Rice, M. 2003. Egypt’s making. The origins of ancient Egypt 5000-2000 BC (2nd edition). – London/New York, Routledge

Abstract

Thirteen years after its original edition, Michael Rice’s ‘Egypt’s making. The origins of ancient Egypt 5000-2000 BC’, has been newly published. Considerably updated and reorganised, Rice’s book proposes a consideration of the early stages of ancient Egypt’s history, from the first settlements in the Nile Valley to the Old Kingdom, which represents, from the author’s perspective, the Egyptian “Golden Age” (p. 8). In particular, Rice’s approach tries to establish the reasons that led to the constitution of a state entity along the Nile Valley and Delta, which Rice defines as “the first nation-state in the history of the world” (p. xiii). The Egyptian historical process is thus considered in the wider context of the ancient Near East, specially taking into account the relations between Nile Valley and the regions of Sumer and Elam, which occupy a significant space in the author’s explicative strategy. Although Rice does highlight the essentially African character of the ancient Egyptian society and its institutions, a “really profound degree of influence by easterners” (p. 241) in the beginnings of Egyptian civilisation is suggested throughout the book. Read more...