A History of Ancient Egypt Volume 2
From the Great Pyramid to the Fall of the Middle Kingdom
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- 47,99 zł
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- 47,99 zł
Publisher Description
"Another solid work of history from an author and historian who truly grasps the mysteries of ancient Egypt." - Kirkus Reviews
Drawing on a lifetime of research, John Romer chronicles the history of Ancient Egypt from the building of the Great Pyramid through the rise and fall of the Middle Kingdom: a peak of Pharaonic culture and the period when writing first flourished. Through extensive research over many decades of work, reveals how the grand narratives of 19th and 20th century Egyptologists have misled us by portraying a culture of cruel monarchs and chronic war. Instead, based in part on discoveries of the past two decades, this extraordinary account shows what we can really learn from the remaining architecture, objects, and writing: a history based on physical reality.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Romer (A History of Ancient Egypt, Vol. 1) continues his magisterial re-examination of ancient Egypt, here covering approximately 2550 B.C.E. until 1770 B.C.E. As in the first volume, Romer cautions against viewing the physical evidence and preserved writings through modern understandings of statecraft and their mechanisms. "Egyptology is not a science," he writes, advising against using "such common Western terms as king' and nation,' soldier,' courtier,' and priest' " to translate ancient texts. Pointing out where such errors in thinking have previously occurred, Romer describes both the current factual understanding of ancient Egypt and the version created by such scholars as Jean Fran ois Champollion and Gaston Maspero. This faux Egypt has too often been cast in a European mold, with autocratic rulers in great cities, heavy taxation, and devastating wars. Romer finds that the evidence does not support these images. Instead, he traces a culture whose efforts were bent toward monument building, systematic ritual sacrifice, and redistribution of foodstuffs in a way that defies modern economic concepts. Romer also rhapsodizes about Egypt's assorted cultural creations, which fulfilled a different role than modern ideas of art. This is an essential re-envisioning of ancient Egypt. Maps & illus.
