For the ancient Egyptians, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1700 BC) was a classical period of art, history and literature. The Twelfth Dynasty was one of the strongest ever to rule on the banks of the Nile: some of its kings were later worshipped as local gods, and were made famous by classical Greek authors. Yet Egyptologists tend not to look beyond the extraordinary royal sculpture and literary masterpieces of the time. Although the picture is fragmentary, as with any archaeological record, the last two hundred years of exploration and excavation have revealed much of the splendour of the...

Building on the latest research, Wolfram Grajetzki here looks in detail at the circle of officials that surrounded the king in the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt (Eleventh to Thirteenth Dynasty, also including the Second Intermediate Period; c. 2040-1550 BC). Describing the history of the principal offices of state, he takes into account inscriptions, monuments and the few preserved tombs, and traces the careers of some individual officials. The holders of these offices were the men chosen by the king to be his close advisers. They received strings of important titles, and their monuments...

Death on the Nile deepens our understanding of the lives and concerns of ancient Egyptians as they prepared themselves for death and burial. Building on the growing trend in Egyptology to use scientific analysis and imaging to examine artefacts, this new volume focuses on one hundred objects from the Fitzwilliam Museum's renowned Egyptian collection.

In addition to shedding new light on the workshops of ancient Egypt, Death on the Nile traces the religious beliefs, economic concerns and political allegiance of the people for whom the coffins were created. Behind these...