These studies on the history, art, religions, and literature of Egypt and the ancient Near East include discussions of previously unpublished archaeological excavations and ancient inscriptions. Some essays engage specific literary texts; others are comparative, interpreting the finds, art, and inscriptions, from a variety of ancient societies.

This study presents a revised view of Egyptian foreign relations in the eastern Mediterranean during the Old Kingdom (3rd-6th Dynasties) based on an extensive analysis of old and new archaeological data, and its relationship to the well-known textual sources. The material demonstrates that while Egypt's most important relationships were with Byblos and the Lebanese coast generally, it was an active participant in the geo-political and economic affairs of the Levant throughout much of the third millennium BCE. The archaeological data shows that the foundation of these relationships was established at the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period and essentially continued until the end of the 6th Dynasty with ebbs, flows and changes of geographical and political emphasis. It is argued that, despite the paucity of textual data, the 4th Dynasty represents the apogee of Egypt's engagement in the region, a time when the centralised state was at the height of its power and control of human and economic capital. More broadly, this study shows that Egyptian interaction in the eastern Mediterranean fits the pattern of state-to-state contact between ruling elites which was underpinned by official expeditions engaged in gift and commodity exchange, diplomatic endeavours and military incursions.

The Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of Ramesses II offers a transnational perspective on the age of King Ramesses II of Egypt during the centuries of 1500 to 1200 BC. Shows how powerful states - stretching from western Iran to Greece and from Turkey to Sudan - jointly shaped the history, society, and culture of this region through both peaceful and military means Offers a straightforward narrative, current research, and rich illustrations Utilizes historical data from ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hittites, Mycenaeans, Canaanites, and others Considers all members of these ancient societies, from commoners to royalty - exploring everything from people’s eating habits to royal negotiations over diplomatic marriages

During the period 500–1000 CE Egypt was successively part of the Byzantine, Persian and Islamic empires. All kinds of events, developments and processes occurred that would greatly affect its history and that of the eastern Mediterranean in general. This is the first volume to map Egypt's position in the Mediterranean during this period. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines, the individual chapters detail its connections with imperial and scholarly centres, its role in cross-regional trade networks, and its participation in Mediterranean and Near Eastern cultural developments, including their impact on its own literary and material production. With unparalleled detail, the book tracks the mechanisms and structures through which Egypt connected politically, economically and culturally to the world surrounding it.

In this groundbreaking book, Ilham Khuri-Makdisi establishes the existence of a special radical trajectory spanning four continents and linking Beirut, Cairo, and Alexandria between 1860 and 1914. She shows that socialist and anarchist ideas were regularly discussed, disseminated, and reworked among intellectuals, workers, dramatists, Egyptians, Ottoman Syrians, ethnic Italians, Greeks, and many others in these cities. In situating the Middle East within the context of world history, Khuri-Makdisi challenges nationalist and elite narratives of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history as well as Eurocentric ideas about global radical movements. The book demonstrates that these radical trajectories played a fundamental role in shaping societies throughout the world and offers a powerful rethinking of Ottoman intellectual and social history.

From about 2000 BCE onward, Egypt served as an important nexus for cultural exchange in the eastern Mediterranean, importing and exporting not just wares but also new artistic techniques and styles. Egyptian, Greek, and Roman craftsmen imitated one another’s work, creating cultural and artistic hybrids that transcended a single tradition. Yet in spite of the remarkable artistic production that resulted from these interchanges, the complex vicissitudes of exchange between Egypt and the Classical world over the course of nearly 2500 years have not been comprehensively explored in a major exhibition or publication in the United States. It is precisely this aspect of Egypt’s history, however, that Beyond the Nile uncovers. Renowned scholars have come together to provide compelling analyses of the constantly evolving dynamics of cultural exchange, first between Egyptians and Greeks—during the Bronze Age, then the Archaic and Classical periods of Greece, and finally Ptolemaic Egypt—and later, when Egypt passed to Roman rule with the defeat of Cleopatra. Beyond the Nile, a milestone publication issued on the occasion of a major international exhibition, will become an indispensable contribution to the field. With gorgeous photographs of more than two hundred rare objects, including frescoes, statues, obelisks, jewelry, papyri, pottery, and coins, this volume offers an essential and inter-disciplinary approach to the rich world of artistic cross-pollination during antiquity.

What did commercialized sex really amount to in the ancient and medieval Eastern Mediterranean? This groundbreaking book challenges many stereotypical views about the historical practice of prostitution. Based on twenty years' research, and organized by region, it charts the history of sex for sale in those chief centres of the late antique and medieval East, whether in Arabia, Egypt, Syria or Anatolia. Ranging extensively from 300 CE to 1500 (or from the reign of Theodosius to the early Ottoman period), Gary Leiser meticulously examines the available sources and argues for a reappraisal of the so-called oldest profession. He suggests that it was never prohibited; that there was remarkable continuity between Christian and Muslim rule; and that prostitution was institutionalized as a 'service industry' at various times. Indicating that sex work in the East had its own distinctive character and meanings (for example, that it was taxed from the time of Caligula onwards and that prostitutes were expected to retain tax receipts), the book brings continually fresh insights to a controversial subject.