The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

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Bloomsbury Publishing Incorporated, 2010 - History - 646 pages

This is a story studded with extraordinary achievements and historic moments, from the building of the pyramids and the conquest of Nubia, through Akhenaten's religious revolution, the power and beauty of Nefertiti, the glory of Tutankhamun's burial chamber, and the ruthlessness of Ramesses, to Alexander the Great's invasion, and Cleopatra's fatal entanglement with Rome.

As the world's first nation-state, the history of Ancient Egypt is above all the story of the attempt to unite a disparate realm and defend it against hostile forces from within and without. Combining grand narrative sweep with detailed knowledge of hieroglyphs and the iconography of power, Toby Wilkinson reveals Ancient Egypt in all its complexity.

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About the author (2010)

Toby Wilkinson read Egyptology at Cambridge University. Since January 2004 he has been a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. An acknowledged expert on ancient Egyptian civilisation, he has given lectures around the world and his international reputation has led to invitations to contribute to other major collaborative projects. He is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Egyptian History and has broadcast on radio and tv in the UK and abroad, including BBC's 'Horizon' and Channel 4's 'Private Lives of the Pharaohs', and was the consultant for the BBC's award-winning documentary on the building of the Great Pyramid. His books include the critically acclaimed Dictionary of Ancient Egypt and Genesis of the Pharaohs, and he edited the recent encyclopedia The Egyptian World. He lives in Cambridge.

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