What could be worse than embalming a dead body? Being buried with it! Some pharaohs and wealthy Egyptians insisted their servants be buried with them to serve in the afterlife. Other jobs of the time were less deadly, but smellier! Readers learn a lot about ancient Egyptian society as they’re introduced to the unsavory tasks of slaves, peasants, and others. Full-color images showcase archeological evidence of these gross jobs, and interesting sidebars and fact boxes add even more stinky detail. Candid examples—including the removal of a person’s guts during mummification—will stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
"The chairman of Marvel Comics--which now sell more than 16 million copies per month--presents a compilation of completely off-the-wall, humorous, sometimes grisly real-life events and occurrences that have transpired throughout history. Inept executioners, lunkhead politicians, and much more are featured in this laugh-out-loud shocker."--Amazon.com
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.
They're not called the Awesome Egyptians for nothing! The foul pharaohs and their suffering slaves got up to all sorts of terrible tricks. Read this book to... * Meet some fabulous pharaohs... and their mummies * Make revolting recipes for 3000 year old sweets * Discover which king had the most blackheads * Find out why some pharaohs wore false beards * Learn to become an Ancient Egyptian in 10 not-so-easy steps! If you like your history horrible, the Awesome Egyptians and their moaning mummies have it all wrapped up! Aaaarrrrgh!
What sort of work could job-hunters in Ancient Egypt expect to find? What might their colleagues be like? Ancient Egyptians might become law officers, using sniffer dogs to track down criminals, or professional mourners, paid to throw dust over themselves at funerals. What were the pay and conditions like for a farmer or a scribe in Ancient Egypt? Which were the most dangerous jobs and which the most high status? Throughout the book, job adverts give an idea of the qualities and skills needed for each role and there's a verdict at the end to evaluate whether it was one of the best or worst jobs available. Photographs of artefacts from the period are married with humorous artwork to bring the workers of the era to life.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Magisterial . . . [A] rich portrait of ancient Egypt’s complex evolution over the course of three millenniums.”—Los Angeles Times NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Publishers Weekly In this landmark volume, one of the world’s most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its absorption into the Roman Empire. Drawing upon forty years of archaeological research, award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson takes us inside a tribal society with a pre-monetary economy and decadent, divine kings who ruled with all-too-recognizable human emotions. Here are the legendary leaders: Akhenaten, the “heretic king,” who with his wife Nefertiti brought about a revolution with a bold new religion; Tutankhamun, whose dazzling tomb would remain hidden for three millennia; and eleven pharaohs called Ramesses, the last of whom presided over the militarism, lawlessness, and corruption that caused a political and societal decline. Filled with new information and unique interpretations, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt is a riveting and revelatory work of wild drama, bold spectacle, unforgettable characters, and sweeping history. “With a literary flair and a sense for a story well told, Mr. Wilkinson offers a highly readable, factually up-to-date account.”—The Wall Street Journal “[Wilkinson] writes with considerable verve. . . . [He] is nimble at conveying the sumptuous pageantry and cultural sophistication of pharaonic Egypt.”—The New York Times
The great civilization that grew up around the Nile River had sophisticated irrigation systems that held back the desert, writing and record keeping that kept track of every event in the region, and some of the greatest architects and engineers the world
Combining philological investigation and theoretical reasoning, this book offers a completely new interpretation of the economic role of the state in ancient Egypt. The first part provides background outlining the relevance of Keynes General Theory to the ancient Egyptian economy. The central part uses ancient Egyptian texts as the foundation of an analysis of words commonly assumed to relate to taxation during the New Kingdom (c. 15401070 B.C.E.). The conclusions summarize the philological results and explore the role of the temples in the ancient Egyptian state during the New Kingdom. The result places ancient Egyptian taxation and state economic activity in a market context, opening a new path to the understanding of the ancient Egyptian economy based on an analysis of primary sources.
In welchem Zusammenhang stehen Schwächediskurse und Ressourcenregime? Warum eröffnet gerade dieses Begriffspaar eine Perspektive auf die Handlungsfähigkeit von Akteuren sowie auf historische Veränderungsprozesse? Dieser Band widmet sich programmatisch der Frage, welchen Einfluss Schwäche- und Stärkediskurse auf den Umgang mit Ressourcen haben und wie davon ausgehend Selbstbeschreibungen Eingang in Ressourcenprozesse finden und diese prägen.
In ancient Egypt women enjoyed a legal, social and sexual independence unrivalled by their Greek or Roman sisters, or in fact by most women until the late nineteenth century. They could own and trade in property, work outside the home, marry foreigners and live alone without the protection of a male guardian. Some of them even rose to rule Egypt as ‘female kings’. Joyce Tyldesley’s vivid history of how women lived in ancient Egypt weaves a fascinating picture of daily life – marriage and the home, work and play, grooming and religion – viewed from a female perspective, in a work that is engaging, original and constantly surprising.
