EGYPT HOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S EARLIEST AND MOST LONG-LASTING CIVILIZATIONS IN ANTIO~UITY. DEVELOPED ITS UNIQUE, SOPHISTICATED CULTURE IN RELATIVE SAFETY AND SECLUSION. PROTECTED TO AN EXTENT BY THE NATURAL BARRIERS OF THE DESERTS TO THE EAST AND WEST. AND BY THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA TO THE NORTH. THIS ANCIENT CIVILIZATION ENDURED FOR ALMOST 3 000 YEARS BEFORE IT WAS FINALLY CONQUERED BY THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

THIS COMPREHENSIVELY ILLUSTRATED BOOK CHRONICLES THAT RISE AND DECLINE, WHILE ALSO EXPLORING THE SOCIETY AND CULTURE THAT DEVELOPED OVER THREE MILLENNIA. THROUGH AN AUTHORITATIVE TEXT AND VIVID PHOTOGRAPHS, THE MANY FACETS OF THAT ADVANCED CIVILIZATION ARE DETAILED HERE, INCLUDING:

EXPLANATIONS OF ITS COMPLEX RELIGIOUS BELIEF. WITH ITS CERTAINTY IN THE EXISTENCE OF AN AFTERLIFE, WHICH LED TO THE BUILDING OF MONUMENTAL TEMPLES AND THE PYRAMIDS THAT HOUSED THE SOULS OF THEIR GOD-KINGS.

A FASCINATING OVERVIEW OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT, FROM THE HUMBLE AGRICULTURAL WORKER WHOSE TOIL FED THE COUNTRY TO THE RULING DYNASTIES OF PHARAOHS.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SOPHISTICATED MILITARY WHICH, WITH TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED WEAPONRY, WORKED TO DEFEND EGYPT AND CONQUERED NEW LANDS.

DETAILS OF A REFINED AND MATURE SYSTEM OF TRADE, LAW AND EDUCATION,AS WELL AS A TRADITION OF POLISHED CRAFTSMANSHIP.

Introduction

Chronology of Ancient Egypt

The Pyramids

Death, Burial and the Afterlife

Religion and the Gods

Temples

Agriculture and Food

Families and Children

Sport and Recreation

Crafts and Technology

Writing

Clothing and ]ewellery

Trade and the Economy

Law and Order

Settlements and Housing

Military Life, War and Weaponry

The Tombs

Tutankhamun

The Pharaohs

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgements