The rise and fall of ancient Egypt
Subtitle: the history of a civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra
By: Toby Wilkinson
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2010
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 646
ISBN-13: 9780747599494
Subjects: Civilization; History
Description: The story of Ancient Egypt and the extraordinary civilisation that flourished along the banks of the River Nile can seem like a gorgeous pageant studded with exceptional events. Among them are the building of the pyramids, the conquest of Nubia, Akhenaten's religious revolution, the power and beauty of Nefertiti, the life and death of Tutankhamun, the ruthlessness of Ramesses, Alexander the Great's invasion, and Cleopatra's fatal entanglement with Rome which led to the fall of Ptolemaic Egypt. But while three thousand years of pharaonic civilisation have all the ingredients of an epic novel - glittering courts, dynastic intrigues, murky assassinations and epic battles; individual stories of heroism and skulduggery, of triumph and tragedy; and, powerful women and tyrannical kings - the real historical story is even more surprising and far more interesting.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [587]-623) and index.