Customer Reviews

The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs, Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty (3300-1069 BC)

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A volume of inestimable value to those with more than a passing interest in Ancient Egypt. From almost a lifetime of painstaking research, Darrell Baker has collated all the bits and pieces of information from obscure specialist journals, museum archives, and current archeology and scholarship into an imminently usable treasure trove of information on all the ancient Egyptian kings through the XX Dynasty. Included are Pharaonic names beautifully rendered in hieroglyphs, the location of each king's tomb and mummy, his consort, and his length of reign and place in Egyptian history. Helpful references conclude each entry for those who want to go further. It is difficult to praise Baker's achievement too much. He has given an extraordinary gift to Egyptophiles and ancient history buffs alike.

Baker's "Encyclopedia" is a crucial addition to Egyptological literature, and it is surprising such a work has not previously been created in the 200+ years of scholarship on the subject. By including literally all the kings from the first 20 dynasties, this work provides insight into the tremendous range of ancient Egyptian history and provides as much reliable information on each king as has been learned to date. Since the entries are in alphabetical order, the lack of page numbers in the "index" is irrelevant; the listing, not apparently intended as an index, is a useful tool in accessing the entries. The cartouches for each king (the hieroglyphic version of the names)are crucial to identifying the monarchs in inscriptional contexts, and the inclusion of articles in the bibliography written in a few cases by "non-specialists" allows for the fullest and most up to date bibliography on the Pharoahs that currently exists in one source. The book is a major triumph and sure to be a standard reference for many years to come.

"The Encyclopedia of Egyptian Pharaohs" is a solid reference book with a great deal of information on Egyptian kings over a span of more than two thousand years, from early pre-dynastic times (including some pharaohs who are know only from inscriptions never translated) through the Twentieth Dynasty. This extended period of course includes the most significant eras of Egyptian history, including the Age of the Pyramids and the Amarna Period. The entry for each pharaoh is accompanied by a listing of all that man's (and occasional woman's) various names, including hieroglyphic transliterations, along with (when known) dates of rule and even where the mummy is now to be found, plus detailed accounts of the pharaoh's reigns. The listings are arranged alphabetically which aids in rapidly finding particular individuals, altough perhaps a chronological arrangement (such as in Peter Clayton's "Chronicle of the Pharaohs" would have made the Encyclopedia more appealing for casual browsers. But the author does provide a chronological list of the pharaohs, so readers interested in following the kings in order of succession can do so if they desire.

I could have wished that the Encyclopedia contained photographs of the statues of various pharaohs so as to enhance a sense of their individuality, but that is a very small quibble about a very good book.