Egypt, land of the Bible, has been home since the time of Christ to an ancient sect of Christians called the Copts. According to legend, Mark the Evangelist founded their church in Alexandria in the 1st century AD, when Egypt was under Roman rule and practiced polytheistic religions. Though Egypt long ago became a Muslim nation, the Copts maintained their traditions and rites at monasteries and villages throughout the Nile Valley, the river delta, and the Mediterranean coast, and still do so today.

Details the momentous discovery and significance of the ancient gnostic texts hidden for sixteen centuries in Chenoboskion, Egypt • Author was a member of the party that discovered these ancient Coptic documents • Sheds new light on the vanished world in which Christianity was born • 40,000 copies sold of earlier editions • Includes the first translation of the Gospel of Thomas, with full commentary Hidden for sixteen centuries, the Nag Hammadi library, the most prodigious collection of sacred gnostic texts, were discovered in the late 1940s in Chenoboskion, a remote hamlet in upper Egypt. Among them was the Gospel according to Thomas, which aroused international publicity and alerted the world to the significance of this archeological find, believed by many scholars to surpass the Dead Sea Scrolls in importance. The Discovery of the Nag Hammadi Texts is the original survey of the contents of these documents and their significance to the world at large. Doresse's narrative allows readers direct contact with an ancient form of Christianity through the philosophical wealth of the texts-ranging from gnostic revelations and Christian apocrypha to Hermetic literature-Included in the book is the original English translation of the Gospel of Thomas first published in 1960.

This meticulously edited collection of history, literature and archaeological discoveries, is enriched with the key documents, images and historical sources of Ancient Egypt as well as with some of the most famous works of Ancient Egyptian literature. "Ancient Egypt" represents the civilization of North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in the place that is now as the country of Egypt. The history of ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: The Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age. Contents: Contents: History of Ancient Egypt Archaeology of Ancient Egypt Literature of Ancient Egypt Primary Sources of the Ancient Egyptian History: The Book of the Dead Papyrus of Ani The Rosetta Stone Hymn to the Nile The Laments of Isis and Nephthys Great Hymn to Aten Hymn to Osiris-Sokar The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep The Victory of Ramses II Over the Khita An Account of the Battle of Megiddo Charm for the Protection of a Child Stories and Poems of Ancient Egypt Tale of the Doomed Prince The Magic Book The Dialogue of a Misanthrope with His Own Soul Ancient Egyptian Love Poems The Egyptian Book of Herodotus

The Cairo Genizah is considered one of the world's greatest Hebrew manuscript treasures. Yet the story of how over a quarter of a million fragments hidden in Egypt were discovered and distributed around the world, before becoming collectively known as “The Cairo Genizah,” is far more convoluted and compelling than previously told. The full story involves an international cast of scholars, librarians, archaeologists, excavators, collectors, dealers and agents, operating from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and all acting with varying motivations and intentions in a race for the spoils. Basing her research on a wealth of archival materials, Jefferson reconstructs how these protagonists used their various networks to create key alliances, or to blaze lone trails, each one on a quest to recover ancient manuscripts. Following in their footsteps, she takes the reader on a journey down into ancient caves and tombs, under medieval rubbish mounds, into hidden attic rooms, vaults, basements and wells, along labyrinthine souks, and behind the doors of private clubs and cloistered colleges. Along the way, the reader will also learn about the importance of establishing manuscript provenance and authenticity, and the impact to our understanding of the past when either factor is in doubt.

This first full study of the subject discusses how 17C Catholic missionaries tried to force the Copts (Egyptian members of the Church of Alexandria) into union with the Church of Rome, and the slow accumulation of knowledge of Coptic beliefs, undertaken by Catholics and Protestants. Includes a survey of the study of the Coptic language in the West.

Like many modern-day Christians, Dr. Collins struggled with what seemed to be a clash between his belief in the Bible and the research regarding ancient history--a crisis of faith that inspired him to embark on an expedition that has led to one of the most exciting finds in recent archaeology.

Relief medallion from glass bowl and glass Christogram medallion, p. 71.