This volume compares the religious and social functions of the Ancient Egyptian festivals of Opet, the Valley, and the New Year. Until now, detailed study of the New Year Festival has only been carried out with reference to the Greco-Roman period; this study turns its attention to the New Kingdom.

A lively new biography of Tutankhamun—published for the hundredth anniversary of his tomb’s modern discovery The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 sparked imaginations across the globe. While Howard Carter emptied its treasures, Tut-mania gripped the world—and in many ways, never left. But who was the “boy king,” and what was his life really like? Garry J. Shaw tells the full story of Tutankhamun’s reign and his modern rediscovery. As pharaoh, Tutankhamun had to manage an empire, navigate influential courtiers, and suffer the pain of losing at least two children—all before his nineteenth birthday. Shaw explores the boy king’s treasures and possessions, from a lock of his grandmother’s hair to a reed cut with his own hands. He looks too at Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun’s wife, and the power queens held. This is a compelling new biography that weaves together intriguing details about ancient Egyptian culture, its beliefs, and its place in the wider world.

Extensive treatment of this pivotal figure in the ancient Mediterranean world

Standing as a summary of Spalinger's ideas at the time of the Yale lectures in 2012, this study covers two research sides of modern Egyptological research by a life-long student of ancient Egyptian calendrics and the Egyptian military. The first three chapters cover the development of Richard Parker's seminal study from 1950 and move into the present stage of scholarship. Very important is the author's clarification of what Parker wrote in his paradigmatic work, a slim volume often misunderstood. Hence, the thrust of argument concentrates upon the dating of feasts, the names of the Egyptian months and their metamorphoses, in addition to the retention of lunar-based phenomena. Two final chapters turn to the military aspects of New Kingdom warfare, with emphasis placed upon Seti I and logistical arrangements.

Warrior, mighty builder, and statesman, over the course of his 67-year-long reign (1279-1212 BCE), Ramesses II achieved more than any other pharaoh in the three millennia of ancient Egyptian civilization. Drawing on the latest research, Peter Brand reveals Ramesses the Great as a gifted politician, canny elder statesman, and tenacious warrior. With restless energy, he fully restored the office of Pharaoh to unquestioned levels of prestige and authority, thereby bringing stability to Egypt. He ended almost seven decades of warfare between Egypt and the Hittite Empire by signing the earliest international peace treaty in recorded history. In his later years, even as he outlived many of his own children and grandchildren, Ramesses II became a living god and finally, an immortal legend. With authoritative knowledge and colorful details Brand paints a compelling portrait of this legendary Pharaoh who ruled over Imperial Egypt during its Golden Age.

Written by specialists in the field of Egyptology, this book is a readable introduction to ancient Egypt, covering all anticipated subjects and stressing the monuments and material culture of this remarkable ancient civilization. The rich natural resources of ancient Egypt provided a wealth of raw material for its structures, sculptures, and art, while its geographic isolation helped to ensure the survival of its rich culture for centuries. While other references focus on the people and battles central to Egyptian history, this reference explores the material culture and social institutions of ancient Egypt. The book focuses on pharaonic Egypt, covering the period from roughly 5000 BCE to the beginning of the Greco-Roman Period in 320 BCE. At the front of the work, a timeline provides a quick look at the major events in Egyptian history, and an introduction surveys ancient Egypt's physical geography and history. Alphabetically arranged reference entries written by expert contributors then provide fundamental information about the buildings, jewelry, social practices, and other topics related to the material culture and institutions that made up the Egyptian world. Excerpts from primary source historical documents provide evidence for what we know about ancient Egyptian culture, and suggestions for further reading direct users to additional sources of information.

Over a century after his discovery, this comprehensive biography of Tutankhamun explores a wealth of evidence, including archaeological and ancient textual sources, DNA analysis and CT scanning, bringing to life a pharaoh who has remained elusive apart from his grandiose tomb treasures. For the first time, this volume identifies the names of Tutankhamun’s biological parents, tracing the footsteps of his short life that was marked by genetic defects and physical deterioration. Between his early days and his untimely death, Tutankhamun (previously Tutankhaten) appears as a child of his time; he was torn between the cult of the Aten and the restoration of the cult of Amun, a campaign in which he personally played a leading role. Equipped with a thorough education, gifted with a brilliant mind and living mostly in solitude, readers will follow in detail how Tutankhamun secured the survival of the 18th Dynasty. This book traces Tutankhamun’s involvement in processes which can still be felt in Egypt today. His complex personality is reconstructed based on archaeological evidence—some of which has never been discussed previously—and conclusions drawn from both scientific research and a deep understanding of the context in which he lived. By also considering the lives of those who were close to the teenage king, this book delivers a comprehensive source-based biography of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Complete with intensive references to international scholarship, visual sources and maps, and excluding the tomb treasures created after his physical death, this book is a fresh and original approach to understanding the life—not afterlife—of the most popular pharaoh of modern times. Tutankhamun: A Biography is suitable for students, scholars and non-specialist readers interested in the life of Tutankhamun, as well as those working on ancient Egyptian history and religion more broadly, particularly that of New Kingdom Egypt.