Product Description

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt uniquely covers 700,000 years of ancient Egypt, from c. 700,000 BC to AD 311. Following the story from the Egyptians' prehistoric origins to their conquest by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, this book resurrects a fascinating society replete with remarkable historical information. It investigates such subjects as the changing nature of life and death in the Nile valley to some of the earliest masterpieces of art, architecture, and literature in the ancient world. The authors--an international team of experts working at the cutting edge of their particular fields--outline the principal sequence of political events, including detailed examinations of the three so-called 'intermediate periods' which were previously regarded as 'dark ages' and are only now beginning to be better understood. They also examine cultural and social patterns, including stylistic developments in art and literature. Addressing the issues surrounding this distinctive culture, vividly relating the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, exploring colorful personalities, and uncovering surprising facts, The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt is certain to enrich our understanding of this endlessly intriguing civilization.
"Brimming with...intriguing facts...also provides a first-rate overview of le progres Egyptien--from the period when Homo erectus first stalked the land right up to Octavian's triumphant entry into Egypt in 30 BC."--The Times (London) (on the previous edition)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18456 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 552 pages

Amazon.com
One of the most vexing problems in Egyptology is the question of establishing reliable chronologies, whether through relative methods such as stratigraphy and the dating of artifacts or through more absolute time horizons established by astronomical ephemera or radiometric dating. In this overview of ancient Egypt--meant for advanced students, but accessible to general readers with an interest in the area--Ian Shaw and 13 contributors pay close attention to issues of chronology, reconciling conflicts of dating that mark older scholarship.

While doing so, they address other problems in the study of ancient Egypt, such as the lack of material evidence of early humans in the region and the increasing destruction of sites in the face of contemporary urban growth. Elsewhere, they remark on the principal developments that distinguish periods in Egyptian prehistory, such as the Old Kingdom's use of large-scale building projects to consolidate power and "remind people of the greatness of pharaonic civilization," and the Middle and New kingdoms' apparent openness to foreigners, which lent Egypt a cosmopolitan, multicultural air that persisted for centuries during long periods of domination by outside powers such as Persia and Rome. Highly useful as a reference and survey, this handsomely illustrated book is a fine addition to any Egyptophile's collection. --Gregory McNamee

Review
`Review from previous edition The approach combines traditional chronological history with cultural and social historical material to produce a well rounded picture ... chapters covering prehistory and the intermediate periods are particularly good, with Seidlmayer on the First Intermediate Period and Bourriau on the Second Intermediate Period outstanding. Bryan's chapter on the 18th Dynasty before the Amarna Period is also particularly good.' Antiquity

`If you only want to read one book on Egypt, then read this one ... even people who consider themselves as experts on Ancient Egypt will find much to set them thinking: And while such Egyptologists will have a field day, the casual reader will find plenty to arouse their interest, ranging from the story of the world's first strike ... to the revelation that Scotland Yard possesses a print taken from the hand of a mummy.' The Northern Echo

`splendid, lavishly illustrated book ... the only single-volume work to cover 700,000 years of Ancient Egypt from the stone age to Roman conquest ... Lucidly edited by Ian Shaw ... you get the facts without the dust. An excellent choice for enthusiasts and novices alike; even better if you can persuade someone to buy for you as a present.' Roddy Phillips, Aberdeen Press and Journal

`From the Stone Age to the Roman occupation in the fourth centry AD, the mighty Egyptian dynasties are brought to life in almost 450 pages ... never anything but deeply informative, without losing sight of the essential attribute of any book - readability ... both stimulating to the casual reader or keen-to-learn holiday maker and the serious student alike.' Peter Leach, North West Evening Mail

`brimming with ... intriguing facts ... also provides a first-rate overview of - le progres Egyptien - from the period when Homo erectus first stalked the land right up to Octavian's triumphant entry into Egypt in 30 BC.' Douglas Kennedy, The Times

About the Author

Ian Shaw studied Archaeology and Egyptology at Cambridge University, gaining a PhD on the archaeological remains at Tell el-Amarna. He later undertook research into Egyptian quarrying and mining sites as a British Academy Research Fellow at New Hall, Cambridge. His other publications include Ancient Egyptian Warfare and Weapons (1992), The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt (1995), The Dictionary of Archaeology (1999), and Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology (2000)

Customer Reviews

you get the basics, but the narrative is as dessicated as, well, a mummy
This has got to be one of the most boring history books that I have read in years, and I read a lot of them. While it competently covers the grand outlines of Egyptian history, it gets mired in the details of how archaeologists go about piecing together their clues, that is, the deductions behind how an artifact is interpreted by whom at what unrecognizable excavation site. Now this can certainly be interesting if a story is told, but in this book it comes across as the driest of exercises in academic rigor. Of course, this kind of detail, particularly regarding their methods, should be of great interest to serious university students who are wondering about the cutting edge in their field. But it is most emphatically not for the interested amateur.

If you want to get an idea of what the book is like, take a look at the introduction, which is available in the "excerpts" on the amazon onlinereader. It is 15 pages of a kind of lecture on how chronologies should be compiled, what kinds of artifacts are available in what period, what problems there are in interpretation of them, who pioneered what method, etc. It is so boring that it is akin to eating cardboard. And the rest of the book is hardly any better.

In addition, because each chapter is written by an expert, the overall book loses a coherence of voice that is available only in works by a single author. The chapters thus feel rather disjointed, and of course, there is no narrative momentum. As such, I got little sense of why so much attention is lavished on certain archaeological details while events about which much is known, such as the reign of the various Ramses (think Moses, etc.) receive at most passing mention. I also barely got any sense of the religion or mythology. Even the religious schism caused by Tutankhamen's father (Amenhotep) is so poorly explained that I had to search elsewhere for details.

All that I got was the gist of Egyptian history. It was one of the first centralized kingdoms to exist, which enabled its rulers to embark on their extraordinary building projects from 3100 BC. In a geographically rich and protected region, they gained time free from invaders to experiment and develop a truly unique society. However, by delegating power to local governors or priests (often through inter-marriage with the royal family), local strongmen began to fight civil wars, leading to the three "intermediate periods" of fragmented rule and breakdowns of order. Only after centuries of struggle in each case did a new leader emerge to reunite the country. The book then concludes with descriptions of the various foreign powers to conquer Egypt, from the Libyans and Persians to the Macedonians and finally the Romans; until the very end, invaders were seduced by Egyptian culture, much as was the case with the Chinese. While there is much interesting detail here, it is recounted again from long interpretations of their artifacts and textual sources, which makes it a lugubrious reading experience.

This book errs on the side of analysis: it is highly technical and singles out the contributions and controversies generated by various academics (all of whom are named and discussed at some length, regardless of their obscurity with non-Egyptologist readers). The reader gets virtually no feel for what the society was like, with its unusual mix of religion and political power and its reverence for peculiar gods, or what the personalities of some of its great leaders were like. To be sure, the empire is so ancient that only towards its end do written sources emerge that offer details beyond the propaganda recorded in tombs or commemorative stellae. But I think it could have had much more narrative with flavor.

I would recommend this book for academics, whom it should rightfully please and whose discipline I certainly respect, but not for history buffs seeking a fun introduction to an incredible empire. It is a book to be studied, but it cannot be read for pleasure.

Excellent Overview of the History of Ancient Egypt
This book is excellent. It is very detailed for an overview. The book has excellent discussions on the pre-history of Egypt, as well as Egypt's military and political contacts and/or wars with the Mittani culture, the Hyksos, and the Hittites, as well as the people of the Western Desert -"Libyans", and the cultures in Nubia, etc.

It discusses the archeological evidence and discusses the chronologies based on the "pottery clock" type dating of sites (although the term "pottery clock" is not used) and stratigraphic analyses, as well as the King lists, etc. What we know vs. what we believe vs. what is an open question.

It contains detailed discussions on the influence of the Sea Peoples, and the evidence regarding contacts from Cyprus, Crete, and Mycenaean Greece, and which way those contacts ran (i.e., from Egypt to Greece or vise-versa, and what we know and don't know regarding these contacts).

It also has an excellent overview of Ancient Egypt's trade and economics including some good overview maps of the locations of the Eastern Desert Gold Mines, and the Gold/Turquoise Mines on the Sinai Peninsula, and the extent of the empire into modern day Sudan, etc.

For those interested in Ancient Egyptian religion the book has great discussions on the Armana Period and Akhenaton, Nefertiti and monotheism, and the priestly revolt, as well as on all the main cult centers and their evolution.

The book concludes with Ptolemaic Egypt and its relations with Rome.

Good book
I bought this book for a class in Egyptology as required course material but it is so well written and has great pictures and information that instead of selling it after the quarter is over like I do with most books for my class I'm going to keep this one. It's well worth the buy if you are interested in Ancient Egypt. It has a great deal of insightful detailed information.