The Egyptians

First published in 1961 as a survey of pharaonic history, this book follows ancient Egypt from the early dynasties and pyramid age through the Middle and New Kingdoms to the Late Period and Alexander's arrival. Gardiner works from inscriptions, king lists, and archaeological evidence, pausing on questions of chronology, the nature of kingship, and how much the monuments can be trusted. He treats wars in Nubia and Syria, religious change, and the administration that held the Nile valley together. The book is a political and source-based history of one civilization, not a picture book of tombs.

Decorations by Simon Noyes. Maps by Reginald Piggott. Gilt image decorated maroon cloth binding. Decorative map endpapers. Illustrated with colour and black & white photographs and maps. From 1999 Empires of the Ancient Near East set. Plain dark red slipcase.