When Egypt Ruled the East

by George Steindorff, Keith C. Seele

Here, adequately presented for the first time in English, is the fascinating story of a splendid culture that flourished thirty-five hundred years ago in the empire on the kings and conquests, gods and heroes, beautiful art, sculpture, poetry, architecture.

Significant archeological discoveries are constantly being made in Egypt. In this revision Professor Steele has rewritten whole chapters on the basis of these new finds and offers several new conclusions to age-old problems.

Genres: History, Egypt, Nonfiction, Africa, Middle East, Egyptology

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

Reviews

[Zach Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading about Egypt. I was turned on to it by John Henrik Clarke in his brilliant debate with Martin Bernal against Mary Lefkowitz and Guy Rogers. This book, among many others, was mentioned by Dr. Clarke, and I'm glad I read it. Stylistically, it's very dry, but it did add a lot to my understanding of Egypt's history and influence in the region. I prefer the first few chapters of The Destruction of Black Civilizations by Chancellor Williams, which has a really great overview of ancient Egyptian history from an afrocentric lens (particularly chapter 2: Egypt: Ethiopia's Oldest Daughter). That said I've still learned a lot from this book, and I definitely want to read Dr. Bernal's Black Athena now.

[James Zaworski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nifty book about the New Kingdom period in ancient Egyptian history during which the pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty (and 19th) pursued their imperial visions of conquering Palestine and Syria, quarreling with princes from Megiddo and Kadesh, the Mitanni Empire, the Hittites, and pouring gold into their coffers at Thebes. The rise of Egyptian pharaoh as "Great King Status" put the Egyptian empire on equal footing with the other great powers on the geopollitical stage: Assyria, Babylonia, Hatti, and Mitanni and the ups and downs of the fortunes of war and diplomacy are revealed in this, essentially history of the New Kingdom. (The 20th Dynasty saw the decline, or nonexistence of the Asian empire).

It's a bit old, but still is a good read.

[₵oincidental Ðandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking into consideration this book's first publication (1942; 20 years after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb) it's remarkably accurate & comprehensive. A well-informed & informative work.

[Mike Prochot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright 1957 but still a pleasure to read. Comprehensive and detailed and yet concise history of ancient Egypt, how it came to be and how it moved into decline.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a wonderful culture to tell about and yet such a dry book. That, or it could be summertime impatience:)

[Lavender · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of detailed information about Egyptian society. An analysis of society, religion and art. Recommended to those interested in the history of Egypt.