The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

Best Egyptian history book that I have ever read. If you want more than a simplified surface-level tour of pharaohs and pyramids, this is the book. Wilkinson covers 3,000 years of Egyptian civilization with the kind of depth that actually builds understanding on government structure, economic systems, architectural ambition, religious transformation, and the political shifts across dynasties. As a longtime Egyptian history fan, I thoroughly enjoying the detailed chronological walkthrough. Many names, places, and monuments are referenced throughout, and I found myself pulling up Google Maps, Google Search, and Wikipedia alongside my reading for visuals (which I love to do when deep diving into history). The writing is scholarly, but very digestible. The book reads less like a professional lecture and more like an expert narrative with rich historical perspective. 800+ pages is a commitment, but this is the kind of book that leaves you with a real understanding of an entire ancient civilization.

Despite having a doctorate in early American history, I have been fascinated with Ancient Egypt since I can remember. And, having read Toby Wilkinson's earlier works (Early Dynastic Egypt and Genesis of the Pharaohs, in particular), I knew that I would have to read this latest interpretation of the course of ancient Egyptian history. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt is nothing short of magnificent, with a narrative thread focusing on both the glorious and gritty sides of Egyptian life as fostered by the Egyptian state's exertion of coercive power. Organized chronologically, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt returns time and again to the problems of state power. States rise and fall, power ebbs and flows: Egypt's leaders attempted to uphold the forces of truth and order against those of chaos and disarray. To do so required developing state infrastructures and means of coercing the appropriation of both labor and material goods to build the glorious monuments that so capture the public's imagined Egypt. From the pyramids to Abu Simbel, the projection of Egyptian glory depended on breaking the backs of the people who toiled incessantly in service to the state. Indeed, the twin themes of ideology (religion, royal divinity) and administration (bureaucracies, taxation, etc.) repeatedly resurface to highlight just how the state secured support for its regime and managed that support. When both aspects of state control broke down, Egypt entered periodically into times of disorder and chaos. Readers expecting a romantic view of Ancient Egypt focused on the archaeological treasures will probably be disappointed to be reminded of the costs of Egyptian grandeur. Readers hoping for a more cultural approach to Egyptian history--an extended exploration of religion, art, music, and the like--will probably be less satisfied with Wilkinson's focus upon the state. To be sure, Wilkinson brings these matters up when they are needed but gives them no extended treatment. The excellent bibliography and notes, however, do provide additional resources to investigate topics of interest; moreover, the notes detail Wilkinson's own interpretive engagement with Egyptian historiography, making his book much more valuable to others besides the casual reader. Despite the book's populist tone, readers may be put off by content density of some chapters. At times, a bewildering array of names and places rush off the page, forcing the reader to consult his handy copies of The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt or the Penguin Atlas of Ancient Egypt. Those without sufficient reference material would perhaps have been well served by a glossary, which, although it does lengthen the book, does provide readers with a handy reference when there are simply too many names to conjure with. The writing style itself is fairly popular, with few words that might trip up readers. Frequent references to British history--especially comparisons to how monarchies have exercised state power across the ages--might be off putting to many American readers, but, it seems to me that the implied arguments by analogy do serve a purpose in highlighting how states have little changed since the Ancient Egyptians invented statehood. Color and black and white illustrations, along with excellent maps, complement the narrative. Overall, Toby Wilkinson's The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt seems to combine the best features of the histories that I've come to love. Its accessibility and charm reminds me of Barbara Mertz' Temples, Tombs, and Hieroglyphs, while its scholarly insight and argumentation make me think of Barry Kemp's Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization. To me, the joy of a book is being able to re-read it and come to new insights and appreciation each time and I am sure that such will be the case with The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt.

Wilkinson's _The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt_ is an outstanding history of ancient Egypt from the founding of the first dynasty in 2950 BCE to the Roman conquest in 30 BCE. In tracing the history of ancient Egypt, Wilkinson advances a view of ancient Egypt as an authoritarian system that was an active participant in the vibrant commerical network that crisscrossed the Near East and Mediterranean. What impressed me the most was the breadth of detail Wilkinson includes in his history - of course the construction of monuments, rise and fall of dynasties and conquests (and losses) of kings is discussed, but so are the roles and expectations of workaday Egyptians, the political organization (and its inherent weaknesses), the complex interplay of economics, taxation and public policy on the welfare of the Egyptian state and of everyday Egyptians. The changes in literature and art - and how they are reflective of the larger societal changes taking place in ancient Egypt were icing on an already rich and dense cake. Another strength of the book Wilkinson's scope: the book does not end with the implosion of the New Kingdom, which was refreshing to me. This decision clearly places Egypt in its African context, which may be a suprise to some readers, but it reflects current scholarship and simply makes historical (and geographical) sense: Egypt's long relationship (both as conquorer and conquored) with Nubia and the incursions (and eventual conquest by) the Lybians are facets of ancient Egypt that are too often overlooked or downplayed. His discussion of the Ptolmiac period was a bit cursory for my taste, but given its relative briefness in comparison to the breadth of the history of ancient Egypt, it is understandable. A final point of praise for the book are both the color plates (there are over 50) and the extensive annotated bibliography. The plates provide clear, color images to have a deeper grasp of the points Wilkinson makes about form, metaphor and changes in art. The bibliography includes both classic works on ancient Egypt as well as more recent scholarship and will certainly give me many months of further reading as a result. _The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt_ is an accessable text written by a foremost expert on the field (Wilkinson is a professor of Egyptlolgy at Cambridge) that impresses in its detail and its breadth. Highly recommended.

Toby Wilkinson’s “The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt” examines the history of pharaonic Egypt from the earliest nomadic herdsmen and their eventual unification under King Narmer all the way down to Cleopatra roughly three thousand years later. He describes how the role of kingship and state religion became intertwined in ancient Egypt, creating a powerful elite who glorified themselves and thus maintained their power over one of the most prosperous empires of the ancient world, though they did so at the expense of workers and farmers. As Wilkinson writes, “in early Egypt, the kings were the gods. Monarchy was not just an integral part of religion; the two were synonymous” (p. 36). Kings used the symbol of the mace both to demonstrate subjugation of foreign adversaries and to command the respect of their own people. Popular art and literature, some of which survives from the Middle and New Kingdoms, directly link obedience to the pharaoh with Egyptian identity. The learned elite were the primary audience for works such as “The Tale of Sinuhe,” which cautioned them against betraying the power the pharaoh granted them in exchange for loyalty (p. 149). In the New Kingdom, the cult of the pharaoh eventually broke down due to inept administration at all levels, leading to one of the first recorded strikes when laborers working on the royal tomb did not receive their food and pay (p. 335). Wilkinson demonstrates how this break down in pharaonic power under Ramses III foreshadowed the eventual end of native pharaonic rule, opening Egypt to rulers from Libya, Nubia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The internecine fighting between various factions with foreign ties laying claim to the throne of Egypt. The last effort of an Egyptian sovereign to reclaim power only doomed the institution further. Wilkinson writes of Amenirdis (404 – 399 BCE), “By seizing power through cunning and brute force, he had stripped away any remaining mystique from the office of pharaoh, revealing the kingship for what it had become (or, behind the heavy veil of decorum and propaganda, had always been) – the preeminent political trophy” (p. 430). This set the stage for pharaonic Egypt’s last gasp under the Ptolemaic dynasty. Wilkinson’s history boldly recounts over three thousand years of history using a variety of historical, archaeological, climatological, and other sources filtered through a Foucauldian lens of power relationships in order to challenge the traditional top-down history of Egypt often written by the pharaohs – or their inner circles – which took for granted the role of power in their society. Naturally, such a work condenses events, but Wilkinson successfully captures the drama of each pharaoh, pointing the way for future reading while providing an essential introduction for those looking to learn about pharaonic civilization as it continues to capture the modern imagination all these millennia later.

A wonderful book! I had done some research on ancient Egypt fifty years ago. I had become vaguely aware that what I learned then was out of date but hadn't been able to update myself quickly and easily. This book presents an enormous amount of new material in a readable, entertaining style, filling in large gaps in my earlier understanding. The greatest delight is the insights into individual lives that inscriptions and papyrii have given us. I feel like I know these people better than any other ancient culture. The author's thesis, that Pharaonic rule was often brutally oppressive, is a good correction to the deceptively idyllic view that the ancient Egyptian elites liked to present and which has seduced many twentieth-century historians.

Finally finished this one. It took me until November 7th to reach 50% and then I killed the last 50% over the next 2 weeks. Once again, I blame the election cycle. I have troubles unplugging, which is something I intend to correct in the future. But anyways, on to the book! The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt tracks the first 3000 years of ancient Egypt's existence, basically from their conception to their time of being acquired by the Roman Empire. The author, Toby Wilkinson, makes clear that he knows this subject well, and he does a remarkable job of covering such a huge swath of time, switching up the pace to keep things moving forward. As a history book, it followed the normal timeline of the rise and fall of royalty, jumping from war to peace and back again. On the whole, I realized Egypt could actually be quite boring if not for Wilkinson's deft hand at explaining what makes this ancient world so unique. As Wilkinson explains, Ancient Egypt essentially founded the concept of royalty as we know it today. They were the first "bully on the playground," rising to power while most of humanity was still trying to figure out how to survive the winter. The first royalty were in uncharted waters, and as such, they experimented and laid the groundwork for other empires to follow. They were the first demonstrate the need for evil to create an empire (subjecting the people with religion, placating the bureaucrats, dominating and exploiting foreign land), and then also demonstrating the great wonders the could be done with it (pyramids at Giza, Suez Canal), and yet also the great tragedies that could be done as well. Wilkinson shies from none of it. It also showed me something about our world today. More than once, as Egypt rose and fell in power, Wilkinson would track and show the difference in mentality between those working the fields and never left their home town versus those who lived in the multi-cultural city centers. The difference between those with a local view of the world, and those with a global view. It showed me, quite starkly, that not much has changed from humanity in 5,000 years. Actually, this has been nothing more than a blink of eye, and we're every bit as noble or barbaric, knowledgeable or ignorant and those people were back then. It would seem history truly does repeat itself, and knowing this, I've come to realize that America as I know it will perish, possibly in my own lifetime. There is no saving it, none, and any attempts to do so will only bring this country's doom closer at hand. Also, I've come to realize that we as a species are not yet beyond are archaic roots. 5,000 years ago, Ancient Egypt made light of slaying thousands just because they could. 70 years ago, Nazi Germany made light of slaying 6 million people who worshiped a different god. Mark my words, we are still capable of such atrocities, and somewhere, sometime, they will be done again. But beyond that note, about the book. Let it be known that the middle of this book ran a tad dry, hence only 4 stars. However, it was still a great read and I'd recommend it to any fellow history buff looking for an introduction into Ancient Egypt.

I liked every bit of this book: the style, the warm-hearted and yet critical approach. It is densely packed, a great start of your "discovery the Egyptian history" tour. It will be my go-to reference book.

I had intended to read a history of ancient Egypt for some time, and took it from other reviews that this was the one to read--I'm in no position to deny that and overall I think it is probably true. Wilkinson goes from beginning to end of ancient Egypt and clearly has a fantastic command of the subject matter. Reading this book you learn a lot about historical events, so much so that in fact it might be too much. Wilkinson can't be blamed for this, since he's covering several thousand years of history in a few hundred pages, but as a result of that the treatment of individual pharaohs or events, with a few special exceptions, is pretty cursory. Despite the wealth of knowledge, the flaws drag the book down. In particular, the main flaws are (i) the writing and (ii) the lack of in-depth treatment of certain subjects. My complaints are subjective I admit, but I think they're relevant as I'm having quite a time getting over them. I'll cover the latter point first. This can't be stressed enough--Wilkinson knows his history, and he tells you a lot. However, he doesn't tell you a lot of other things. At least for me, when I think about ancient Egypt one of the main topic areas that jumps out is religion. You're hard-pressed to look at any artistic work from the time without it being influenced by the society's religion. The book contains an interesting discussion on the Egyptians' concept of the afterlife and its connection with burial practices, as well as a good treatment of Akhenaten's religious changes, but there wasn't really anything in the book that discussed mythology/theogony. I don't mean to suggest that any ancient history absolutely needs this discussion, but because the temple priests wielded so much influence at the time and more importantly because any visit to a museum containing Egyptian artifacts will basically be a parade of statues of gods (and of course mummies), and therefore our visual experience of ancient Egypt is so enmeshed with the religion, it would have been helpful to have a further treatment of the subject in the book. Again, I recognize that this is not the most important thing in the world, but when there is more information about some long-forgotten pharaoh's even more forgotten vizier than there is about what was the story about Horus, Ra, etc., it stands out. The other big problem for me was the writing. Wilkinson's writing can be very trite, especially when it comes to the conclusory sentences of paragraphs. But the triteness issue isn't limited to the ends of paragraphs. On page 344 of the paperback, one section of a chapter ends with a one-line paragraph: "In ancient Egypt, life was cheap." I find that trite. And then, on the very next page, there's another one sentence paragraph: "But the gods were no longer listening." Again, trite. I hate to reuse the word but it's late and I can't think of another one. I think Wilkinson was trying to insert a little of his own personality into the drafting, but it was a big miss. Even more annoying than all of that is his use, at several points in the book, of the phrase "higglety-pigglety." I've never heard that before or read it before, and it's obvious in context what it means, but writing that uses (unused) colloquialisms is bad writing. That phrase, in particular, also sounds childish and stupid and detracts from the book.

Uno de los dos mejores libros, junto con la Historia de Oxford, actualmente a la venta para adentrarse en la historia del Egipto faraónico.

Wonderful book

Having visited Egypt and Jordan in February 2020, I was keen to find a book that would fill in the gaps that our guides didn't cover. I bought a couple of other books that I found a little "lightweight". This book covers the period from 3000B.C to Cleopatra and is written in an enthralling narrative style that is easy to read, unlike a lot of historical texts. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has visited Egypt or is contemplating a visit when conditions allow.

英国人考古学者のカーターがルクソールの王家の谷でツタンカーメンの王墓を発見したのが1922年でその後発掘が進み石棺に収められた王のミイラや数々の副葬品が出土した。この「世紀の大発見」に先立つこと100年前の1822年にフランスのシャンポリオンがナポレオンのエジプト遠征で持ち帰ったロゼッタストーンを元に象形文字の解読に成功していた。誰もが馴染みのビッグイベントの揃い踏みで古代エジプト史の扉が一挙に開かれていく。 現在のサハラ砂漠一帯は紀元前5千年代には程良い降雨に恵まれた緑地で先住遊牧民の居住地だったが、その後の気候変動で乾燥が進んだことからナイル川流域に移り住み農耕を中心に手工業や商業などの専業化が進んでやがて都市が形成される。 1890年代のNarmer Paletteの発掘で紀元前2950年頃にはすでに初代国王Narmer が統一国家を築き上げていた事が明らかにされた。—-世界最初の国家の誕生。 冒頭のさわりの部分はこんなところですが、その後の遺跡の発掘やパピルスに記された古文書やピラミッド内部の壁画や碑文の解読等の研究成果を最大限盛り込んだのがこの歴史書。 古代エジプト史について幅広い知識が得られる本だが、本文633頁/全24章と大部で記述レベルが細かいので読み切るのには時間と忍耐が必要。良書だが個人的には歴代国王の多神教の神々への信仰や造営物に関する記述が必要かつ十分を超え冗長と感じたので星4つの評価とした。

Embora bastante aprofundado, o livro consegue ser de fácil leitura. Gostei muito.