The Realm of the Pharaohs

This beautiful book about ancient Egypt is written by the Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, who is the secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. The book begins with a short introduction. The main text is divided into four major parts. Here is an overview:

Part I –
“A Brief history of Ancient Egypt” – an introduction and seven chapters

Part II –
“The Land of the Living” - an introduction and four chapters

Part III –
“The Domain of the Divine” – an introduction and 18 chapters

Part IV –
“The Netherworld” – an introduction and 25 chapters

The book concludes with an alphabetical index. The illustrations are colour photos most of which are taken by the professional Italian photographer Araldo De Luca, who works for White Star Books.

This is a great book is every sense of the word. Let me explain:

(1) The format is very large (26 x 36 cm), and there are more than 400 pages. This hardcover edition comes in a special cardboard box which will protect the book whether it is placed on a shelf or on a desk.

(2) The text is written by an author who knows his topic extremely well. Since he is the top man of Egyptian archaeology, he has personal knowledge of all the ancient sites in the country. In some cases he has even done excavation work there. To illustrate this point let me quote a passage from page 325:

“One of the most beautiful and best-preserved tombs in the Western Cemetery [of Giza] belongs to a man named Kapunisut Kai, whose titles include priest of the cults of Khufu, Djedefre, and Sneferu… I discovered this tomb during clearance work in the area.”

(3) The illustrations are numerous and fabulous. In many cases a picture gets a full page. In some cases a picture gets two pages. And in two cases we have a special fold-out system which means that a picture gets four pages (pp. 355-358 & 389-392). In both cases the format is 36 x 96 cm. Every picture is carefully chosen and placed in the right context. Extensive captions give additional information about the photos.

Please note: This is not a guidebook that you want to take with you when you are going to Egypt. It is far too big and far too heavy. Read the text and study the photos at home before you go to Egypt in order to learn about the country and in order to plan your visit. This book covers all the ancient sites, the pyramids, the temples and the tombs. Most visitors will only be able to visit some of them. Return to the book when you have been to Egypt. When you read the text again and you study the photos again, I think you will understand everything in a much better way.

This is a great book, but even in a great book there can be mistakes. I have to mention some examples:

* On page 68 Hawass mentions Merimde: “By about the mid-fifth century BC, Merimde was a large village built of mud…” The date is wrong. It is not the fifth century BC; it is the fifth millennium BC.

* On page 77 the text reads: “It was not only the where the mayor and his family lived, it was also …” A word like ‘house’ is missing here. The text should read: ‘It was not only the house where the mayor lived, but also…’

* On page 85: “… covering an area of about 125,000 kilometres.” This passage is about an area; therefore it should be 125,000 square kilometres.

* On page 86: “… it covered about 75 hectares (750 square meters).” The last figure (in brackets) is wrong. One hectare is 10,000 square meters, so 75 hectares must be 750,000 square meters.

* On page 190 Hawass mentions a pharaoh: “Ptolemy IX (107-116 BC).” The dates are reversed. It should be 116-107 BC. But even this correction is not enough. This pharaoh ruled no less than three times. In order to be accurate, we must mention all three periods: 116-110, 109-107 and 88-81.

* On page 210 we hear about the “Raman” period. I think it is the Roman period.

* On page 327 the caption to a large picture reads as follows:

 

“Aerial view of the Teti Pyramid Cemetery at Saqqara, with the pyramid of Teti in the background and a number of elite tombs, including the mastabas of Ti and Mereuka [sic!], in the foreground.”

 

The pyramid of Teti is indeed in the background, and the mastaba of Mereruka (not Mereuka) in the foreground. But the mastaba of Ti lies more than 500 meters further northeast, and it is not visible in this photo.

* The index is useful, but not always reliable. According to the index, the French scholar Jean-François Champollion is mentioned on page 124. But the correct page is 136. According the index, the mastaba of Kagemni at Saqqara is mentioned on page 128. But the correct page is 124.

* The English text in the book is excellent, but there is at least one case where the English editor (Janice Kamrin) failed to do her job: on page 361 Hawass mentions the tomb of Amenhotep IV, who later changed his name to Akhenaten: “Only the deeply descending stairs were completely before the cutting was abandoned, and the court moved to Tell el-Amarna.” The word ‘completely’ should be replaced with ‘completed.’

Despite these mistakes I want to recommend this book. The text is well written, the material is well organised, and the illustrations are splendid.

There is, of course, one final point to consider: the price. It is a rather expensive book, but when you consider the contents, I believe you get full value for your money.

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Zahi Hawass,

The Realm of the Pharaohs,

White Star Books, 2006, 415 pages

 

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