Life in Egypt Under Roman Rule

By Naphtali Lewis

Book Overview

The 25,000 perfectly preserved papyri unearthed from the dry sands of Egypt in the past 100 years yield insights into the life of ancient Egypt that are unequalled for any other ancient civilization. Piecing together the stories and historical information contained in these documents, Naphtali Lewis has written a rich, descriptive social history of Egypt, 30 B.C. to A.D. 285. Replete with stories of individuals--such as Kronion, the 2nd-century farmer whose late life was disrupted by debt, domestic strife, and divorce--this book describes the class structure, means of livelihood, and ways of doing business in Roman Egypt. Here is the fascinating story of how the middle and lower classes lived in the towns and peasant villages, of their religion, their personal affairs, their laws, their allegiances. Lewis explores the Egyptians' growing discontent with Roman rule and the ways they voiced their discontent. In many cases, he lets them speak for themselves, in choice quotes from the papyri. To provide a context for reading Life in Egypt Under Roman Rule, Lewis includes a brief history of Roman-Egyptian relations before occupation as well as notes on the spelling of names and Roman imperial titles. Unique among the histories of the ancient world, this book describes everyday life in Roman-Egypt--and the thoughts and fears of the people who lived there.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198148720
• ISBN13: 9780198148722
• Release Date: May 1986
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Incorporated
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.6" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

The simple life

For all who are longing for the simple life of yesterday this excellent and document based book gives a first introduction how life two thousand years ago really was. Also for the non scientific reader a sketch into times long gone but nevertheless interesting in its own. I recommend it to all the nostalgics who think the the problems of today (beginning with bad neighbors and ending with the taxman) are something new.

Outstanding

This is my favorite Egyptian history book. Lewis in one small volume brings Egypt during the period of Roman rule to life in the pages in front of you. The book draws from thousands of papyrus documents collected in Egypt over the years. As you might expect, these mostly deal with the minutia of daily life, contracts and prayers, polemics and taxes, and Lewis's book uses theses to tell his story. The book is highly readable, enjoyable, and I recomend it to any one with an interest in any period in Egypt (after all, how much did the Nile change between 1000 BC and 300 AD).