

The History of Egypt
Dominic Perry
Ancient Egypt, from Creation to Cleopatra. This podcast tells the story of pharaonic Egypt "in their own words." Using archaeology, ancient texts, and up-to-date scholarship, we uncover the world of the Nile Valley and its people. Hosted on the Airwave Media Network.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 3, 2019 • 52min
113: Akhenaten, Effective for Aten
Akhenaten (Part 6): New Name, Who Dis? In regnal year 5, Amunhotep IV reached the conclusion of his early ideological development. His views had crystallized and he was ready to express them more explicitly than before. Soon, pharaoh issued a public declaration; he would now be called Akh-en-Aten...
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
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Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.
Select Bibliography:
Cyril Aldred, Akhenaten King of Egypt, 1988 edition.
Norman de Garis Davies, The Rock Tombs of el-Amarna, Vol. V: the Smaller Tombs and Boundary Stelae, 1908. Available at Archive.org
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Francis Llewellyn Griffith, The Petrie Papyri: Hieratic Papyri from Kahun and Gurob, 1898. Available at Archive.org
James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & the Origins of Monotheism, 2015.
Barry Kemp, The City of Akhenaten and Nefertiti: Amarna and Its People, 2012.
Dominic Montserrat, Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt, 2005.
William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995.
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1987.
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Jun 19, 2019 • 55min
112: Akhenaten 's Artistic Revolution
Akhenaten (Part 5): Amarna Art.Around the time of his Sed-Festival, Amunhotep IV introduced a whole new form of artistic representation. Royal imagery was reworked from the ground up, including new proportions, displays and themes. In this episode, we explore the changes to relief and sculpture, and meet the artisans who put pharaoh's vision into practice...
Time Period: c.1359 BCE (regnal year 4)
King: Amunhotep IV (Nefer-kheperu-Re Wa-en-Re, Imen-Hetep)
Queen: Nefertiti (Nefer-neferu-Aten Neferet-Iti)
Locations: Thebes (Waset), Aswan (Elephantine).
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza (www.keithzizza.com).
Join the Agora Podcast Network at the Intelligent Speech Conference AND get 5% off your order with the discount code EGYPT (https://www.intelligentspeechconference.com/shop/).
Select Bibliography:
Cyril Aldred, Akhenaten King of Egypt, 1988.
Dorothea Arnold, Lyn Green and James Allen, The Royal Women of Amarna: Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt, 1999 (MetMuseum).
N. de Garis Davies, The Tomb of the Vizier Ramose, 1941. Archive.org.
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Earl L. Ertman, “Images of Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti in the Style of the Previous Reign,” in Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, 2009 (Google Books).
James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & the Origins of Monotheism, 2015.
Lise Manniche, The Akhenaten Colossi at Karnak, 2010.
Dominic Montserrat, Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt, 2005.
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1987.
Donald B. Redford, The Akhenaten Temple Project vol. II: Rwd-Mnw and Inscriptions, 1988.
Donald B. Redford, “Akhenaten: New Theories, Old Facts,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (2013): 9-34. JSTOR.
Nicholas Reeves, Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet, 2005.
Gay Robins, Proportion and Style in Ancient Egyptian Art, 1994.
Gay Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt, 1997.
Ray Winfield Smith and Donald B. Redford, The Akhenaten Temple Project vol. I: Initial Discoveries, 1976.
Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti’s Face: Creation of an Icon, 2018.
Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003.
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Jun 5, 2019 • 46min
111: Aten the Royal God
Akhenaten (Part 4). In 1360 BCE, regnal year 3, King Nefer-kheperu-Re Amunhotep IV made some of his most startling decisions yet. Promoting the sun disc, Aten, even further, Amunhotep began to give the god royal accessories (cartouches, uraei etc) and present it as a being tied intimately with the pharaoh. This culminated in an unprecedented event: a Sed-Festival, celebrated at Karnak, and shared by the King and God together...
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.
Select Bibliography:
Smith and Redford, Akhenaten Temple Project, 1976.
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Jocelyn Gohary, Akhenaten’s Sed-Festival at Karnak, 1992.
James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & the Origins of Monotheism, 2015.
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1987.
Donald B. Redford, The Akhenaten Temple Project vol. II: Rwd-Mnw and Inscriptions, 1988.
Donald B. Redford, “Akhenaten: New Theories, Old Facts,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (2013): 9-34. JSTOR.
Dominic Montserrat, Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt, 2005.
William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995.
William J. Murnane, “Observations on Pre-Amarna Theology During the Earliest Reign of Amenhotep IV,” Gold of Praise: Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Edward F. Wente (1999): 303-317.
Nicholas Reeves, Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet, 2005.
Ray Winfield Smith and Donald B. Redford, The Akhenaten Temple Project vol. I: Initial Discoveries, 1976.
Eric Uphill, “The Sed-Festivals of Akhenaton,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies (1963): 123-127. JSTOR.
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May 15, 2019 • 49min
110: The Aten Appears
Akhenaten (Part 3): Revelation of a Religion.Soon after he came to power, Amunhotep IV (later Akhenaten) began to reveal his unique vision of god and the world. A remarkable amount of evidence survives for this crucial period: from a royal speech, magnificent temples at Karnak and a massive artistic shift, the King revealed his strange and fascinating ideas...
Time period: c.1361 BCE (regnal year 2)
King: Amunhotep IV (Nefer-kheperu-Re Wa-en-Re)
Queen: Nefertiti (Nefer-neferu-Aten Neferet-iti)
Locations: Waset (Thebes); Gebel el-Silsila
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music: Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com
Music: Derek & Brandon Fiechter https://dbfiechter.bandcamp.com/
Select Bibliography:
ATP – Smith and Redford, Akhenaten Temple Project, 1976.
Dorothea Arnold, Lyn Green and James Allen, The Royal Women of Amarna: Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt, 1999 (MetMuseum).
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of ancient Egypt, 2010.
Earl L. Ertman, “Images of Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti in the Style of the Previous Reign,” in Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, 2009 (Google Books).
James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & the Origins of Monotheism, 2015.
Donald B. Redford, “A Royal Speech From the Blocks of the Tenth Pylon,” Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar 3 (1981).
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1987.
Lise Manniche, The Akhenaten Colossi at Karnak, 2010.
William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995.
Ray Winfield Smith and Donald B. Redford, The Akhenaten Temple Project: Initial Discoveries, 1976.
Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti’s Face: Creation of an Icon, 2018.
Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003.
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Apr 26, 2019 • 23min
Nefertiti and the Uluburun Shipwreck
Or, the Life Aquatic with Gold Scarabs... Around 1325 BCE (estimates vary) a vessel sank near the cape of Uluburun, Turkey. The cargo was immense: twenty tonnes of goods, including copper, ivory, ornamental objects, spices, and more. Amid the finds, a curious item came to light: a gold scarab, bearing the name Neferneferuaten Nefertiti... What was a Nefertiti scarab doing on a trade ship, far from Egypt? And what do the finds tell us about the ship, its crew, and ancient trade?The Uluburun Shipwreck:
Date: c.1325 BCE (estimated).
Cultures: Multiple, including Egyptian, Canaanite, Syrian, and Mycenaean.
Ship destination: Possibly the Aegean, western Anatolia, or even the Balkans.
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
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Logo image: Divers working on the Uluburun wreck, via The Institute of Nautical Archaeology website.
Catalogue of objects in Beyond Babylon, 2008. Free pdf from MMA.
Image gallery at The Institute of Nautical Archaeology website.
Artefacts in the Bodrum museum, on Flickr.com.
Miscellaneous items, at Wikimedia.
A replica of the ship, Uluburun II, at Underwater360.
A lecture by Cemal Pulak, one of the lead excavators. YouTube.
Select Bibliography:
G. Bass et al., ‘The Bronze Age Shipwreck at Ulu Burun: 1986 Campaign’, American Journal of Archaeology 93 (1989), 1–29.
C. M. Monroe, ‘Sunk Costs at Late Bronze Age Uluburun’, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 357 (2010), 19–33.
C. Pulak, ‘Analysis of the Weight Assemblages from the Late Bronze Age Shipwrecks at Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya, Turkey, Volume I’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Texas A&M University (1996).
C. Pulak, ‘The Uluburun Shipwreck: An Overview’, The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 27 (1998), 188–224.
C. Pulak, ‘The Uluburun Shipwreck and Late Bronze Age Trade’, in Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. (2008), 289–310. Book available free, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
C. Pulak, ‘Uluburun Shipwreck’, in The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (2012), 863—876.
C. Pulak, lecture on YouTube.
J. Weinstein, ‘The Bronze Age Shipwreck at Ulu Burun: 1986 Campaign, Part 3: The Gold Scarab of Nefertiti from Ulu Burun: Its Implications for Egyptian History and Egyptian-Aegean Relations’, American Journal of Archaeology 93 (1989), 17–29.
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Apr 19, 2019 • 60min
109: Queen Nefertiti feat. Dr. Joyce Tyldesley
Akhenaten (Part 2): The Great Queen(s)... In 1361 BCE, Amunhotep IV was settled into his power. It was time to find a queen - his choice would be one of Egypt's most famous women...This episode covers Amunhotep's diplomatic engagements with Mitanni and the first appearance (and origins) of Nefertiti. Also, we present part 2 of our interview with Dr. Joyce Tyldesley of Manchester University...
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.
Select bibliography:
Dorothea Arnold, Lyn Green and James Allen, The Royal Women of Amarna: Images of Beauty from Ancient Egypt, 1999 (MetMuseum)
Norman de Garis Davis, Rock Tombs of el-Amarna: Part VI: The Tombs of Parennefer, Tutu and Ay, 1908 (Archive.org).
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010.
Earl L. Ertman, “Images of Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti in the Style of the Previous Reign,” in Causing His Name to Live: Studies in Egyptian Epigraphy and History in Memory of William J. Murnane, 2009 (Google Books).
James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & the Origins of Monotheism, 2015.
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1987.
Dominic Montserrat, Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt, 2005.
William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, 1992.
Nicholas Reeves, Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet, 2005.
Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti’s Face: Creation of an Icon, 2018.
Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003.
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Apr 5, 2019 • 29min
108: Amunhotep IV (Akhenaten)
Akhenaten (Part 1): Conventional Start.Around 1362 BCE, the reign of Amunhotep IV began. Although destined to shake the Egyptian state, this King began with some surprisingly conventional choices. His monuments and art are a far cry from what he would become...
Time period: c.1362 BCE (regnal year 1)
King: Amunhotep IV (Nefer-kheperu-Re Wa-en-Re).
Notable sites: Karnak (Ipet-Sut); West Bank of Thebes (Waset).
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music: Keith Zizza (keithzizza.com).
Select Bibliography:
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of ancient Egypt, 2010.
The Epigraphic Survey, The Tomb of Kheruef: Theban Tomb 192, 1980 (Digital Edition).
James K. Hoffmeier, Akhenaten & the Origins of Monotheism, 2015.
Erik Hornung, Akhenaten and the Religion of Light, 1999.
Donald B. Redford, “Akhenaten: New Theories, Old Facts,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2013.
Donald B. Redford, Akhenaten: The Heretic King, 1987.
Dominic Montserrat, Akhenaten: History, Fantasy and Ancient Egypt, 2005.
William J. Murnane, Texts from the Amarna Period in Egypt, 1995.
William J. Murnane, “On the Accession Date of Akhenaten,” Studies in Honor of George R. Hughes, 1976.
William J. Murnane, “Observations on Pre-Amarna Theology During the Earliest Reign of Amenhotep IV,” Gold of Praise: Studies on Ancient Egypt in Honor of Edward F. Wente, 1999.
Nicholas Reeves, Akhenaten: Egypt’s False Prophet, 2005.
Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003.
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Mar 15, 2019 • 1h 5min
107: Looking Back
Amunhotep III (Part 14): The End. In his last regnal years, Neb-ma'at-Re Amunhotep III experienced victories and defeats. While his health declined, the pharaoh got into a serious argument with the King of Babylon, inspected his magnificent tomb, and celebrated one last Sed-Festival. Finally, after 38 years on the throne, the inevitable moment arrived...
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza.
Music by Michael Levy
Select bibliography:
Dieter Arnold, The Monuments of Egypt, 2009.
Lawrence M. Berman (ed.), The Art of Amenhotep III: Art Historical Analysis, 1987.
Norman G. Bisset (et al.), “Was Opium Known in 18th Dynasty Ancient Egypt? An Examination of Materials from the Tomb of the Chief Royal Architect Kha” Ägypten und Levante / Egypt and the Levant (1996): 199-201.
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of ancient Egypt, 2010.
The Epigraphic Survey, The Tomb of Kheruef: Theban Tomb 192, 1980 (Digital Edition).
Arielle P. Kozloff, Amenhotep III: Egypt’s Radiant Pharaoh, 2012.
Arielle P. Kozloff and Betsy M. Bryan, Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World, 1992.
Marc van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 – 323 BC, 2016.
William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters, 1992.
David O’Connor and Eric Cline (eds.) Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign, 2001.
Nicholas Reeves and Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings, 2008.
G.E. Smith, The Royal Mummies, 1912 (Chicago Digital Edition).
Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003.
The Theban Mapping Project: KV22 (Amunhotep III)
Osiris.Net: WV22 (Amunhotep III)
Website of The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
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Feb 20, 2019 • 39min
106b: Last Monuments (Bonus)
Bonus Episode! Lesser-known Monuments of Amunhotep III.By the last years of his reign, c.1365 BCE, King Amunhotep had dozens of important monuments going up throughout Egypt and Nubia. But some of these have been overlooked. In this bonus episode, we explore some of the King's lesser-known structures. We also take a guided tour of Luxor Temple, now almost finished...
Time period: c.1365 BCE (year 35).
King: Amunhotep III (Neb-ma'at-Re).
Notable sites: Memphis (Hwt-ka-Ptah), Thebes (Waset), Malqata (Nebmaatre-Aten-Tjehen).
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza keithzizza.com
Select Bibliography:
Lanny Bell, “Luxor Temple and the Cult of the Royal Ka,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies (1985).
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Anna Garnett, “‘The Like of Which Never Existed’: The Memphite Building Programme of Amenhotep III,” Current Research in Egyptology (2009).
Anna Koltsida, “The North Palace at Malkata,” Archiv für Orientforschung (2011).
Arielle P. Kozloff, Amenhotep III: Egypt’s Radiant Pharaoh, 2012.
Arielle P. Kozloff and Betsy M. Bryan, Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World, 1992.
David O’Connor and Eric Cline (eds.) Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign, 2001.
Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt, 2000.
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Feb 6, 2019 • 44min
106: Mail-Order Bride
Amunhotep III (Part 13): Foreign Wives and Magnificent TiyeBy 1366 BCE, Amunhotep was on top of the world: foreign kings begged his friendship and they were willing to pay (beautifully) to get it. Meanwhile, Queen Tiye enjoyed an unprecedented level of parity with her husband, expressed quite publicly in grand monuments...
Time period: c.1366 BCE
Kings: Amunhotep III, Tushratta of Mitanni
Notable sites: Kingdom of Mitanni, Waset (Thebes), Bubastis
Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.
Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.
Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.
Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com
Select Bibliography:
Trevor Bryce, Ancient Syria, 2014.
Aidan Dodson, Amarna Sunrise, 2014.
Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of ancient Egypt, 2010.
Arielle P. Kozloff, Amenhotep III: Egypt’s Radiant Pharaoh, 2012.
Arielle P. Kozloff and Betsy M. Bryan, Egypt’s Dazzling Sun: Amenhotep III and His World, 1992.
Marc van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 – 323 BC, 2016.
William L. Moran, The Amarna Letters:, 1992.
David O’Connor and Eric Cline (eds.) Amenhotep III: Perspectives on His Reign, 2001.
Joyce Tyldesley, Nefertiti: Egypt’s Sun Queen, 1998.
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