The Egyptians

This is an account of the Egyptians from the first settlers in the Nile Valley through to the present day. Egypt has the longest, continuous, known history of any country in the world. The Nile Valley was first settled in about 5000 BC, and descendants of those early Egyptians still live along the banks of the great river that gave life to the desert lands and helped to bring about one of the earliest and greatest civilizations. Since the fourth century BC the Egyptians have been governed successively by Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Turks, and in 1882 Egypt was occupied by the British. It was only in 1922 that the country reasserted its independence. Since 1953, Egypt has been an independent Republic; and today, the Egyptians see themselves as a bridge between the Arab world and the West. Barbara Watterson charts the political and social history of the Egyptians through the millenniums in a narrative interwoven with insights on their economy and culture. Throughout the book she stresses the themes of continuity and change, providing the first comprehensive panorama of this fascinating people and their society.

List of Plates. List of Maps. Series Editor′s Preface. Glossary. A Note on Transliteration. The Egyptians: Table of Dates. Introduction. 1. The Land and its People. 2. The Earliest Egyptians. 3. The Era of the Pyramid–builders. 4. The Imperial Age. 5. The Last Pharaohs. 6. Hellenistic Egypt. 7. Roman and Christian Egypt. 8. Islamic Egypt. 9. Modern Egypt. Bibliography. General Index. Index of Ancient Egyptian Terms.

Barbara Watterson received her doctorate from the University of Liverpool. She is currently a freelance lecturer in Egyptology, working, in particular, in Adult Education. Her previous books Women in Ancient Egypt (1991), Introductory Egyptian Hieroglyphics (secind edition, 1993) and Gods of Ancient Egypt (1996).

"This book provides an excellent introduction to the land of ancientand modern Egypt ... Well written ... The author offers so much detail and excellent information on this fascinating culture that this book ought to be the textbook schools used to present Egypt to students." Francesca Jourdan