The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

 Introduction
Ancient Egyptian civilization has always been of a great interest not only to historians and archeologists but also to general public at large. It fascinates us with its luxurious artefacts, intrigues with its hidden tombs, and allures with its sophisticated hieroglyphic writings. The book ‘The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt’ is about aspects of Ancient Egypt that led to its prosperity and also about causes of its fall. The book is written by an acknowledged specialist in Ancient Egyptian culture Toby Wilkinson and was published in New York by Random House publishing group in 2010.
The book covers a time frame of Egyptian history from 3000 BC and the emergence of Old Kingdom to the end of Ptolemaic Era (30 BC) and depicts the ruling of 31 dynasties of Egyptian kings. The book consists of Introduction, 5 Parts and epilogue which cover the periods of Old, Middle, and New Kingdom, Lybian, Assyrian and Persian invasion, ruling of Alexander the Great and Ptolemaic dynasty.  The book ends at the point when Rome conquers Egypt which is considered the end of Ancient Egypt history.
The book by Toby Wilkinson is written in the form of narrative with detailed descriptions and preciseness of dates of events. The author sometimes gets emotional in describing artefacts to invigorate the story and brighten up a reader’s imagination. Hence, he uses many descriptive adjectives and alternates the narrator of the story from first person to the third. Wilkinson also incorporates historical names close to their original sound, maps and other illustrations and charts. This gives the story a sense of authenticity.
The book starts with an introduction depicting the story of Tutankhamun tomb excavation by famous English Egyptologist Howard Carter and his companions. In November 1922 they made as Wilkinson puts it ‘the greatest archeological discovery the world had ever seen’. The reason the author starts with this story is to show how this discovery influenced him as a young boy and enhanced his admiration of Ancient Egyptian civilization. However, as he continued to learn the subject he discovered that there is another side to the beauty and mystics of Egypt. This other side being ‘political propaganda, an ideology of xenophobia, close surveillance of the population, and brutal repression of dissent. Thus, the aim of the book it to give all-rounded understanding of life in Ancient Egypt which will show despotism and brutality of authority in addition to marvels of ancient world. In the introduction the author also implies that methods which pharaohs used to gain obedience of their population such as despotism, brutality and summary executions can and are still used today to control and subjugate people. Thus, everybody can find lessons for themselves in this book.
Part I of the book illustrates the principles of Old Kingdom (2575 BC – 2125 BC), how it emerged, rose and, consequently came to an end as did all Egyptian dynasties.  However, the author starts way back before the first king of First Dynasty. He explains the geographical conditions that made the appearance of civilization possible and the circumstances of unification of Egypt into a monarchy under one king Narmer.  With the unification of different cities - Tjeni, Nubt, Nekhen - appeared the world’s  first country with its single monarch. This fact alone shows that Egyptian civilization was much more complex and developed than we imagine.
This period is also called the Pyramid era as it was the time when grandiose architecture became a symbol of king’s power and divinity. One of the most well-known architectural structures appeared during this time. These include Pyramids of Giza plateau, the Great Sphinx and other sun temples that often shape an image of Ancient Egypt in general public.
This magnificent architecture was the expression of Egyptians traditions and their perception of the world. The defining principle of this period was the belief that pharaoh is the son of God and, thus, his power is divine and his ruling is unconditional. During this era the authorities have stimulated this belief so vigorously that it was not doubted by population of Egypt for another 3 thousand years. Thus, political and religious branches of power were interdependent and basically inseparable. The principle of divine nature of pharaoh was expressed not only in architecture but in other arts as well – literature, sculpture, painting, theatrical life etc. Kings of that period were obsessed with showing their divine nature. That is why numerous royal ceremonies were held with lavishness and luxury .
As the main goal of the book is to show both sides of Ancient Egypt, the author describes the means of ruling during the Old Kingdom. The easiest way to subject the population is to make them fear the king. That is why ancient Egyptian king’s ruling was greatly characterized by neglect for human life, enslavement and exploitation of native population.  The rulers tried t