Description Of Egypt

The launching of this hitherto unpublished book by the great nineteenth-century British traveler Edward William Lane (1801-76), a name known to almost everyone in all the many fields of Middle East studies, is a major publishing event. Lane was the author of a number of highly influential works: An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians (1836), his translation of The Thousand and One Nights (1839-41), Selections from the Kur-an (1843), and the Arabic-English Lexicon (1863-93). Yet one of his greatest works was never published: after years of labor and despite an enthusiastic reception by the publishing firm of John Murray in 1831, publication of his first book, Description of Egypt, was delayed and eventually dropped, mainly for financial reasons. The manuscript was sold to the British Library by Lane's widow in 1891, and has only now been salvaged for publication by Dr. Jason Thompson, nearly 170 years after its completion. This enormously important book, which takes the form of a journey through Egypt from north to south, with descriptions of all the ancient monuments and contemporary life that Lane explored along the way, will be of immense interest to both ancient and modern historians of Egypt, and will become an essential companion to his Manners and Customs. ''Jason Thompson's exact and dedicated edition deserves much praise.''-Astene Newsletter, June 2002. ''Thompson, a historian at AUC, has done signal service in taking a manuscript dating from 1831 and preparing it for publication so many years later; AUC Press deserves praise for making so major a work available, and at so reasonable a price.''-Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly, June 2001. ''In all, the appearance of this major work of scholarship at this late date is a major boon to the study of Egypt's history between the pharaohs and 18280.''-Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly, June 2001.

Napoleon Bonaparte celebrated his conquest of Egypt in 1798 by commissioning a survey of the country's treasures published as the Description de L'Egypte. An army of engravers collaborated with artist-illustrators over a thirty-year period to produce 900 folio engravings of huge proportions depicting the architecture, monuments and antiquities of ancient Egypt together with contemporary views of the country. Reproducing large sections of the original folio, this is the first book in English to provide an accessible and comprehensive account of the origins and creation of the Description de L'Egypte. Terence M. Russell draws upon numerous first-hand reports of the French exploration in order to re-evaluate the intellectual and artistic achievements of Napoleon's ambitious campaign. He shows how, different from anything else conceived at the time, the rich plethora of drawings and personal writings compiled by the intrepid French explorers opened European eyes to the diverse splendours of a long forgotten civilization, giving rise to the science of Egyptology.

Any person with an interest in the history of Egyptology quickly learns of the monumental Description de l'Egypte, a result of research undertaken by French scholars during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798. The starting point for this study is the long-standing belief, particularly visible in English literature, that this nineteenth-century French corpus was the first point in the development of Egyptology. Yet despite this oft-repeated belief, the issues of where exactly the work went, or what people made of it have yet to be explored. This book attempts to test the broad notion that the Description was the seminal point in the development of Egyptology by exploring its reception in Great Britain, in the early nineteenth century.

Ancient Egypt is a beautifully illustrated, easy-to-read book covering the formative era of the Egyptian civilization: the age before the pyramids. Douglas Brewer shows why an awareness of the earliest phase of Egyptian history is crucial to understanding of later Egyptian culture. Beginning with a quick review of the fields of Egyptology and archaeology, Ancient Egypt takes the reader on a compelling survey of Egypt's prehistoric past. The books tours the Nile Valley to explore its impact on all aspects of life, from day-to-day living to regional politics, and introduces the reader to the Nile Valley's earliest inhabitants and the very first "Egyptians".

From Herodotus to The Mummy, Western civilization has long been fascinated with the exotic myths and legends of Ancient Egypt but they have often been misunderstood. Here acclaimed Egyptologist Joyce Tyldesley guides us through 3000 years of changing stories and, in retelling them, shows us what they mean. Gathered from pyramid friezes, archaological finds and contemporary documents, these vivid and strange stories explain everything from why the Nile flooded every year to their beliefs about what exactly happened after death and shed fascinating light on what life was like for both rich and poor. Lavishly illustrated with colour pictures, maps and family trees, helpful glossaries explaining all the major gods and timelines of the Pharoahs and most importantly packed with unforgettable stories, this book offers the perfect introduction to Egyptian history and civilization.

The land and people -- Egypt during the Old Kingdom -- The Middle and New Kingdoms -- Nubians, Greeks, and Romans, circa 1200 BCE-632 CE -- Christian Egypt -- Egypt within Islamic empires, 639-969 -- Fatimids, Ayyubids, and Mamluks, 969-1517 -- Ottoman Egypt, 1517-1798 -- Napoleon Bonaparte, Muhammad Ali, and Ismail : Egypt in the nineteenth century -- The British period, 1882-1952 -- Egypt for the Egyptians, 1952-1981 : Nasser and Sadat -- Mubarak's Egypt -- Conclusion: Egypt through the millennia

"The Description de l'Egypte was the fruit of researches carried out by the Commissio of Artd and science set by Napoleon during his egyptian campaign ..." Front jacket flap.