jjares reviewed on 8/20/2021 + 3307 more book reviews

Reading about just one portion of the Egyptian Dynasties was so helpful; it was easier to understand a limited amount of information about such a different culture and time. The Middle Kingdom, generally, was the time when lower and upper Egypt were united. The early chapters were about the different dynasties within the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt.

However, I found the latter chapters to be most fascinating; they showed life in the Middle Kingdom. Although there doesn't seem to be any information available about the Old Kingdom (for comparison's sake), there were changes in the royal court, urban life, foreign trade, culture, religion, and funerary practices.

One of the most interesting was the rise of the middle class and the emerging belief that everyone had a personal spiritual force. Before, only kings were thought to have "ba" - a spiritual force. Another new concept was "personal piety." No longer must common man access their gods only through their kings and priests; individuals could pray directly to their gods and receive blessings.

The Middle Kingdom ends when Egypt's lands were divided into two once more. One thing I would have liked was an explanation of the term "Asiatic ruler."

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