Yes yes he could have.
Also it bothers me a little that he said he wanted to restore it to be like Athens but if this is Ancient Egypt than Athens has not happened yet.
Not necessarily.
Athens has been continuously inhabited since 3,000 B.C which makes it over 5,000 years old. By 1,400 B.C it was a massive city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens#%3A%7E%3Atext%3DAthens_has_been_continuously_inhabited%2Cof_the_characteristic_Cyclopean_walls.?wprov=sfla1
Maybe this is taking place after the Kingdom of Athens?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kings_of_Athens?wprov=sfla1
couldn’t he have asked for that from the beginning and actually befriend them legitimately, instead of planting so many seeds of mistrust….