Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society under the Ptolemies - Softcover

Chauveau, Michel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801485762 ISBN 13: 9780801485763

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Few other civilizations rival Ancient Egypt in its power to capture the modern imagination, and Cleopatra VII, monarch at the end of the Ptolemaic period, has always been preeminent among its cast of characters. Coming to power just before the unstable state was about to be absorbed into an autocratic empire, Cleopatra oversaw not only Egypt's progress as an influential regional power but also the fragile peace of its ethnically mixed population.

Michel Chauveau looks at many facets of life under this queen and her dynasty, drawing on such sources as firsthand accounts, numismatics, and Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. His use of such sources helps to free the narrative of dependence on later (and usually hostile) Greek and Roman historians. By taking up such subjects as funeral customs, language and writing, social class structure, religion, and administration, he affords the reader an unprecedented and comprehensive picture of Greek and Egyptian life in both the cities and the countryside.

Originally published in French in 1997, Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra fulfills a long-standing need for an accessible introduction to the social, economic, religious, military, and cultural history of Ptolemaic Egypt.

About this title

About the Author

Michel Chauveau is a former member of the Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale in Cairo, and is currently director of studies at L'Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris. David Lorton, an Egyptologist, lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About this edition

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0801485762
• ISBN 13: 9780801485763
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240