Necho II, son of Psamtik, was a member of the 26th dynasty who supported a weakened Assyria as a buffer against the threat of Media and Babylonia.

Necho was successful in Syria and Palestine until 605 BC when the Babylonian Nebuchadnessar defeated the Egyptian forces. Necho repelled the enemy from invading Egypt and concentrated on commercial interests.

He started to build a canal from the Red Sea to the Nile, but an oracle persuaded him to discontinue the project. Necho built fleets manned with Phoenician sailors and sent them to circumnavigate Africa.