RISE AND FALL OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Inthislandmarkwork,oneoftheworld’smostrenownedEgyptologiststellstheepicstoryofthisgreatcivilization,fromitsbirthasthefirstnation-statetoitsfinalabsorptionintotheRomanEmpire—threethousandyearsofwilddrama,boldspectacle,andunforgettablecharacters.Award-winningscholarTobyWilkinsoncapturesnotonlythelavishpompandartisticgrandeurofthislandofpyramidsandpharaohsbutforthefirsttimerevealstheconstantpropagandaandrepressionthatwereitsfoundations.Drawinguponfortyyearsofarchaeologicalresearch,Wilkinsontakesusinsideanexotictribalsocietywithapre-monetaryeconomyanddecadent,divinekingswhoruledwithall-too-recognizablehumanemotions.HerearetheyearsoftheOldKingdom,wherePepiII,madekingasaninfant,waslaterunderminedbyrumorsofhisaffairwithanarmygeneral,andtheMiddleKingdom,agoldenageofliteratureandjewelryinwhichthebenefitsoftheafterlifebecameavailableforall,notjustroyalty—aconceptlaterunderlyingChristianity.WilkinsonthenexploresthelegendaryeraoftheNewKingdom,alostworldofbreathtakingopulencefoundedbyAhmose,whoseparentsweresiblings,andwhomarriedhissisterandtransformedworshipofhisfamilyintoanationalcult.OtherleadersincludeAkhenaten,the“hereticking,”whowithhiswifeNefertitibroughtaboutarevolutionwithaboldnewreligion;hissonTutankhamun,whosedazzlingtombwouldremainhiddenforthreemillennia;andelevenpharaohscalledRamesses,thelastofwhompresidedoverthemilitarism,lawlessness,andcorruptionthatcausedacrucialpoliticalandsocietaldecline.Rivetingandrevelatory,filledwithnewinformationanduniqueinterpretations,TheRiseandFallofAncientEgyptwillbecomethestandardsourceaboutthisgreatcivilization,onethatlasted—sofar—longerthananyother.