The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

The scale of Egyptian history is difficult to fathom. Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is through Cleopatra VII. When Cleopatra was born in 69BC, approximately 2087 years ago, the most ancient of the pyramids of Egypt were approximately 2550 years old. Simply put, Cleopatra lived closer to our own time, then she did to the builders of the pyramids – and this will be true for about another 460 years, until almost 2500AD. Then, consider that, by the time the first pyramid was constructed, the Kingdom of Egypt was already more than 600 years old. Incredible!

In a little under 700 pages, Toby Wilkenson does a stellar job of bringing over 3000 years of ancient Egypt history to life. From Iry-Hor, the earliest known historical person, through the death of Cleopatra and the annexation of Egypt as a province of the Rome. It is a fascinating read, and if you are at all interested in history I highly recommend The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt.