WIth full-color illustrations throughout

From the best-selling author of Sexual Personae and Break, Blow, Burn and one of our most acclaimed cultural critics, here is an enthralling journey through Western art's defining moments, from the ancient Egyptian tomb of Queen Nefertari to George Lucas's volcano planet duel in Revenge of the Sith.

Ancient Egypt and the Near East: An Illustrated History explores the early civilizations that developed in Egypt and Mesopotamia between the start of farming in the Nile Valley around 6000 BCE and the defeat of the Persians by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE.

This work includes the private letters of ancient women in Egypt, from Alexander the Great to the Arab conquest. When historians study the women of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquity, they are generally dependent on ancient literature written by men. But women did write and dictate themselves. And only in their own private letters can we discover unmediated expression of their authentic experiences. More than three hundred letters written in Greek and Egyptian by women in Egypt between the conquest of Alexander the Great and the early Islamic period survive on papyrus and pottery. This book sets the best-preserved of these letters in their paleaographic, linguistic, social, and economic contexts. "Women's Letters" cuts across disciplinary lines and considers sociolinguistic questions about the choice of language in a bilingual society as well as issues relevant to women and gender studies.

The iconic pyramids and striking hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt are but a limited representation of the resplendent culture that once inhabited the Nile Valley. The ancient Egyptians developed sophisticated societies and belief systems, bestowing the world with plenitudes in the way of intellectual and cultural achievement. The vibrance of the ancient Egyptian life--from the dynasties to the masses--are captured in this volume, which also explores the political and social development of the region.

This Companion provides the very latest accounts of the major and current aspects of Egyptology by leading scholars. It is delivered in a highly readable style and extensively illustrated; published in two volumes, it offers unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage, giving full scope to the discussion of this incredible civilization.

Provides the very latest and, where relevant, well-illustrated accounts of the major aspects of Egypt’s ancient history and culture

Covers a broad scope of topics including physical context, history, economic and social mechanisms, language, literature, and the visual arts

Delivered in a highly readable style with students and scholars of both Egyptology and Graeco-Roman studies in mind

Provides a chronological table at the start of each volume to help readers orient chapters within the wider historical context