Historian Toby Wilkinson condenses the three thousand years of this pharaonic civilization into a study as erudite as it is entertaining, and sheds light on its dark side.
Graduated in Egyptology from the University of Cambridge and professor at Clare College of the same university, Toby Wilkinson was only five years old when, leafing through an encyclopedia, he was attracted by that writing made with drawings that are hieroglyphs, and six when he fell into his hands the book that illustrated a famous traveling exhibition that dazzled the whole world by showing the mask and the treasures of the tomb of Tutankhamun in the 1960s gold and the strange names of kings and gods. Those treasures planted in me a seed that years later would finish germinating and flourishing». Thus he explains the origin of his passion for the civilization of the pharaohs, on which he has published six books and given many lectures.
“The rise and fall of ancient Egypt” is the last and perhaps his most ambitious work. It is divided into five different parts. Each addresses a significant period of Egyptian civilization. At the beginning, the author draws attention to a small greenish-black slate plaque engraved on both sides with bas-reliefs, which is located at the entrance to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It almost goes unnoticed but it is one of the most important documents preserved. Its prominent place in the museum with the largest collection of pharaonic culture testifies to its transcendence: it is the Narmer palette, the object that marks the beginning of the history of ancient Egypt and that for Egyptologists has become the symbol of Egypt. more ancient. The circumstances of its discovery are surrounded by mystery and uncertainty.
From here, Wilkinson proceeds through the long list of kings through his many dynasties to Cleopatra and Ptolemy Caesarion. At the same time, in an extensive and almost fictionalized way, it reveals mysteries and discovers details in a story full of exceptional events about how the first papyri were, the construction of temples and pyramids, bronze statues, hieroglyphics, the conquest of Nubia, the religious revolution of Akhenaten, the power and beauty of Nefertiti, the life and death of Tutankhamun, the cruelty of Ramses, the invasion of Alexander the Great and Cleopatra’s fatal relationship with Rome that ended with the fall of Egypt .
Accessible to the average reader The book is an immense study that chronologically covers the complete history of this great culture of Antiquity – something that no one had done in the last 50 years since Alan Gardiner published “The Egypt of the Pharaohs” – and aims to take advantage of the latest advances in archeology and studies carried out by academics around the world in these years so that it is not only a well-documented work, but also attractive and accessible to the average reader. Despite the years, ancient civilizations, and especially Egypt, continue to fascinate. With this work, Wilkinson intends to show a much more complex reality.
Despite the powerful testimony of the pharaohs’ dazzling treasures, spectacular monuments, magnificent works of art, and cultural achievements, ancient Egypt had a dark side. The first pharaohs already knew how to understand the extraordinary power of ideology to unite disparate people in their loyalty to the State. “The kings exploited leadership tools that are still in force today: the ceremonial pageantry in public appearances carefully choreographed to differentiate the sovereign from the plebs, the pomp and spectacle of great state occasions, patriotic fervour…”, explains the professor. And they also knew of the effectiveness of other means to maintain power and used them, such as political propaganda, racial discrimination or the brutal repression of dissent. Far from being inclined to view pharaonic culture with enthusiasm or with thrilled reverence, years of studying it have made him uncomfortable with its darker, less dazzling side.
According to the author, “We revel in military victories, but we do not reflect on the brutality of war; we admire the pyramids, but we do not think about the political system that carried them out; we are moved by the heretical Akhenaten and his works, but we do not know how to live under a despotic and fanatical sovereign. Evidence is not lacking: from human sacrifices –in the First Dynasty– to peasant revolts –under the Ptolemies– and a relationship between the king and his subjects based on fear and coercion and not on appreciation and admiration». Power used fear and force to safeguard the powerful classes, and to carry out their great constructions they resorted to forced labor and slavery in a clear disregard for human life. Wilkinson argues that precisely these premises were the ones that, in the end and, little by little, They were undermining its strength and stability. By highlighting these less flattering aspects of a civilization as dazzling as Egypt’s, the Egyptologist aims to provide a more complete and balanced picture than is usually found in textbooks.
The ancient Egyptians invented a concept of the nation-state that, 5,000 years later, is still valid. Their civilization lasted three millennia. Their longevity is due to the fact that they achieved an archetypal pattern of Government that was so socially accepted that, despite its historical ups and downs, it lasted for a hundred generations.
Nation concept They were the first people to share a culture, a perspective and an identity, within a defined territory and under a common political authority: their concept of nation is the one that continues to prevail in the world. If the three thousand years of pharaonic civilization contain all the elements of an epic novel – lavish courts, dynastic intrigues, shady murders and legendary battles; individual stories of heroism and villainy, of triumph and tragedy; powerful women and despotic kings–, it seems that the historical reality is even more surprising and interesting. Ancient Egypt is above all the story of how a disparate kingdom was united and how it defended itself against its enemies.
Howard Carter, the lord of the mummy On November 26, 1922, two hours before sunset, the English Egyptologist Howard Carter (in the image, at the time of the discovery) entered a corridor carved into the rock and dug into the ground of the Valley of the Kings. Four days later, the announcement of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb made headlines around the world. He had made the greatest and most magnificent discovery about ancient civilization. The event generated a wave of worldwide interest in learning about the treasures and the history of the pharaohs. Egyptology experienced an advance hitherto unknown. Tutankhamun’s gold mask and the other treasures in his tomb sparked in boy Toby Wilkinson his lifelong passion: Egypt.
Pharaonic Professor He graduated in Egyptology at the University of Cambridge and has been a professor there since 2004. A reputed expert on ancient Egyptian civilization, he has given lectures and participated in international projects. He is a member of the editorial board of the “Journal of Egyptian History” and has contributed to radio and television, including the award-winning BBC documentary on the construction of the Great Pyramid. His books include “Dynastic Egypt” (1999), “Genesis of the Pharaohs” (2003), “Ancient Egyptian Dictionary” (2005) and “Lives of the Ancient Egyptians” (2007). He also edited the encyclopedia “The World of Egypt” (2007).
