Editing Cambyses II (section)

===Preparations against Egypt and the conquest of Cyprus===
[[Image:Achaemenid Empire under different kings (flat map).svg|thumb|300px|Evolution of the [[Achaemenid Empire]].]]
Cambyses' accession to the Achaemenid throne was relatively smooth.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=50}} Ruling over a vast but young empire, Cambyses preserved his authority over the subjugated lands, but also expanded his dominion over Egypt, the last prominent power in the [[Near East]]. According to the [[France|French]] [[Iranologist]] [[Pierre Briant]], "this must not be seen as a more or less irrational and uncontrollable desire to take over the entire inhabited world".{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=51}} On the contrary, Cambyses' action had already been planned by his father, who wanted to unify Babylonia with the lands of the Trans-Euphrates (an area that stretched from [[Ras al-Bassit|Posideium]] to Egypt).{{sfn|Briant|2002|pp=49, 51}} This would eventually require conquering the lands situated between the Euphrates and [[Nile river|Nile]] rivers, and therefore necessitated conflict with Egypt, which had previously and more recently shown interest in the area.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=51}} 

The incumbent [[pharaoh]] of Egypt was [[Amasis II]], who had been ruling since 570.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=51}} His ally, [[Polycrates]], a Greek ruler of [[Samos]], posed a considerable threat to the Achaemenids, launching several raids that jeopardised Achaemenid authority.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=52}} However, Polycrates eventually forsook his Egyptian allies, and reached out to Cambyses, whose plans he was well acquainted with.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=51}} His sudden change of alliances was undoubtedly due to his uneasy position, with the [[Spartan]]s raising a force against him, and the rising hostility of some of the Samian aristocrats, who preferred partnership with Egypt. Another former ally of Amasis II, the [[Caria]]n military leader [[Phanes of Halicarnassus]], had also joined Cambyses after escaping assassins sent by the pharaoh.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=53}} Cambyses, before starting his expedition into Egypt, had seized [[Cyprus]] from Amasis II, which was reportedly a heavy blow to the latter.{{sfn|Briant|2002|p=51}}