Product Description

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt describes the emergence and development of the distinctive civilization of the ancient Egyptians, from their prehistoric origins to their conquest by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans. It details the changing nature of life and death in the Nile valley, which gave rise to some of the earliest masterpieces of art, architecture, and literature in the ancient world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41645 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-23
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 552 pages

Synopsis
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt uniquely covers 700,000 years of ancient Egypt from the stone age to the Roman conquest. The story of the ancient Egyptians, from their prehistoric origins to their conquest by the Persians, Greeks, and Romans makes for fascinating reading, with subjects ranging from 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. An international team of experts in the field address the issues surrounding this distinctive culture, vividly relating the rise and fall of ruling dynasties, exploring colourful personalities, and uncovering surprising facts, such as the revelation that Scotland Yard possesses a print taken from the hand of a mummy. A well-rounded picture of an intriguing civilization emerges.

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

If you only have one book on Egyptology ...
If you can only have one book on Egyptology then this is the one. Ian Shaw has gathered together experts to present a generally accepted history of this fascinating period of history. As a student of Egyptology I a significant collection of works; but this is the one that I keep returning to. I've been using it for many years and can vouch for its broad coverage of a complex (and evolving) topic; the depth squeezed into a readable book is surprising.

Standard issue for the student of Egypt
This was the second book on Egyptian history I brought as an adult. As an academic resource it is probably the definitive introduction to that subject. It runs chronologically from Predynastic up to the end of the Roman Period, offering a brief but accurate and meaningful glance into the reigns of all the Pharaohs and assorted foreign rulers who shaped Egyptian history.

The academic effort that went into this work must have been immense, and it is rightly one of the most important standard texts for all students, or indeed for those who aspire to become one. Indeed this volume now sits, rather well thumbed as a standard reference on my desk.

At first glance the small typeface and crammed approach makes this a slightly daunting work, but it's division into quite separate works on the major periods of Egyptian history (predynastic,old, FIP, middle, SIP, new, TIP, late, Ptolemaic, roman) means you can easily approach this book "a kingdom at a time", a much better way of tackling it, and also make it an excellent book for soaking up intellectually dead time such as commuting, work etc, which is how I approached it.

Whilst this work lacks some of the readability of Tydesley or Gahlin, it is a veritable gold mine of solidly researched history and for anyone interested in serious/mainstream Egyptian history, there really is no better place to start. It also contains a very useful bibliography for digging further into the nitty gritty of particular areas which fascinate you.

You really do need this book...

Excellent
I have been to Egypt, the first time was in 1993, and I made my mind up that I'd like to study Egyptology.

Although in my second year of studying Egyptology, during my first year this was one of my study books I was required to read.

This provides you with a lot of information on different periods of the Ancient Egyptian History, in all it covers 700,000 years.

I found this book informative, interesting and enjoyable to read. Sometimes I had to read a chapter twice for all the information to sink in.

Whether you are studying Egyptology or just want a little more knowledge this is an excellent book.

It makes an excellent edition to my little Egyptian library, which now stands at nearly 1000 books on this subject. :-)