of their god lost much of its splendour, and the fame of Amen himself dwindled, in proportion as that of the gods of Abydos increased, and the worship of the deities of Tanis and Bubastis spread into Upper Egypt. The followers of Amen in Thebes continued, however, to be tolerably numerous, and his shrine was well worth plundering by the Assyrians, who captured the city in the seventh century before Christ.

END OF VOL. I.

Gilbert & Rivington Ld., St. John's House, Clerkenwel K,C.

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