William John Bankes (1786-1855) was a brilliant and remarkable man. In 1812 he went to Spain and Portugal to pursue a Bohemian lifestyle among the gypsies. This was followed by travels in the Near East. Bankes amassed a vast portfolio of notes, manuscripts and drawings by the artists who accompanied him on his Egyptian travels. Their extremely high degree of accuracy makes them a very valuable record of the ancient monuments, many of which have since been damaged or lost. His intuitive detective work and the many copies of hieroglyphic inscriptions he accumulated were instrumental in the struggle to decipher hieroglyphs. This book tells Bankes' story, describing his travels in detail and assessing his contribution to Egyptology.
No study of the modern exploration of ancient Egypt is complete without the extraordinary work of Giovanni Belzoni. Once a circus strongman, trained as an engineer, he spent many years abroad in Egypt and Nubia studying the ancient ruins and shipping antiquities back to Europe. Though once considered a tomb robber, recent re-evaluations of Belzoni have given him credit for his remarkably keen powers of observation and, for his time, careful excavation methods and recording. A larger-than-life character, Belzoni was a true adventurer-explorer during a time of nationalist competition between the European powers for the best antiquities. This exciting and detailed account of his two journeys to Egypt and Nubia is a treasure of Egyptology. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.
This absorbing reference covers everyday life in ancient Egypt, spanning a period of more than 5,000 years—from the Stone Age to the advent of Christianity. The mysteries surrounding ancient Egypt continue to pique interest and prompt study thousands of years later. Intriguing questions—such as "Why were certain Egyptians mummified after death, while others were not?", "How were the pyramids constructed?", and "Were sexuality and courtship accurately portrayed in movies about the period?"—incite curiosity and inspire the imagination in the modern world. This comprehensive encyclopedia addresses these questions and more, revealing fascinating facts about all aspects of daily life in ancient Egypt. Starting with the beginning of the First Dynasty to the death of Cleopatra, this compendium explores the family life, politics, religion, and culture of the Nile Valley from Aswan to the Delta, as well as the peripheral areas of Nubia, the Oases, the Sinai, and the southern Levant. Each topical section opens with an introductory essay, followed by A–Z entries on such topics as food, fashion, housing, politics, and community. The book features a timeline of events, an extensive bibliography of print and digital resources, and numerous photographs and illustrations throughout.
Republished for the first time in unabridged form, Belzoni's travel journal recreates the magical atmosphere of Egypt in 1815 to 1819. Belzoni was the first to enter and describe monuments such as the temple at Abu Simbel, and the tomb of Seti I.
Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies offers a platform in which the old meets the new, in which archaeological, papyrological, and philological research into Meroitic, Old Nubian, Coptic, Greek, and Arabic sources confront current investigations in modern anthropology and ethnography, Nilo-Saharan linguistics, and the critical and theoretical approaches of postcolonial and African studies. Dotawo gives a common home to the past, present, and future of one of the richest areas of research in African studies. It offers a crossroads where papyrus can meet the internet, scribes meet critical thinkers, and the promises of growing nations meet the accomplishments of older kingdoms. Volume 5 of Dotawo focuses on Nubian women, both ancient and contemporary. Nubian women, whether they were queens or commoners, Christians or Muslims, have always been held in high esteem by their communities. The articles in this volume of Dotawo focus on the ways in which Nubian women survive and thrive throughout the centuries. TABLE OF CONTENTS // Armgard Goo-Grauer, "House Decoration in Egyptian Nubia Prior to 1964" Doris Pemler, "Looking at Nubians in Egypt: Nubian Women in New Kingdom Tomb and Temple Scenes and the Case of TT 40 (Amenemhet Huy)" Solange Ashby, "Dancing for Hathor: Nubian Women in Egyptian Cultic Life" Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei and Alexandros Tsakos, "An Old Nubian Letter from the Daughter of an Eparch" Hanna Paesler, "The Effects of Relocation on Nubian Women's Health" Petra Weschenfelder, "A Collective Gender Perception? Female Perspectives towards Resettlement in the Dar al-Manāsīr" Naglaa Mahmoud, "Islam, Migration, and Nubian Women in Egypt: Muhammad Khalil Qāsim's al-Shamandurah & al-Khalah Aycha" Ghada Abdel Hafeez, "The Nile Bride Myth 'Revisioned' in Nubian Literature" Marcus Jaeger, "Aspects of Gender in Dongolawi and Kenzi Nubian Wise Sayings and Proverbs" Zeina Elcheikh, "Tales from Two Villages: Nubian Women and Cultural Tourism in Gharb Soheil and Ballana" Maher Habbob, "Community Sharing: Three Nubian Women, Three Types of Informal Co-ops"
This collection brings together scholars from disciplines including Children’s Literature, Classics, and History to develop fresh approaches to children’s culture and the uses of the past. It charts the significance of historical episodes and characters during the long nineteenth-century (1750-1914), a critical period in children's culture. Boys and girls across social classes often experienced different pasts simultaneously, for purposes of amusement and instruction. The book highlights an active and shifting market in history for children, and reveals how children were actively involved in consuming and repackaging the past: from playing with historically themed toys and games to performing in plays and pageants. Each chapter reconstructs encounters across different media, uncovering the cultural work done by particular pasts and exposing the key role of playfulness in the British historical imagination.
The discovery of ancient Egypt and the development of Egyptology are momentous events in intellectual and cultural history. The history of Egyptology is the story of the people, famous and obscure, who constructed the picture of ancient Egypt that we have today, recovered the Egyptian past while inventing it anew, and made a lost civilization comprehensible to generations of enchanted readers and viewers thousands of years later.
Written in the tradition of historians like Mary Beard and Stacy Schiff who find modern lessons in ancient history, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today. In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, best-selling author Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs--Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa--to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every tomb, offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many. From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again.
