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The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

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  • Create Date：2021-05-24 10:55:41
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Toby Wilkinson
  • ISBN：1408810026
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Summary

In this landmark work， one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization， from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption into the Roman Empire--three thousand years of wild drama， bold spectacle， and unforgettable characters。
Award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson captures not only the lavish pomp and artistic grandeur of this land of pyramids and pharaohs but for the first time reveals the constant propaganda and repression that were its foundations。 Drawing upon forty years of archaeological research， Wilkinson takes us inside an exotic tribal society with a pre-monetary economy and decadent， divine kings who ruled with all-too-recognizable human emotions。
Here are the years of the Old Kingdom， where Pepi II， made king as an infant， was later undermined by rumors of his affair with an army general， and the Middle Kingdom， a golden age of literature and jewelry in which the benefits of the afterlife became available for all， not just royalty--a concept later underlying Christianity。 Wilkinson then explores the legendary era of the New Kingdom， a lost world of breathtaking opulence founded by Ahmose， whose parents were siblings， and who married his sister and transformed worship of his family into a national cult。 Other leaders include Akhenaten， the "heretic king，" who with his wife Nefertiti brought about a revolution with a bold new religion; his son Tutankhamun， whose dazzling tomb would remain hidden for three millennia; and eleven pharaohs called Ramesses， the last of whom presided over the militarism， lawlessness， and corruption that caused a crucial political and societal decline。
Riveting and revelatory， filled with new information and unique interpretations， "The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt "will become the standard source about this great civilization， one that lasted--so far--longer than any other。

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Reviews

Stacy ，

I skimmed through this。 A lot of emphasis on the building of pyramids， temples and other solid infrastructure for the rulers。 There were other interesting tidbits about the lifestyle and habits of the Egyptian people I liked the maps and timelines scattered throughout the book。

Joelle ，

Joelle Still Reads Her Bookcase #16I appreciated that the book had a broad view of Ancient Egypt， and didn't get bogged down with minutiae。 Joelle Still Reads Her Bookcase #16I appreciated that the book had a broad view of Ancient Egypt， and didn't get bogged down with minutiae。 。。。more

Prabodh Sharma ，

"Soldiers of France， 40 centuries gaze down upon you。。。" Napoleon's speech to his soldiers at the invasion of Egypt in AD 1798。This is an almost surreal and incredible tale of a civilization which lasted for 3000 years （from Narmer to Cleopatra）， in all its riches， pomp and glory， magnificently penned down by Toby Wilkinson。 Herodotus was the historian who gave us the famous statement， "Egypt is the gift of the Nile"， and it can't be truer （Egyptian had no name for Nile though。 It was simply "th "Soldiers of France， 40 centuries gaze down upon you。。。" Napoleon's speech to his soldiers at the invasion of Egypt in AD 1798。This is an almost surreal and incredible tale of a civilization which lasted for 3000 years （from Narmer to Cleopatra）， in all its riches， pomp and glory， magnificently penned down by Toby Wilkinson。 Herodotus was the historian who gave us the famous statement， "Egypt is the gift of the Nile"， and it can't be truer （Egyptian had no name for Nile though。 It was simply "the river" as in their world， there was no other！ Trivia: they viewed their world with southern orientation， with Mediterranean at the bottom and origin of Nile at the top。）----------------------------------------------------------------------------History of Egypt begins around 5000 BC （advanced culture testified by Stonehenge type structures at Nabta Playa and Sistine chapel type images in Wadi Umm Salam） with drying up of what are now desert lands， due to climate change。 As nomadic desert people started migrating to the valleys， the population pressure on resources and social transformation led to the formation of 3 earlier kingdoms at Tjeni， Nubt and Nekhen。 Inevitable clashes between them led to Tjeni emerging victorious， crowning the first king of the United Egypt in 2950 BC （crowns being an Egyptian invention）， known as Narmer or Menes （immortalised in a pallete called Narmer Palette in Cairo museum）， in the process creating the world's first nation state （defined as a political territory whose population shares a common identity）。 The creation of distinctive sense of Egyptianness must be ranked as one of the greatest achievements of earlier Pharaohs （"unite and rule"）。 However， it was a nation built on subjugation and terror， for there were many Gods in Egypt; but the king as divine link was embodiment of them， and he demanded absolute subordination。 So much so， that the entire retinue of the earlier kings was strangled and buried with them。 Mythology supported the ideology of divine origin of Kingship as the first created being called Atum （similar sounding to Adam） was also acknowledged as the first king。 Egyptian ideology of "maat": truth， justice， righteousness and created order actually meant King having monopoly of truth and his word the law。 To maintain covenant between God and Ruler， the population would happily （or grudgingly） toil for years to build pyramids （though it had economic incentive too）！Pyramid building was given a start by King Netjerijhet who built a step pyramid in Saqqara， architectured by legendary Imhotep。 The vast resources for pyramid building required a restructuring of civil services （entry of professional bureaucrats） and economic development。 Toby Wilkinson writes， "as Egypt embarked on pyramid building， the pyramids were building Egypt"， and what a build it was！ The great Pyramid at Giza made by King Khufu in about 2500 BC still stands as a marvel to the modern world （though the art of pyramid building was perfected under his father， the 1st king of the 4th dynasty Sneferu， associated with the bent pyramid at Dahshur）， and so does the Great Sphinx built by his 2nd son。 But the age of great pyramid building ended about 2400 BC （due to lack of resources and also as no new ruler could have outdone such magnificent structures）。 The future rulers contended with smaller tombs/pyramids and temples to God， though they are extra ordinary works of art in themselves， such as that of Unas （last king of the 5th dynasty circa 2300） who created a pyramid， ceiling of which was studded with golden stars against a dark blue background， and walls embellished with pyramid texts， which are the earliest surviving body of religious literature from Egypt。Like the Chinese civilization much later， the Egyptians were obsessed with record keeping （through indigenously developed Hieroglyphics， though the "idea" of writing may have come from Mesopotamian city of Uruk）， and elaborate bureaucracy （unlike Chinese though， the bureaucracy was largely inherited and nepotism based， rather than merit-based。 Toby derides it， saying "style over substance， impression over action， an all too common phenomenon in societies hamstrung by bureaucracy"）。 Literature especially flourished from the middle kingdom onwards （2100 BC）。Like the Mesopotamian "Tale of Gilgamesh"， obsession with overcoming death lay at the base of funerary customs of Egyptians。 Pyramids were designed as resurrection machines， mummies to provide home for undying spirits of the dead and preparation was made by burying all needed goods for the afterlife。 In the process， Egyptians devised the concepts of "original sin"， "hell"， "final judgement"， "resurrection"， concepts which ultimately shaped the religions of the near East including Christianity。 In "The book of 2 ways"， the earliest of Egyptian afterlife books called the Coffin Texts， "ka" or the eternal spirit had to traverse through the underworld （such as Dante's Inferno） to the abode of Osiris （described eerily similar to heaven of Judean texts and Koran） （Osiris was the Egyptian God of dead）。 Attack by Pharaoh Meremptah， son of Ramesses II on a rebel tribe in Canaan called Israel is the only reference to Israel in any ancient Egyptian scripture。Another remarkable feature of this ancient civilization was prominent role played by women， especially from 17th Dynasty onwards。 Hatshepsut was the 1st prominent female Pharaoh （ruled from 1479 to 1458 BC ）， though in 12th dynasty Sobeknefuru had briefly ruled as a female king。 The post of high priest of the Theban temple of Amun was occupied by various women。 Women also acted as King regents when the next Pharaoh was too young。 Even the last Pharaoh of Egypt was a woman， the famous Cleopatra。Eventually， the decline of the civilization was more due to internal than the external factors。 Egypt had faced foreign invasions before （a fertile and wealthy kingdom lured impoverished neighbours too often）， prominent being occupation by Hyksos （Semitic speaking elites from coastal Lebanon） who ruled Northern Egypt for 110 years from 1630 BC onwards， attack from fearsome sea people in 1187 BC， repeated invasions by the rulers of Kush and so on， but Egypt had miraculously survived。 In fact， in 1500 BC， Egypt was only one of the 5 great powers of Near East， along with Babylonia， Assyria， Mittani and Hittites， although arguably the strongest one （from the time of reign of Thutmose III， stepson and son-in-law of Hatshepsut， perhaps the greatest of all Pharaohs， to the death of modern celebrity king Tutankhamun in 1322BC to the times of the last great Pharaoh Ramesses III till 1156 BC）。 The cracks domestically started occuring during the reign of Ramesses III when payments to workers got delayed prompting the earliest recorded strikes in history in 1159BC。 Succession disputes， corruption， robbing of tombs and pyramids of old Pharaohs， rise of local warlords， decline of central autonomy， civil wars， loss of faith of people in Pharaohs was of more serious consequence than the foreign threats which reaped on such weaknesses。 Egypt passed in the hands of Libyans， Nubians （kingdom of Kush）， Persians， Macedonians （Ptolemic empire） and finally Rome， and was never able to regain its former glory。 Thus the sun set on this great civilization on the west of Nile， where the earliest Pharaohs had made their necropolis。Coming to the book， Toby has maintained an academically sound， yet a light language， bordering on humorous at places， such as "from 5th dynasty onwards， Egyptian monarchs seem to have had a curious fondness for personal names that sound babyish to our ears， from Izi and Ini to Teri and Pepi， Nebi， Iti and Ibi。。。perhaps it tells us something about the cossetted atmosphere inside the royal apartments！" ;using titles of movie names such as "Back to the future" or novels such as "Brave New World"！ He displays more the style of literary author than a historian in describing events such as civil wars， see saw in power equations of lower and upper Egypt， wars with foreigners， love affair of Cleopatra and Caeser and Antonio， and is an absolute pleasure to read。 Highly recommended。 。。。more

Jordan Ferreira ，

A glimpse into a civilization that has always enchanted & spellbound my imagination。

Casey ，

A great book， proving a detailed history of Ancient Egypt， from its founding in the misty past through to its Roman subjugation。 This history spans more than 3500 years， and the book’s length is testament to that serious block of time。 The author does not shy away from details， making great use of detailed descriptions of discovered artifacts to provide color and action to what could otherwise be a dreary chronological history。 Nor does the author make this simply a tale of pharaohs and priests， A great book， proving a detailed history of Ancient Egypt， from its founding in the misty past through to its Roman subjugation。 This history spans more than 3500 years， and the book’s length is testament to that serious block of time。 The author does not shy away from details， making great use of detailed descriptions of discovered artifacts to provide color and action to what could otherwise be a dreary chronological history。 Nor does the author make this simply a tale of pharaohs and priests， there are many conversations on the daily life of all Egyptians， with the character list including individuals known only through a single name carved in stone。 Perhaps most useful is the way the author brings in human commentary to better describe the interaction between the powerful。 Regular comparisons are made with the better documented Royal drama and political upheaval of more modern times to help flesh out the few hieroglyphs carved into rocks。 Reading the book one is left with a better appreciation of the full scope and magnitude of Egypt。 The complexity of the culture and the breadth of its time span are very tough to fully take in。 To help， the author points out the continuity over time， regularly referring to previous periods which acted as influencers or to the building sites which changed their look as successive generations re-created them anew。 I especially liked how each Dynasty within each period was given a unique theme。 This allowed for a better organizational structure and a means of remembering the deeds of every governing era。 Overall， a long but very interesting book。 Highly recommended for those wanting to better understand the full breadth of human civilization as it existed on the banks of the Nile in the ancient past。 。。。more

Jack ，

This book gives a good overview of Ancient Egypt from its beginnings， around 3000BC， to its collapse and subjugation by Rome。 I do， however， think more time spent exploring the early dynasties would have been interesting and Cleopatra is almost relegated to a footnote。 I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to understand the history of Egypt。

Antti ，

After 20% I'm ready to move this to my DNF pile。 I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewers who find the presentation of his thesis so crude that it's just a chore to read through。If you agree， and if you have a title you know and like that would quench my thirst for Egyptian history， please let me know。 After 20% I'm ready to move this to my DNF pile。 I wholeheartedly agree with the reviewers who find the presentation of his thesis so crude that it's just a chore to read through。If you agree， and if you have a title you know and like that would quench my thirst for Egyptian history， please let me know。 。。。more

John Laramore ，

I enjoyed the historical perspective on Egypt's history。 I enjoyed the historical perspective on Egypt's history。 。。。more

Lam Bang ，

Có thể nói rằng， ngày nay ngoài bằng cấp ra thì những kỹ năng như tin học hay ngoại ngữ， mà cơ bản nhất là anh văn ngày càng trở nên quan trọng và không thể thiếu trong cuộc sống。Nếu bạn đang đi tìm việc， thì việc sở hữu các chứng chỉ anh văn tin học kèm theo sẽ giúp bạn có điểm cộng trong mắt của các nhà tuyển dụng， khả năng cạnh tranh của bạn sẽ cao hơn những ứng viên không có chứng chỉ nào。 Do đó， ngoài việc sắm cho mình một tấm bằng cao đẳng hay đại học thì cũng nên cân nhắc trang bị thêm ch Có thể nói rằng， ngày nay ngoài bằng cấp ra thì những kỹ năng như tin học hay ngoại ngữ， mà cơ bản nhất là anh văn ngày càng trở nên quan trọng và không thể thiếu trong cuộc sống。Nếu bạn đang đi tìm việc， thì việc sở hữu các chứng chỉ anh văn tin học kèm theo sẽ giúp bạn có điểm cộng trong mắt của các nhà tuyển dụng， khả năng cạnh tranh của bạn sẽ cao hơn những ứng viên không có chứng chỉ nào。 Do đó， ngoài việc sắm cho mình một tấm bằng cao đẳng hay đại học thì cũng nên cân nhắc trang bị thêm cho mình chứng chỉ anh văn tin học nhé。Bên cạnh đó， không chỉ những người đi đang có nhu cầu tìm việc mà đối với các bạn học sinh， sinh viên hoặc công nhân viên chức cũng đóng vai trò hết sức quan trọng。 Làm chứng chỉ anh văn tin học thực sự đã trở thành cứu tinh đối với những ai đang cần bằng nâng ngạch lương， bổ sung hồ sơ， đủ điều kiện ra trường， đi du học…https://lambang-toanquoc。com/chung-ch。。。 。。。more

Daniel Stalter ，

I did this as an audiobook， and I think I’m just too much of a visual learner to get such a wide breadth of history in this form。 Parts of this were engaging， other parts I struggled to pay attention to。 It gave me a much better understanding of Ancient Egypt as a whole， but I think audiobook is not the way to go for future deep dives into ancient history。

Aaron Early ，

Dense。 There is a lot of history here， who would have thought。 3000 years is a long time。

Burak Bayrakdar ，

Sailing down the Egyptian history with a hyper-realistic narrative， so very refreshing。 Compared to most other histories I've read on the same period， which were always drenched in propaganda or magic of the era， Dr。 Wilkinson's text has been very down to earth and straightforward with his analyses。 Covering nearly 3000 years of Two Lands with great detail and commentary， a must read for all Egyptomaniacs out there。 Sailing down the Egyptian history with a hyper-realistic narrative， so very refreshing。 Compared to most other histories I've read on the same period， which were always drenched in propaganda or magic of the era， Dr。 Wilkinson's text has been very down to earth and straightforward with his analyses。 Covering nearly 3000 years of Two Lands with great detail and commentary， a must read for all Egyptomaniacs out there。 。。。more

Luqdah ，

How baffling that this author could write about the ancient Egyptians and not mention what possibly could be their racial origins。 However when Egypt is finally over run by foreign invaders the discussion of race and ethnicity becomes a discussion。

Patrick Elsey ，

I really enjoyed this book but be warned that some of the historgraphy is poor。

Sanjay Prabhakar ，

Wilkinson falls， I think， into a trap well-laid for anyone wishing to write a popular narratival history of ancient Egypt: an overemphasis on chronicling high politics。 This is a common feature of popular narratival history， but particularly in the Egyptian case， due both to the contents of the material record and （not unrelatedly） the history itself， the temptation is particularly strong。I bought this book - and this is generally what I see popular history as for - in order to get a mostly chro Wilkinson falls， I think， into a trap well-laid for anyone wishing to write a popular narratival history of ancient Egypt: an overemphasis on chronicling high politics。 This is a common feature of popular narratival history， but particularly in the Egyptian case， due both to the contents of the material record and （not unrelatedly） the history itself， the temptation is particularly strong。I bought this book - and this is generally what I see popular history as for - in order to get a mostly chronological foothold in unfamiliar territory， and only a brief introduction to some of the major analytical themes， so maybe this isn't such a bad thing。 It all comes down to what an introductory text is for。 By its nature， it should surely leave one with questions - so gaps and blindspots are not necessarily flaws。 But obviously that does not make it impossible for gaps and blindspots to become detrimental to the text。The one question which I kept wondering about as I read this narrative （the first half of the book enjoys a few more thematic discurses） is: what are the mechanisms of power？ To be semi-concrete: a pharaoh harks back to some previous golden age by some building project or the adoption of some name。 Fine - but what does this 'harking back' actually mean？ Too often it seems like - from the way it is presented in this book - 'harking back' is ultimately just a name for a repetition in the material record。 But how did this 'harking back' operate at the time？ What was the context in which the implicit intention made sense？ On whom was the harking act supposed to work， and how？ Who is even aware of it （in particular， how many people can be affected - in any way - by hieroglyphs）？ Is the harking act accepted as a legitimate move within the thick culture or is it perceived more cynically？ And so on。 Such omissions are， I think to the detriment of even an introductory narrative， because they degrade narrative into chronicling。In addition， fuller and contextual discussion of ritual and religion would have been welcome。 Ultimately， however， this book remains a useful introduction， equipped with extensive further reading suggestions。 。。。more

Stefanie ，

If you are a person who has watched yet another TV special on Tutankhamen， Nefertiti， Cleopatra or the pyramids and are looking for a way to make sense of where these popular stories fit into the whole of ancient Egyptian history （as I was when I started reading）， this book provides a fantastic guide。 It starts with the prehistoric era just before ancient Egypt comes into being and moves chronologically through the Old Kingdom， Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom all the way through the Roman conques If you are a person who has watched yet another TV special on Tutankhamen， Nefertiti， Cleopatra or the pyramids and are looking for a way to make sense of where these popular stories fit into the whole of ancient Egyptian history （as I was when I started reading）， this book provides a fantastic guide。 It starts with the prehistoric era just before ancient Egypt comes into being and moves chronologically through the Old Kingdom， Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom all the way through the Roman conquest that ended it all， just before the birth of Christ。 It's written in a clear， accessible style that you can still tell is backed by research （~20% at the end of the book is notes for further reference） and has relatively short chapters that easily move "the story" along。 Some history books are a bit of a slog to get through， but I found this one compelling。 Not sure if that's down to the source material itself or the writing， or both。One of the points that Wilkinson is quick to make is that ancient Egypt was a totalitarian regime right from the start， and not a very pleasant place if you weren't at the top。 I mean， we all know that empire is vicious， but it's true that ancient Egypt is often presented with a shine to it even today， so I was mildly surprised and yet appreciative of this perspective。 Where the book suffers a bit more is in its white， male and British lens - Wilkinson certainly presents the few women that gained power from the patriarchal perspective; for example， Hatsheput who reined as pharaoh is described as "schizophrenic" in her presentation as sometimes feminine and sometimes masculine。 Maybe a woman in power does what she has to in order to survive a suffocating man's world！ Similarly， I smirked every time Wilkinson made a comparison to something ancient Egypt did that had a parallel in British history。 Empire recognize empire。 As for the whiteness - well。 Most of Egyptology is threaded through from this perspective， sometimes so much that it's hard to unpick。 I did spare a thought as to how modern Egyptians receive and explain their own history。 But I set all of this aside because hey， this is a place to start。 I finished the book with a much better understanding of the different eras of Egyptian history， and where I might want to inquire further。 Judging from that 20% of notes， there's plenty out there available to dig into nuances and lesser-explored perspectives。 And since spellcheck recognized "Tutankhamen，" "Hatsheput，" and "pharaoh" for me in this review， it's clear that like Wilkinson concludes， ancient Egyptian history is still very much with us today。 。。。more

Kizzie ，

Very comprehensive and in depth look into the figures in power throughout Ancient Egypt。 I especially found the last line of the book to be highly poignant and I'll always remember it when considering the impact on Ancient Egypt on our culture today， on so many cultures worldwide。 The book doesn't look as much into aspects of every day life， which I would have liked to know more about， but I still enjoyed this and felt that I got a lot out of reading it。 Very comprehensive and in depth look into the figures in power throughout Ancient Egypt。 I especially found the last line of the book to be highly poignant and I'll always remember it when considering the impact on Ancient Egypt on our culture today， on so many cultures worldwide。 The book doesn't look as much into aspects of every day life， which I would have liked to know more about， but I still enjoyed this and felt that I got a lot out of reading it。 。。。more

Nate Bate ，

This is my first attempt at a history of Egypt。 I listened to it， and I hope to read the hard copy in the next couple years。 I don’t retain as much when I listen to a book。 But， it is better than not getting to the book at all。I like how Toby Wilkinson lays out the content。 He has a good combination of detail and story telling。 As I listened， I found myself wondering how we can know so much information on such an ancient civilization。 I’ve studied how archaeological finds have actually enabled u This is my first attempt at a history of Egypt。 I listened to it， and I hope to read the hard copy in the next couple years。 I don’t retain as much when I listen to a book。 But， it is better than not getting to the book at all。I like how Toby Wilkinson lays out the content。 He has a good combination of detail and story telling。 As I listened， I found myself wondering how we can know so much information on such an ancient civilization。 I’ve studied how archaeological finds have actually enabled us to know all this， but it is still astounding how much we now know。 I’m sure there must be some guesswork， but I’m not able to discern what is and what is not。As is normal for me， my most interesting part of histories is when countries interact with each other。 This book is rich with these interactions - especially as it moves into the first millennium。 Some of these include Libya， Israel， Assyria， Greece， etc。Looking forward to more studies here。 。。。more

Edd Alexander ，

Good introduction and overview of Ancient Egyptian history。

Stephen Lockett ，

I rated this book 3 starts which probably reflects my own ignorance rather than the authors lack of erudition （I have been struggling through it since 2012）。 Egyptian history up to the time of Christ lasts a staggering 3，000 years and for me it was not until the last few years of this during Cleopatra’s reign and her involvement with Roman emperors that I had heard of any of the endless Pharaohs and other dignitaries 。 It is almost a 600 page book but I guess a 3，000 year historical period warra I rated this book 3 starts which probably reflects my own ignorance rather than the authors lack of erudition （I have been struggling through it since 2012）。 Egyptian history up to the time of Christ lasts a staggering 3，000 years and for me it was not until the last few years of this during Cleopatra’s reign and her involvement with Roman emperors that I had heard of any of the endless Pharaohs and other dignitaries 。 It is almost a 600 page book but I guess a 3，000 year historical period warrants it， for example it contains descriptions of battles involving tens of thousands of soldiers 2，500 years before the European Crusaders fought for over the same land。 。。。more

Ashwani Gupta ，

A long， chronological， and eminently readable trek through thousands of years of Egyptian history。 A great first book to read if you've been curious about Egypt and didn't know where to start。 By design， the book is broad， not deep。 It does not address questions like: - Who were the ancient Egyptians？ [Ancient DNA has provided some clues。。。 ]- Where does the name Egypt come from？ [Ptah may have the answer。。。]- Where does the ancient Egyptian language fit in the universe of languages？ [Afro-Asiat A long， chronological， and eminently readable trek through thousands of years of Egyptian history。 A great first book to read if you've been curious about Egypt and didn't know where to start。 By design， the book is broad， not deep。 It does not address questions like: - Who were the ancient Egyptians？ [Ancient DNA has provided some clues。。。 ]- Where does the name Egypt come from？ [Ptah may have the answer。。。]- Where does the ancient Egyptian language fit in the universe of languages？ [Afro-Asiatic？]- What constituted ancient Egyptian luxury cuisine？ Humble cuisine？ - What was the sound of ancient Egyptian Music？- etc。If you're mainly looking for political history， this is a fine book to pick up。 You'll just have to find other books to elucidate sociological and other dimensions of Egyptian history。 。。。more

John Gates ，

From Narmer to Cleopatra， even touching on periods before and thereafter briefly， Mr。 Wilkinson does well in painting a picture of various happenings through the lives of a few Pharaohs （mainly）。 I might read this again in the future， as it is clean， clear， and brings an interpretation of Egypt for which I feel comfortable。

Lisa ，

L’incredibile viaggio di un impero， dalla sua alba fino al suo triste declino。 Una lettura che possiede l’eco epica che la magnifica storia dell’antico Egitto merita。 Una lettura consigliata anche per chi non deve affrontare questo tomo per motivi di studi （come me， invece :D）。

Jy ，

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra was a fairly comprehensive and detailed summary of the various dynasties in Ancient Egypt in chronological order （from the Old Kingdom， to the Middle Kingdom， to the New Kingdom）， and was an absolutely wonderful and useful guide for those who are just embarking on their exploration of the history of Ancient Egypt。 Especially illuminating for me， in particular， was how the ancient Pharaohs harnessed and pr The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra was a fairly comprehensive and detailed summary of the various dynasties in Ancient Egypt in chronological order （from the Old Kingdom， to the Middle Kingdom， to the New Kingdom）， and was an absolutely wonderful and useful guide for those who are just embarking on their exploration of the history of Ancient Egypt。 Especially illuminating for me， in particular， was how the ancient Pharaohs harnessed and promoted religion and the worship of various deities as part of the consolidation of their power over the ancient Egyptian population。 Unfortunately， at 646 pages， The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra was only sufficient for Toby to cover the "barebones" of most dynasties （other than the more well-documented dynasties， such as the Rammeside dynasty， the Ptolemaic dynasty， and the Thutmosid dynasty）， and one would have to do a fair bit of extra reading to really delve into the history of Ancient Egypt。 。。。more

Michelle ，

This was very long and detailed。 It was difficult to stay attentive to it

Elle Fellman ，

This is a comprehensive， chronological history of the rise and fall of Egypt （no spoilers form the title！）。 It is easy to read and has extensive bibliographies at the end。 I was fortunate to attend a webinar lecture given by T。 Wilkinson。 He knows his stuff and is a great storyteller！ I cannot wait for his new release about King Tut！

Emily Fritz ，

An excellent book that is very readable and brings the ancient world alive！

Lukas Nichol ，

I feel like you could put chapters of this into some kind of a graphic novel。

Joseph Spuckler ，

Great introduction to ancient Egypt。 The origins and changes to what was ancient Egypt make very good reading。 Despite studying history I knew little of Egypt beside the pyramids， Tut， Cleopatra， and an understanding of a Greek takeover of the region。 The author is more critical of the society than the idealized view many people have of the advanced culture。 Life was very rough for the great majority of the population。 The cattle for the elites ate better than those who raised the cattle。 The st Great introduction to ancient Egypt。 The origins and changes to what was ancient Egypt make very good reading。 Despite studying history I knew little of Egypt beside the pyramids， Tut， Cleopatra， and an understanding of a Greek takeover of the region。 The author is more critical of the society than the idealized view many people have of the advanced culture。 Life was very rough for the great majority of the population。 The cattle for the elites ate better than those who raised the cattle。 The study of how the man became a leader and then “divine” to control a population。 A well done and informative survey of an advanced ancient culture。I listened to the Audible version of this book。 Having a map of the historical region is very helpful。 。。。more

William Allred ，

A little too dense - could've used an editor to focus on an arc。 A little too dense - could've used an editor to focus on an arc。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0