Pharaoh's Land and Beyond: Ancient Egypt and Its Neighbors

The concept of pharaonic Egypt as a unified, homogeneous, and isolated cultural entity is misleading. Ancient Egypt was a rich tapestry of social, religious, technological, and economic interconnections among numerous cultures from disparate lands. In fifteen chapters divided into five thematic groups, Pharaoh's Land and Beyond uniquely examines Egypt's relationship with its wider world. The first section details the geographical contexts of interconnections by examining ancient Egyptian exploration, maritime routes, and overland passages. In the next section, chapters address the human principals of association: peoples, with the attendant difficulties of differentiating ethnic identities from the record; diplomatic actors, with their complex balances and presentations of power; and the military, with its evolving role in pharaonic expansion. Natural events, from droughts and floods to illness and epidemics, also played significant roles in this ancient world, as examined in the third section. The final two sections explore the physical manifestations of interconnections between pharaonic Egypt and its neighbors, first in the form of material objects and second, in the powerful exchange of ideas. Whether through diffusion and borrowing of knowledge and technology, through the flow of words by script and literature, or through exchanges in the religious sphere, the pharaonic Egypt that we know today was constantly changing--and changing the cultures around it. This illustrious work represents the first synthesis of these cultural relationships, unbounded by time, geography, or mode.

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors Acknowledgments List of Figures and Plates Introduction Pearce Paul Creasman and Richard H. Wilkinson SECTION I: Pathways Chapter 1 Finding the Beyond: Exploration Thomas Schneider Chapter 2 Paths in the Deep: Maritime Connections Pearce Paul Creasman and Noreen Doyle Chapter 3 Pathways to Distant Kingdoms: Land Connections Gregory Mumford SECTION II: People Chapter 4 Children of Other Gods: Social Interactions Bettina Bader Chapter 5 Between Brothers: Diplomatic Interactions Richard H. Wilkinson and Noreen Doyle Chapter 6 The Armies of Re Anthony Spalinger SECTION III: Objects Chapter 7 The Long Arm of Merchantry: Trade Interactions Samuel Mark Chapter 8 Artisans and Their Products: Interaction in Art and Architecture Stuart Tyson Smith Chapter 9 Traded, Copied, and Kept: The Ubiquitous Appeal of Scarabs Vanessa Boschloos SECTION IV: Ideas Chapter 10 Technology in Transit: The Borrowing of Ideas in Science and Craftwork Ian Shaw Chapter 11 The Flow of Words: Interaction in Writing and Literature during the Bronze Age Part I: Writing Systems: Cuneiform and Hieroglyphs in the Bronze Age: Script Contact and the Creation of New Scripts Orly Goldwasser Part II: Literature: Egyptian and Levantine Belles-Lettres-Links and Influences during the Bronze Age Noga Ayali-Darshan Chapter 12 All Gods Are Our Gods: Religious Interaction Part I: "From Bes to Baal": Religious Interconnections between Egypt and the East Izak Cornelius Part II: Egypt and Nubia Kathryn Howley Part III: Religious Interaction between Egypt and the Aegean in the 2nd Millennium BCE Nanno Marinatos SECTION V: Events Chapter 13 Violence in Earth, Water and Sky: Geological Hazards James A. Harrell Chapter 14 The Fickle Nile: Effects of Droughts and Floods Judith Bunbury Chapter 15 Illness from Afar: Epidemics and Their Aftermath Rosalie David References and Further Reading Index

About the Author :
Pearce Paul Creasman is Associate Professor & Curator at the University of Arizona, author or co-author of fifty articles, and editor of Archaeological Research in the Valley of the Kings and Ancient Thebes. Richard H. Wilkinson is Regents' Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona, author or editor of eleven books, including The Oxford Handbook of the Valley of the Kings.

Review :
At all times, and often against its 'Egyptocentric' self-representation, ancient Egypt was dependent on manifold interconnections with the world around. While such interconnections- especially diplomatic or trade relations- have been explored previously, many ways in which the ancient Egyptians were entangled with their neighbours still need investigating. This book does exaclty that... The intended audience are lay enthusiasts interested in interconnections in the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean, yet the theoretical approach of some chapters; the choice of topics , written by specialists in their field; and the comprehensive bibliographies for each entry open this volume up and make it a very useful tool for students and academic researchers as well. Accompanied by a comprehensive bibliography and illustrated with colour and back-and-white images and line drawings, this accessible volume will be equally useful for academic researchers, students and readers enthusiastic to learn more about the complexities of ancient Egypt's foreign relations." Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students and faculty. A fascinating look at ancient Egypt through the lens of its interactions with the surrounding lands, written and edited by a stellar cast of scholars whose contributions will be of interest to professionals and the general public alike. Compelling insights abound, covering the exchange of concepts and innovations in art, science, architecture, writing, literature, and religion, in addition to material objects. Additional discussions of natural forces such as floods, droughts, and epidemics that impacted such interactions over time remind us that such interactions could not, and should not, be taken for granted! At last! An authoritative, well-rounded volume that examines the wider world of Ancient Egypt-and it was wide. These wide-ranging essays debunk the long-held myth that Egypt was an isolated civilization. Crammed with fascinating argument and myriad nuggets of valuable information, this invaluable book will long be a fundamental source. An exceptional achievement. This book significantly changes how we understand ancient Egypt's relationships with other cultures. Rather than the standard geographic survey of Egypt's neighbors, enemies, and trading partners, Pharaoh's Land and Beyond takes a fresh approach, focusing on the structures, paths, and ideas that brought the ancient Egyptians into contact with other peoples. The editors have brought together a wide range of scholars with diverse expertise to this innovative volume. Pharaoh's Land and Beyond succeeds in presenting a com-pelling picture of how deeply entangled ancient Egypt and its neighbours were. It ought to be embraced by students and scholars alike who are looking for a concise and current non-Egyptocentric analysis of intercu1- tural contact both within and beyond the Nile Valley.