"Until relatively recently, scholars of Egyptian history tended to understand the modern period to begin with the flow of European people and ideas to Egypt's northern shores sparked by Napoleon's invasion in 1798. From this perspective, modern Egyptian history was animated by the diverse and sometimes--contradictory ways in which Egyptians responded over time to colonial power and modern forms of knowledge. This handbook adds to a growing literature that complicates the facile colonizer-colonized and modern-tradition binaries undergirding this view. Rather than reactionary, modern Egyptian history is a continuous process of translation and adaptation, invention and reinvention. Contributors to the handbook address both long-persisting themes in the field, though in new ways, as well as new themes reshaping how we understand modern Egyptian history, and thus Middle Eastern and global history"--

The Oxford Handbook of Egyptology offers a comprehensive survey of the entire study of ancient Egypt, from prehistory through to the end of the Roman period. Authoritative yet accessible, and covering a wide range of topics, it is an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and general readers alike.

The essays in this Oxford Handbook rethink the modern history of one of the most important and influential countries in the Middle East--Egypt. For a country and region so often understood in terms of religion and violence, this work explores environmental, medical, legal, cultural, and political histories. It gives readers an excellent view of the current debates in Egyptian history.

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online.

The royal necropolis of New Kingdom Egypt, known as the Valley of the Kings (KV), is one of the most important--and celebrated--archaeological sites in the world. Located on the west bank of the Nile river, about three miles west of modern Luxor, the valley is home to more than sixty tombs, all dating to the second millennium BCE. The most famous of these is the tomb of Tutankhamun, first discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. Other famous pharaoh's interred here include Hatshepsut, the only queen found in the valley, and Ramesses II, ancient Egypt's greatest ruler. Much has transpired in the study and exploration of the Valley of the Kings over the last few years. Several major discoveries have been made, notably the many-chambered KV5 (tomb of the sons of Ramesses II) and KV 63, a previously unknown tomb found in the heart of the valley. Many areas of the royal valley have been explored for the first time using new technologies, revealing ancient huts, shrines, and stelae. New studies of the DNA, filiation, cranio-facial reconstructions, and other aspects of the royal mummies have produced important and sometimes controversial results. The Oxford Handbook of the Valley of the Kings provides an up-to-date and thorough reference designed to fill a very real gap in the literature of Egyptology. It will be an invaluable resource for scholars, teachers, and researchers with an interest in this key area of Egyptian archaeology. First, introductory chapters locate the Valley of the Kings in space and time. Subsequent chapters offer focused examinations of individual tombs: their construction, content, development, and significance. Finally, the book discusses the current status of ongoing issues of preservation and archaeology, such as conservation, tourism, and site management. In addition to recent work mentioned above, aerial imaging, remote sensing, studies of the tombs' architectural and decorative symbolism, problems of conservation management, and studies of KV-related temples are just some of the aspects not covered in any other work on the Valley of the Kings. This volume promises to become the primary scholarly reference work on this important World Heritage Site.

The cultures of Nubia built the earliest cities, states, and empires of inner Africa, but they remain relatively poorly known outside their modern descendants and the community of archaeologists, historians, and art historians researching them. The earliest archaeological work in Nubia was motivated by the region's role as neighbor, trade partner, and enemy of ancient Egypt. Increasingly, however, ancient Nile-based Nubian cultures are recognized in their own right as the earliest complex societies in inner Africa. As agro-pastoral cultures, Nubian settlement, economy, political organization, and religious ideologies were often organized differently from those of the urban, bureaucratic, and predominantly agricultural states of Egypt and the ancient Near East. Nubian societies are thus of great interest in comparative study, and are also recognized for their broader impact on the histories of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East. The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Nubia brings together chapters by an international group of scholars on a wide variety of topics that relate to the history and archaeology of the region. After important introductory chapters on the history of research in Nubia and on its climate and physical environment, the largest part of the volume focuses on the sequence of cultures that lead almost to the present day. Several cross-cutting themes are woven through these chapters, including essays on desert cultures and on Nubians in Egypt. Eleven final chapters synthesize subjects across all historical phases, including gender and the body, economy and trade, landscape archaeology, iron working, and stone quarrying.

A history of Egypt from the Arab conquest to the present day.

With almost every news broadcast, we are reminded of the continuing instability of the Middle East. State collapse, civil wars, and terrorism have combined to produce a region in deep turmoil. If the Middle East is to achieve a more stable and prosperous future, Egypt has to play a centralrole. It has the Arab world's largest population, largest army, and third-largest economy. It also commands a strategic location at the geographic heart of the Arab world and controls the Suez Canal, one of the region's most important waterways. The country also exerts substantial soft power. Itsrenowned Al-Azhar University is the premier center of Islamic study and teaching in the Sunni world. Its political and legal institutions have been emulated to varying degrees in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. Its prolific artists, musicians, and writers influence the cultureof the region at all levels, from pop music and soap operas to abstract art. All of these factors make Egypt a pivotal state in the Middle East.Bruce Rutherford and Jeannie Sowers' Egypt: What Everyone Needs to KnowRG introduces the non-specialist to this important and influential country. It begins by discussing the historic uprising that captured the world's attention in January/February 2011 before moving to a discussion of Egyptianhistory and geography. The bulk of the book, however, focuses on contemporary Egypt. After covering its economic and social challenges, including population growth, a weak education system, high unemployment, and environmental problems, they turn to its people, including its numerous religiouscommunities. Rutherford and Sowers then shift toward the country's foreign policy, looking at its relationship with the US, Israel, Arab states, and other world powers. They conclude with an assessment of the country's current and future challenges and its strategies for addressing them. The volumeprovides the background needed to understand this fascinating country and its central role in the future of the Middle East.

The Oxford Handbook of the State in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean offers a comprehensive survey of ancient state formation in western Eurasia and North Africa. Eighteen experts introduce readers to a wide variety of systems spanning 4,000 years, from the earliest known states in world history to the Roman Empire and its immediate successors. They seek to understand the inner workings of these states by focusing on key issues: political and military power, the impact of ideologies, the rise and fall of individual polities, and the mechanisms of cooperation, coercion, and exploitation. This shared emphasis on critical institutions and dynamics invites comparative and cross-cultural perspectives. A detailed introductory review of contemporary approaches to the study of the state puts the rich historical case studies in context. Transcending conventional boundaries between ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean history and between ancient and early medieval history, this volume will be of interest not only to historians but also anthropologists, archaeologists, sociologists, and political scientists. Its accessible style and up-to-date references will make it an invaluable resource for both students and scholars.

The Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Middle-Eastern and North African History critically examines the defining processes and structures of historical developments in North Africa and the Middle East over the past two centuries. The Handbook pays particular attention to countries that have leapt out of the political shadows of dominant and better-studied neighbours in the course of the unfolding uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. These dramatic and interconnected developments have exposed the dearth of informative analysis available in surveys and textbooks, particularly on Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria.