Also known as the 2nd Persian Period, beginning with the reconquest of Egypt by Ataxerxes III. A few years later the king was murdered, to be succeeded by his young son, but the result was a Nubian invasion of Egypt. Two years later the Persians led by Darius III reconquered Egypt. Two years later again, the latter was in turn defeated by Alexander the Great, who thereby acquired the western part of the Persian Empire. The government of Egypt was in the hands of the satrap Mazakes, but he surrendered without a fight when Alexander entered Egypt in 332 BC. This was the start of the Ptolemaic Period.