Five hundred years before Homer immortalized the Trojan Horse, the ancient Egyptians had already composed a tale of soldiers hiding Ali Baba-like in baskets to capture a besieged city. Shortly after the rise to power of the warrior pharaoh Ramesses II, Egyptian authors began to write stories about battles and conquest. However, these stories were not set in the present, but in the past: they were the world's first works of historical fiction. These literary recreations of past events, which preserve fascinating mixtures of fact and fiction, provide unparalleled information about topics as diverse as ancient Egyptian historiography, religion, and notions of humor and wit. Imagining the Past is the first volume to provide complete translations and commentary for the historical fiction composed during Egypt's New Kingdom. The four works include The Quarrel of Apepi and Seqenenre, The Capture of Joppa, Thutmose III in Asia, The Libyan Battle Story. An introduction explores Egyptian conceptions of the past, the universe of historical and literary texts in New Kingdom Egypt, and the definition of a new genre of Egyptian literature. Extensive commentary and new translations appear within each chapter, and a concluding analysis summarizes the audience and function of historical fiction as well as theology and historiography within the tales. Despite the fragmentary nature of the papyrus copies, the thorough research into the literary, political, and social context of each tale allows a modern reader to explore this forgotten literary subfield and appreciate the stories as works of historical fiction.

Imagining the Past: Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt

Literature & Fiction

Manassa, Colleen

History & Criticism

Oxford University Press

The force that forged an empire. The furious thunder of thousands of hooves, the clatter and sheen of bronze armor sparkling in the desert sun, the crunch of wooden wheels racing across a rock-strewn battlefield-and leading this terrifying chariot charge, the gallant Pharaoh, the ribbons of his blue war crown streaming behind him as he launches yet another arrow into the panicking mass of his soon-to-be-routed enemies. While scenes like the one depicted above did occur in ancient Egypt, they represent only one small aspect of the vast, complex, and sophisticated military machine that secured, defended, and expanded the borders of the empire during the late Eighteenth Dynasty. In Tutankhamun's Armies, you'll discover the harsh reality behind the imperial splendor of the New Kingdom and gain a new appreciation for the formidable Egyptian army-from pharaoh to foot soldier. You'll follow "the heretic king" Akhenaten, his son Tutankhamun, and their three Amana-Period successors as they employ double-edge diplomacy and military might to defeat competing powers, quell internal insurrections, and keep reluctant subject states in line. This vivid and absorbing chronicle will forever change the way you think about the glories and riches of ancient Egypt.

Tutankhamun's Armies: Battle and Conquest During Ancient Egypt's Late Eighteenth Dynasty

History

Darnell, John Coleman

Ancient Civilizations

wiley

The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah's 5th regnal year, the longest surviving continuous monumental text from Egypt, describes the combined Libyan and Sea People invasion of Egypt c.1208 BCE. This new study, the first complete commentary on this long but unfortunately damaged text, begins with a translation of the text, accompanied by detailed notes. The study considers specific military aspects of the inscription alongside its religious background. A grammatical analysis of the Great Karnak Inscription also sheds new light on the grammar of Ramesside monumental texts.

The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century BC (Yale Egyptological Studies)

Yale Egyptological Seminar

Echoes of Egypt is a catalog accompanying an exhibit at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History. Edited by Colleen Manassa, the catalog also includes entries by international experts. Documenting two thousand years of the reception of ancient Egypt throughout the world, Echoes of Egypt transcends the typical account on Nineteenth and Twentieth Century 'Egyptomania'. The first chapter includes a chronological overview of the exhibit, ranging from ancient Meroe, Greece and Rome, and medieval Arab-Islamic fascination with hieroglyphs to Piranesi's interior designs and the impact of Napoleon's invasion. Additional chapters focus on the meaning and changing uses of hieroglyphs, 'mummy mania', and Egyptosophy. Full color images complement the text.

Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Manassa, Colleen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Manassa, Colleen

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Manassa, Colleen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Imagining the Past: Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt

Tutankhamun's Armies: Battle and Conquest During Ancient Egypt's Late Eighteenth Dynasty

The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century BC (Yale Egyptological Studies)

Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs