Egypt and the Desert presents the complex relationship between the civilizations of the ancient Nile Valley and the desert territories that surround them. Themes include the invention of hieroglyphs, the desert as living entity, and how the Egyptian administered the vast barren terrain.
This is the first complete translation and commentary on the important tableau and inscription of Queen Katimala at Semna. The inscription is not illegible, as has often been stated, but is a well-composed Lower Nubian example of a politico-religious manifesto applying many of the conventions of early Egyptian literary and historical compositions.
Despite the variety of the temple decoration during the 30. Dynasty, little is known about the theology of funeral rituals and conceptions of the afterlife during the reigns of Nectanebo I and especially during that Nectanebo II. Since the conceptions of the Netherworld during the final period of pharaonic rule has not previously been a topic of detailed study, this thorough examination of sarcophagi and papyri of the Thirtieth Dynasty and early Ptolemaic Period casts new light on the cultural and religious achievements of the Nectanebid Period, particularly in the realm of funerary religion. Not only do the texts of this period exhibit a direct relationship with the Underworld Books of the New Kingdom, but the study shows that they partook of a dynamic textual tradition, which led to new editions and creative interpretations of difficult passages, including transcriptions of cryptographic orthographies. Thus at the end of the pharaonic period and during the transition to the Ptolemaic rule, Egyptian theology reveals a final flowering, which demonstrates that one should not characterize the period as a substantial break in theological reflection of the afterlife or a sterile solidification of an ancient textual corpus. Instead the eve of the Graeco-Roman Period is more properly understood as a time of active theological speculation and engagement with the earlier corpus of Underworld Books.
We think of Tutankhamun's age as one of rich tombs and religious obsession, but it was also a time of complicated and ultimately successful political machinations and military campaigns.
Two celebrated Egyptologists bring to vivid life the intriguing and controversial reign of King Tut's parents.Akhenaten has been the subject of radically different, even contradictory, biographies. The king has achieved fame as the world's first individual and the first monotheist, but others have seen him as an incestuous tyrant who nearly ruined the kingdom he ruled. The gold funerary mask of his son Tutankhamun and the painted bust of his wife Nefertiti are the most recognizable artifacts from all of ancient Egypt. But who are Akhenaten and Nefertiti? And what can we actually say about rulers who lived more than three thousand years ago?November 2022 marks the centennial of the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and although "King Tut" is a household name, his nine-year rule pales in comparison to the revolutionary reign of his parents. Akhenaten and Nefertiti became gods on earth by transforming Egyptian solar worship, innovating in art and urban design, and merging religion and politics in ways never attempted before.Combining fascinating scholarship, detective suspense, and adventurous thrills, Egypt's Golden Couple is a journey through excavations, museums, hieroglyphic texts, and stunning artifacts. From clue to clue, renowned Egyptologists John and Colleen Darnell reconstruct an otherwise untold story of the magnificent reign of Akhenaten and Nefertiti.