Hakor or Hagar, also known by the Hellenized forms Achoris or Hakoris, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 29th Dynasty. His reign marks the apex of this feeble and short-lived Dynasty, having ruled for 13 years – more than half of its entire duration.
Reign of Hakor
Struggle for the accession
Hakor’s accession and relationships with his predecessor, Nepherites I, were long debated. After the Nepherites’ death, a dynastic struggle seemed to have occurred. The throne was claimed by two or maybe three pretenders: Hakor, Psammuthes, and possibly a phantom figure called Muthis, who was only mentioned in Eusebius’ epitome of Manetho’s Aegyptiaca. As a result, Hakor was alternately considered Nepherites’ legitimate successor or an unrelated usurper.
In 1986, John D. Ray suggested that Hakor was the Nepherites’ heir, who ruled undisturbed until his Year 2 when Psammuthes deposed him. After another year, Hakor managed to retake his legitimate throne by overthrowing the usurper. He continued to date his reign since his first coronation date, simply pretending that this gap never occurred. The third pretender, Muthis, could be inserted within this struggle, but his role – assuming that he did exist – is unknown. Ray’s hypothesis is accepted by other Egyptologists such as Alan B. Lloyd and Toby Wilkinson.
Shortly after his death, Hakor was called a usurper by the founder of the subsequent Dynasty, Nectanebo I. However, it has been suggested that Hakor and Nectanebo might have been relatives in some way, possibly related to Nepherites I but rivals each other.
Activities in Egypt
Once re-established, Hakor made considerable exertions to affirm his legitimacy, emphasizing his – real or fictional – descent from Nepherites. His building activity was remarkable, and he extensively restored many royal predecessors’ monuments.
In Karnak, Hakor finished the chapel for the sacred barque of Amun-Ra near the first pylon, which was started by Psammuthes or possibly by Nepherites I; he also possibly began a temple complex in northern Saqqara which was later further developed under Nectanebo II. His building activity is well attested in various places in Upper Egypt (Luxor, Medinet Habu, El-Kab, El-Tod, Medamud, Elephantine), in the Temple of Hibis of Kharga Oasis, as well as other locations in Middle Egypt.
Foreign relations
Hakor reprised Nepherites’ foreign policy. In Aristophanes’ comedy Plutus, performed in 388 BCE, an alliance between the Athenians and the Egyptians is mentioned. However, it was more likely to refer to the Athenian support for the rebellion of Evagoras I of Cyprus – himself allied with Hakor – against the Achaemenids. Theopompus also reported an alliance between Hakor and the Pisidians. The peace of Antalcidas between the Persians and Greeks (387 BCE) was a turning point. After that, Egypt and Cyprus remained the only opponents of Artaxerxes II, as reported by Theopompus and Orosius. The following years are pretty obscure, but it seems that the Persians first attacked Egypt in 385 BCE, and after three years of war, the Egyptians managed to defeat the invaders.
In 381 BCE, Hakor sent aid, money and 50 triremes (apparently without crew, though) to Evagoras to contribute to his resistance against the Great King. After the unsuccessful campaign in Egypt, he was now focusing on Cyprus. However, when, in 380 BCE, Evagoras travelled to Egypt to beg for further aid, Hakor saw no need to continue supporting him and sent him back to Cyprus with merely some more money. Evagoras surrendered to Artaxerxes soon after, but Hakor promptly joined a short-lived alliance with Sparta and Glos, son of the Egyptian admiral, Tamos. He was a supporter of the pretender Cyrus the Younger against Artaxerxes II. Hakor managed to get the Athenian general Chabrias into his service, but the Persian general Pharnabazus II lobbied Athens seeking for them to repatriate him.
Death and succession of Hakor
Hakor died in 379/8 BCE, leaving his throne to his son Nepherites II. However, the latter was able to keep it for just four months before being overthrown and replaced by an army general from Sebennytos, Nectanebo I.
