Ancient Egypt: A Social History

by B. G. Trigger , B. J. Kemp , D. O'Connor , A. B. Lloyd

• ISBN13: 9780521284271
• ISBN10: 0521284279
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1983-10-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The rich and extensive floodplain of the River Nile can claim to be the cradle of one of the earliest and most spectacular civilizations of antiquity. Ancient Egypt: a social history presents a fresh and innovative perspective on the ancient societies which flourished in the Nile Valley from the Predynastic period to the conquest by Alexander the Great. From the introduction of a subsistence economy through the establishment of the first agricultural communities to the development of urban centres and the political state, this volume traces the process of political, social and economic change. The emphasis on the social and economic aspects of Egyptian society and the integration of archaeological and historical data mark a new departure in Egyptian studies.

Table of Contents

List of figures	vii
Preface	xi
The rise of Egyptian civilization	1	(70)
B. G. Trigger
Orientation	1	(12)
Predynastic Egypt	13	(31)
Early Dynastic Egypt	44	(24)
Conclusions	68	(1)
Appendix: chronology of the Early Dynastic Period	69	(2)
Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period c. 2686-1552 BC	71	(112)
Barry J. Kemp
Divine kingship	71	(5)
The royal family	76	(4)
The central administration	80	(5)
Pious foundations	85	(1)
The Memphite court cemeteries	86	(10)
Provincial Egypt	96	(16)
The First Intermediate Period	112	(4)
The African hinterland	116	(21)
Egypt and the Mediterranean world	137	(12)
The Second Intermediate Period in Egypt	149	(11)
The Second Intermediate Period in Nubia	160	(13)
The Theban defeat of the Hyksos and of Kush	173	(1)
Explanations of historical change in the Old and Middle Kingdoms	174	(9)
New Kingdom and Third Intermediate Period, 1552-664 BC	183	(96)
David O'Connor
Prolegomena	183	(5)
The Egyptian world-view	188	(14)
Internal history	202	(1)
The New Kingdom	203	(29)
The Third Intermediate Period	232	(17)
The onset of the Late Period	249	(3)
Egypt's relations with Africa	252	(3)
Relations with Kush and the eastern desert	255	(15)
Egypt and Punt	270	(1)
Egypt and Libya	271	(8)
The Late Period, 664-323 BC	279	(70)
Alan B. Lloyd
Prolegomena	279	(9)
Organization	288	(30)
Economic structure	318	(13)
Government	331	(6)
Foreign policy	337	(9)
Conclusions	346	(3)
Bibliographical Essays	349	(16)
Bibliography	365	(64)
Index	429