What do you think?
Rate this book
Egypt: A Short History
This is a sweeping, colorful, and concise narrative history of Egypt from the beginning of human settlement in the Nile River valley 5000 years ago to the present day. Accessible, authoritative, and richly illustrated, this is an ideal introduction and guide to Egypt's long, brilliant, and complex history for general readers, tourists, and anyone else who wants a better understanding of this vibrant and fascinating country, one that has played a central role in world history for millennia--and that continues to do so today.
Respected historian Robert Tignor, who has lived in Egypt at different times over the course of five decades, covers all the major eras of the country's ancient, modern, and recent history. A cradle of civilization, ancient Egypt developed a unique and influential culture that featured a centralized monarchy, sophisticated art and technology, and monumental architecture in the form of pyramids and temples. But the great age of the pharaohs is just the beginning of the story and "Egypt: A Short History" also gives a rich account of the tumultuous history that followed--from Greek and Roman conquests, the rise of Christianity, Arab-Muslim triumph, and Egypt's incorporation into powerful Islamic empires to Napoleon's 1798 invasion, the country's absorption into the British Empire, and modern, postcolonial Egypt under Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak.
This book provides an indispensable key to Egypt in all its layers--ancient and modern, Greek and Roman, and Christian and Islamic. In a new afterword the author analyzes the recent unrest in Egypt and weighs in on what the country might look like after Mubarak.
Respected historian Robert Tignor, who has lived in Egypt at different times over the course of five decades, covers all the major eras of the country's ancient, modern, and recent history. A cradle of civilization, ancient Egypt developed a unique and influential culture that featured a centralized monarchy, sophisticated art and technology, and monumental architecture in the form of pyramids and temples. But the great age of the pharaohs is just the beginning of the story and "Egypt: A Short History" also gives a rich account of the tumultuous history that followed--from Greek and Roman conquests, the rise of Christianity, Arab-Muslim triumph, and Egypt's incorporation into powerful Islamic empires to Napoleon's 1798 invasion, the country's absorption into the British Empire, and modern, postcolonial Egypt under Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak.
This book provides an indispensable key to Egypt in all its layers--ancient and modern, Greek and Roman, and Christian and Islamic. In a new afterword the author analyzes the recent unrest in Egypt and weighs in on what the country might look like after Mubarak.
408 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2010
35 people are currently reading
237 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 15, 2021
Brisk, articulate, and engrossing overview of the mammoth subject of Egyptian history.
July 11, 2015
A palatable, serviceable history that is quite brisk given the breadth of its chosen subject.
December 28, 2025
This book popped up in my local library's catalogue when I was doing a search on either Nasser or Sadat. I have been reading on the history of the modern state of Israel, which of course includes four wars with Egypt. So my main impetus for reading this book was to add to my knowledge of 20th century Egypt, in particular the conflict between Egypt and Israel. But I also have had interest in other periods of Egyptian history. For example, when I read the novel River God, by Wilbur Smith, set around the time of the Hyksos invasion, it whetted my interest in ancient Egyptian history.
My interest in all things biblical also intersects with Egyptian history somewhat. In the chapter "Nubians, Greeks, and Romans," Tignor, somewhat credulously, passes along as historical the tales of Moses's exodus from Egypt and the translation of the Greek Septuagint from the Hebrew in the 2nd century BC. There is also a short chapter on Christianity in Egypt in which I learned about the existence of two forms of monasticism: Eremetic, represented by Antony; and Cenobitic, represented by Pachomius. I had heard of these individuals before and these types of monasticism, probably in a class I took on early Christianity back in the '70s. I have since forgotten all the details, of course. This chapter on Egyptian Christianity had just a couple paragraphs on Christian Gnosticism in Egypt, which made me sad, because that is a major interest of mine.
Of course the lion's share of this book is about Islam and its influence on Egypt. Just two chapters cover the entire period from 969 AD to 1798. I found these chapters the most difficult, probably because I’m not that familiar with this period of Islamic history and I’m more interested in the biblical and early Christian eras.
The chapters covering Napoleon to 1952 were more interesting for me. I knew about Napoleon’s relationship to Egypt but didn’t know many details. I didn’t know anything about Lord Cromer.
The chapter about Nasser and Sadat was the one I was most interested in. In many ways it confirmed what I already knew. It was nice to get a fresh perspective. Tignor sees many of Nasser's military judgements as mistaken, which is a different point of view than from their rather hagiographical viewpoint of Saïd K. Aburish, whose biography of Nasser I read earlier this year.
The chapter on Mubarak was in some ways a disappointment. Perhaps this is because compared to the Nasser/Sadat period which saw a lot of action, the Mubarak years were more quiet. It seemed to me that Tignor focused more on the cultural aspects of Egypt in the 21st century than on Mubarak's policies and accomplishments.
This supposedly short history still managed to run 320 pages of text, not counting notes etc. No doubt this is because tackling the entire history of Egypt which spans millennia is a massive undertaking. Tignor is a fine writer though, and I will probably be scoping out his other books.
My interest in all things biblical also intersects with Egyptian history somewhat. In the chapter "Nubians, Greeks, and Romans," Tignor, somewhat credulously, passes along as historical the tales of Moses's exodus from Egypt and the translation of the Greek Septuagint from the Hebrew in the 2nd century BC. There is also a short chapter on Christianity in Egypt in which I learned about the existence of two forms of monasticism: Eremetic, represented by Antony; and Cenobitic, represented by Pachomius. I had heard of these individuals before and these types of monasticism, probably in a class I took on early Christianity back in the '70s. I have since forgotten all the details, of course. This chapter on Egyptian Christianity had just a couple paragraphs on Christian Gnosticism in Egypt, which made me sad, because that is a major interest of mine.
Of course the lion's share of this book is about Islam and its influence on Egypt. Just two chapters cover the entire period from 969 AD to 1798. I found these chapters the most difficult, probably because I’m not that familiar with this period of Islamic history and I’m more interested in the biblical and early Christian eras.
The chapters covering Napoleon to 1952 were more interesting for me. I knew about Napoleon’s relationship to Egypt but didn’t know many details. I didn’t know anything about Lord Cromer.
The chapter about Nasser and Sadat was the one I was most interested in. In many ways it confirmed what I already knew. It was nice to get a fresh perspective. Tignor sees many of Nasser's military judgements as mistaken, which is a different point of view than from their rather hagiographical viewpoint of Saïd K. Aburish, whose biography of Nasser I read earlier this year.
The chapter on Mubarak was in some ways a disappointment. Perhaps this is because compared to the Nasser/Sadat period which saw a lot of action, the Mubarak years were more quiet. It seemed to me that Tignor focused more on the cultural aspects of Egypt in the 21st century than on Mubarak's policies and accomplishments.
This supposedly short history still managed to run 320 pages of text, not counting notes etc. No doubt this is because tackling the entire history of Egypt which spans millennia is a massive undertaking. Tignor is a fine writer though, and I will probably be scoping out his other books.
January 14, 2018
An excellent introduction to Egypt's history from Pharonic times until the 2011 Arab Spring Revolutions that forced Mubarak from power. I find these kinds of books invaluable as a jumping in point to understand the broad contours of a country's history. Prof. Tingor admits that he is an expert on modern Egypt and not a specialist on earlier periods and the chapters covering the 19th and 20th centuries are livelier, more detailed and faster paced. That being said, I was particularly interested in learning more about Egypt during the Middle Ages and this book provided a thorough summary of those periods with a solid bibliography of sources that Tingor drew upon that I can use to dig deeper.
Obviously not the fault of the book or the author, but the events of the past seven years in Egypt and the broader Middle East clearly require a new edition of this book with one to two more chapters. Be aware that in its current form there is no information on Morsi or Sisi or the effects of ISIS on Egypt.
All things considered, however, this is an excellent book with which to gain a framework understanding of the history of Egypt.
Obviously not the fault of the book or the author, but the events of the past seven years in Egypt and the broader Middle East clearly require a new edition of this book with one to two more chapters. Be aware that in its current form there is no information on Morsi or Sisi or the effects of ISIS on Egypt.
All things considered, however, this is an excellent book with which to gain a framework understanding of the history of Egypt.
November 30, 2023
One of the best Egyptian history book I read. It is not a short history book. The author goes into lot of depth and details which makes the book super interesting.
The book is broken nicely into ancient Egypt, Greek & Roman Egypt, Christian Egypt, Islamic Egypt (all the different islamic dynasties), British, and modern Egypt. By the time you finish this book, you would have a nice broad view of the Egypt from the times of Pharaohs to Mubarak. The author does not just focus on the rulers but also on the ruled - peasants, intellectuals, reformists, feminists, soldiers. It is a balanced book.
What is missing though is a timeline page for all the rulers, dynasties.
The book is broken nicely into ancient Egypt, Greek & Roman Egypt, Christian Egypt, Islamic Egypt (all the different islamic dynasties), British, and modern Egypt. By the time you finish this book, you would have a nice broad view of the Egypt from the times of Pharaohs to Mubarak. The author does not just focus on the rulers but also on the ruled - peasants, intellectuals, reformists, feminists, soldiers. It is a balanced book.
What is missing though is a timeline page for all the rulers, dynasties.
March 1, 2024
How does one cover 4500 years of history succinctly? This book makes an attempt and does a good job covering the highlights of Egyptian history up to the Arab Spring in 2011. If nothing else it's incredibly informative for a traveler who wants to understand the nature of a country as ancient as Egypt.
March 27, 2018
This was exactly the book I'd hope it would be - a concise chronological history of modern day Egypt starting from ancient Egypt to now. This is absolutely perfect as well for anyone who is about to move to Egypt. With this book, you'll be able to more fully grasp the pyramids, monuments, and mosque because you know the background of their historical significance. Only the last few chapters were about modern day Egypt.
June 14, 2014
This book was written extremely well. Each chapter gives a narrative description of a ancient monument or building as they stand today, in order to draw the reader into the time period that it symbolizes. From ancient Egypt, the Greeks, Romans, Christians and Muslims, Princeton professor Robert L. Tignor uses his talent for writing to weave out the multifaceted time periods and the cultural forces that influenced Egypt. Having found the October revolution exciting, reading about Napoleon's and Britians imperialism within Egypt makes it evident why many Egyptians to this day has so much distrust and discontent towards the west. Despite these unfortunate events, Egypt has a proud history, lasting thousands of years that- thanks to French linguists and british archeologists- has captured the imaginations of westerns like me and shows the beauty of a much undervalued concept: tradition. The greatest history books always have a narrative- like quality of a novel, a tone of voice that inspires the reader to learn to love their own cultures history and always traces the footprints of the past to the feet of the present: this book does all three, beautifully.
January 10, 2011
An excellent introductory history to Egypt. Considering the brevity of the book (the Old, Middle AND New Kingdoms are discussed in around 50 pages!) Tignor does a very good job giving the highlights without making you feel like you are reading an outline or something similarly sketchy. I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't read much about Egypt--it will probably lead you, as it has me, to want to read something more detailed. But I definitely feel more prepared to approach a longer history having read this.
October 15, 2012
Definitely an ambitious project, and an ambitious read. I enjoyed the first half- fairly clear delineation of the various dynasties, etc. However, the chapters tended to travel in circles which, for someone unfamiliar with the complex timeline of Egypt, was not very helpful. The second half was a little harder to swallow, simply from cramming so many invasions, take-overs, riots, etc into a hundred pages. Overall, I feel quite a bit less ignorant about that part of the world. But maybe a visit to the wikipedia page would have provided the same benefit?
July 18, 2011
I wanted to read this for the brief and well-written early periods of Ancient Egypt. Robert Tignor definitely did a superb job on this book given the subject matter along with his ability to give you the most important parts in brief categorization.
August 31, 2012
A well written history book that covers the basics of Egyptian history since the dawn of civilization. A few awful Arabic transliterations here and there which made me wonder if the author actually bothered to learn the basics of Arabic.
February 15, 2014
For a concise overview of Egypt's history, this is a must read. But it's also almost a self-defeating task to attempt to condense over 4,000 years of history into 300 pages. There are a few sections that are confusing, but overall, well-done.
April 30, 2014
This is a very readable history of Egypt. He lays out key themes and ideas, plenty of details, and good storytelling too. My favorite is his description of Black, President of the World Bank, turning down Nasser's request for a loan for Aswan and Nasser seeing his face morph into that of Lessep.
April 8, 2015
It's hard to pack 5,000 years of history into one book, but this author did an admirable job of hitting the high points in each period of Egypt's history and showing how they link to each other.
July 8, 2011
Written with the foreign traveller in mind.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews