Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-By-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt

by Peter A. Clayton

Book Overview

Here are all the rulers and dynasties of Egypt presented in chronological order, from Narmer, who first united the lands along the Nile, to Cleopatra some 3,000 years later. The biographical portraits... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0500050740
• ISBN13: 9780500050743
• Release Date: November 1994
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 7.9" x 10.3"

Customer Reviews

Good for Identifying the Pharaohs

This book offers a brief history of each pharaoh in an easy to follow format.

A Great Chrononology of the Pharaohs of Egypt.

have long been an avid student of ancient Egypt, since the age of 11 to be exact. I have never lost my interest in Egyptology, and it only gets strengthened when a book of this calibre comes along. Chronicle of the Pharaohs is a wonderful guide to each and every pharaoh that ruled Egypt during its 3000 year history, and 30 dynasties. The author, Peter A. Clayton, does a fantastic job in not only the chronology, but also in the biographical information, history, and hieroglyhpic translations and transliterations of each pharaohs name. Richly illustrated, this book is a must for any ancient Egypt fan's library. Author: Peter A. Clayton Published: 1995 Binding: Hardcover with Dust Jacket Pages: 224 Illustrations: 350 (130 in color) What follows is a synopsis/review of the book. This book is five major sections, with a number of subsections in each section. Preface and Introduction. This section introduces us to the subject of ancient Egypt, and we get a good introduction to the place of the pharaoh in the political state, as well as in the religion and mythology of ancient Egypt. Section One. The First Pharaohs. This section covers mainly the late predynastic period and early dynastic period. The unification of Egypt is the dominant theme here, when the "two lands" became one. Narmer and the legendary "Menes" are compared. Section Two. The Pyramid Builders. This section and subsections covers the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, from 2700-2400 BC, and covers in particular the pyramid age. Section Three. Chaos and Rebirth. This section and its constituent subsections cover the "First Intermediate Period", when political stability collapsed, and there was over 120 years of civil war. This is followed by the "rebirth", and reunification of Egypt in the Middle Kingdom, dynasties 11-12. The "Second Intermediate Period" is also covered, the time when Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos. Section Four. Rulers of an Empire. The New Kingdom era begins with the expulsion from Egypt of the foreign invaders. Thus begins a pattern of warrior pharaohs, who carve out the first empire in history of any significance. Pharaohs like Thutmose III and Ramses II dominate the scene here. Section Five. The Weakening of Pharaonic Power. This is the Late Period of Egypt, or the "Third Intermediate Period", in which Egypt's power and influence decline for another 1000 years, from the 21st to 30 dynasties. During this time there was mostly foreign rule, but a few native dynasties prevailed. Finally, in 332 BC, Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great, and his general, Ptolemy founded the last dynasty, the one that ended with Cleopatra VII as the last pharaoh of Egypt. Then Egypt became a province of Rome, and there were no more pharaohs. All in all, "Chronicle of the Pharaohs" is an excellent piece of scholarship, history, biography, and is a fascinating reference tool and a great read. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in ancient Egypt, and history in general.

One of my favorite Egyptology books

I bought this book a number of years ago, and I return to it again and again. It starts with an interesting introduction on the chronology of Ancient Egypt and the problems of trying to reconcile archeological evidence with fragmentary written sources. Peter Clayton did an excellent job pulling together all the pieces available, and he would say when pieces were missing. I learned more about the Early Dynastic Period and the Middle Kingdom than I had suspected existed, and even the Intermediate Periods made more sense than I had run across before. I very much liked the translations of the pharonic names, especially the name of the woman who may have been Hor-Aha's queen: Berner-Ib, which literally translates as "Sweet-heart". Some of the ironies of history appealed to me, too, such as the fact that the features of the builder of the biggest pyramid (and only remaining Ancient Wonder of the World) are only known by one small statue three inches in height. The author tried to include photos of statues or paintings of every pharaoh and announced happily that the book even includes photos of the faces of the pharaohs themselves. I find that a mixed blessing, as Ramses II looks good considering his age, but Seqenenre is not a pretty sight. The only major complaint I have with the book is that it leaves you wanting more. Well, maybe not more photos of 3000+ year old corpses.

Terrific Overview Of Pharoah History

Without a doubt, this is one of the best accounts of Egypt's pharoahs I have ever read (and I have been reading about Egyptian history since a child in the 1960s). Easy-to-read and concise, "Chronicles" provided me with new information about personal favorites (Akhenaton, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III) and reminded of the reigns of others I'd forgotten (e.g. Ahmose I, Amenhotep III). I am not a historian and expect this book might lack details that a historian would want. However, as a history lover, and one fascinated by Egyptian history in particular, this is one of the books I would want with me if stranded on a desert island. I liked it so much that I also bought the "Chronicles Of The Roman Emperors", with which I am equally as pleased.

A brilliant overview of Egypt's political history

For people, like me, who are fascinated by political history and specifically in statistics (dates, rulers, genealogy, maps etc.) this is a great, great book for which 5 stars are not too much. Fans of cultural and other types of history however, should not buy this book. One more thing about the reader from Austin, Texas who was disappointed that this book was not as detailed as he had hoped: The last of the native pharaos died more than 2000 years ago. Much information has been lost. In stead of dramatizing things, or writing some interesting theories which are based on air, this book only gives the hard facts of which is found and known about these people. And that is a good thing, because otherwise people expect the details to be known. Which they aren't.