Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History

Colorful, engaging, and illustrated throughout with more than 180 photographs, Ancient Egypt is a vivid pictorial introduction to 4,000 years of Ancient Egyptian civilization.

Arranged chronologically, Ancient Egypt offers a compact photographic guide, from the 4000 BC Naqada culture to the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty with the suicide of Cleopatra in 30 BC. In between, discover the Narmer Palette, a 31st-century BC stone tablet that records the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by King Narmer; learn about Amenhotep the Magnificent, during whose reign Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power; marvel at the massive, rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel, dedicated to Pharaoh Ramesses II (＂the Great＂), marking the southern extent of the Egyptian Empire and celebrating his victory over the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh; and discover how Egypt was ruled by Archaemenid Persia for almost 200 years, until the arrival of Alexander the Great and his all-conquering Macedonian army.

Nigel Fletcher-Jones is the author of Treasures of Ancient Egypt, Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples. He writes regularly on Egyptian archaeology and history for magazines. He has a PhD in archaeology and anthropology from Durham University, England, and is director of the American University in Cairo Press.