Pherendates


Pherendates was an Achaemenid satrap of ancient Egypt during the 5th century BCE, at the time of the Achaemenid 27th Dynasty of Egypt.

Career

A son of Megabazus, a commander under king Darius I, Pherendates is mainly attested from three letters written in Egyptian Demotic. He replaced the satrap Aryandes who was deposed by Darius around 496 BCE; although the exact accession date of Pherendates is unknown. Pherendates was definitely the satrap in 492 BCE.
In the aforementioned letters, certain priests of the local temple of Khnum at Elephantine asked Pherendates to take care of some of their business in their place, a rather standard request to the pharaoh in any period of ancient Egyptian history.
In 486-485 BCE a revolt occurred in Egypt, only for being quelled in 484 BCE by a new satrap, Achaemenes. It is possible that Pherendates lost his life during the turmoil.