Product Description
Concerning Egypt itself, I shall extend my remarks to a great length, because there is no country that possesses so many wonders.' The Greek writer Herodotus wrote these words as long ago as the 5th century BC, and the ancient civilization of Egypt has continued to cast its spell on historians, archaeologists and visitors ever since. Thanks to its geographical isolation, Egypt developed a unique and self-contained culture whose religion, customs, art, architecture and social structures changed little over 3000 years. And its dry climate led to the preservation of a wealth of monuments including ancient cities, pyramids, temples and other sumptuous artefacts. The Pharaohs is an illustrated history of the kings who ruled over this extraordinary land, narrating the story of 30 dynasties starting around 3100 BC when the first pharaoh, Menes, unified Upper and Lower Egypt, and ending with the conquest of Egypt in 332 BC by Alexander the Great. It profiles powerful, and sometimes enigmatic, rulers such as Mentuhotep II, Thutmose III, Amenophis II, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The story of these kings includes such seminal events in ancient Egyptian history as the development of the science of writing and the building of the first pyramid at Saqqara during the Archaic Period; the building of the pyramids at Giza by the centralized administration of the Old Kingdom; the expansion of trade with the Levant and Nubia during the Middle Kingdom (the 'classical' phase of pharaonic civilization); the rule of the foreign Hyksos kings and their introduction of technical innovations such as the horse-drawn chariot; the undertaking of grandiose building projects in the Valley of the Kings by the pharaohs of New Kingdom; expansion into Palestine and Syria which led to conflict with the Hittites; the long decline of Egypt during the Late Period, culminating in its invasion and annexation by Persia and its eventual conquest by Alexander the Great.
From the Inside Flap
Concerning Egypt itself, I shall extend my remarks to a great length, because there is no country that possesses so many wonders.' So wrote the Greek historian Herodotus after visiting Egypt during the 5th century BC. The history of ancient Egypt and its pharaohs has exercised a profound fascination over generations of archaeologists, scholars, writers, artists and visitors ever since. The pharaohs rules Egypt for more than 3000 years. Some were fearless warriors who extended Egypt's borders through force of arms, others were prodigious builders whose mighty pyramids still stand as symbols of wealth and power; one pharaoh was rumoured to have prostituted his daughter, another was condemned as a heretic and his reign erased from official history; at least two pharaohs were murdered. All considered themselves semi-divine beings; and all expected to live beyond death as fully divine gods. Joyce Tyldesley traces the history of Pharaonic Egypt from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt in the Early Dynastic Period, through the pyramid-building era of the Old Kingdom and the imperial expansion of the New Kingdom, to the period of decline and invasion that culminated in Egypt's annexation by the Roman Emperor in 30 BC. She offers compelling profiles of such rulers as the pyramid-builder Khufu, the Theban pharaoh Montuhotep II, the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, the warrior-pharaohs Tuthmosis III and Ramesses II, the 'heretic' Akhenaten and the celebrated boy-king Tutankhamen. Sumptuously illustrated, accessibly but authoritatively written, and rich in features exploring aspects of the culture, society and archaeological heritage of ancient Egypt, from burial practice to temple-building, The Pharaohs is an essential guide to the kings and civilisation of Egypt from a scholar who is steeped in knowledge of the period.
From the Back Cover
The Valley and the Delta, c.5300-3050 BC. Menes and Narmer, c.3050-3000 BC. Egypt's First Royal Cemetery, c.3000-2686 BC. The Step Pyramids, c. 2686-2613 BC. Snefru and His Family, c.2613-2494 BC. From Userkaf to Unas, c.2494-2345 BC. The End of the OId Kingdom, c.2345-2181 BC. The First Intermediate Period, c.2181-2055 BC. The Warriors of Thebes, c.2125-1985 BC. Amenemhat and His Descendants, c.1985-1773 BC. The End of the Middle Kingdom, c.1773-1650 BC. The Second Intermediate Period, c.1650-1550 BC. The Expulsion of the Hyksos, c.1550-1504 BC. Valley of the Kings. The Tuthmoside Kings, c.1504-1427 BC. Amenhotep II and Tuthmosis IV, c.1427-1390 BC. Amenhotep III, c.1390-1352. Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten and the Amarna Period, c.1352-1336 BC. The Experiment Fails, c.1338-1295 BC. General Ramesses and His Son, c.1295-1279 BC. Ramesses II, c.1279-1213 BC. From Merenptah to Tawosret, c.1213-1186 BC. Eight Kings Named Ramesses, c.1186-1069 BC. Tanis and Thebes, c.1069-945 BC. The Libyan Pharaohs, c.945-715 BC. The Nubian Pharaohs, c.747-656 BC. The Saite Pharaohs, c.664-525 BC. Two Persian Invasions, c.525-332 BC. The Macedonian Pharaohs, 332-305 BC. Ptolemy I to Ptolemy III, 304-221 BC. The Beginning of the End, 221-51 BC. The Fall of the House of Ptolemy, 51-30 BC.
About the Author
Dr Joyce Tyldesley has a degree in the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean from Liverpool University and a doctorate from Oxford University. She is currently Lecturer in Egyptology in the KNH Centre for Biomedical Egyptology at the University of Manchester, a Fellow of the Manchester Museum, and an Honorary Research Fellow at Liverpool University. Her main area of interest is the Egyptian New Kingdom. She has worked on many excavations in Britain, Europe and Egypt, and is the author of many published works on Ancient Egypt.
