History of ancient Egypt over the country to Alexander the Great without a fight. The Achaemenid empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander's empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the Nile valley. In 332 BC Alexander III of Macedon conquered Egypt with little resistance from the Persians. He was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. He visited Memphis, and went on a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared him the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the respect he showed for their religion,
Economy of ancient Tamil country or "Nikamam". Stone inscriptions at Mangulam (c. 200 BCE) and pottery inscriptions found at Kodumanal refer to merchant guilds as "nikamam" and the members of the guilds as "nikamattor". These findings suggest that merchant guilds were established at several industrial and trade centres of ancient Tamil country. Many of these merchant associations acted in union in their public activities. They were autonomous, meaning that they enjoyed freedom from state interference but also suffered from the lack of state backing. Merchants were expected to abide by a code of conduct, which was: "Refuse to take more than your due and never