The Last Dynasty

The Last Dynasty

By Toby Wilkinson
$24.99
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“Narrator Julian Elfer…faces down the challenge of a 300-year generational narrative in which all the principals are named either Ptolemy or Cleopatra…The focus instead is on the skill and sagacity of Ptolemaic rule over Egypt—for example in honoring Egyptian gods and rituals and introducing Macedonian agricultural methods to Egyptian farming. This superbly written and expertly performed narrative illuminates one of history’ anomalies—and one of its high points.”

AudioFile

Alexander the Great and Cleopatra may be two of the most famous figures from the ancient world, but the Egyptian era bookended by their lives—the Ptolemaic period (305–30 BC)—is little known. In The Last Dynasty, Toby Wilkinson unravels the incredible story of this turbulent era.

Macedonian in origin and Greek-speaking, the Ptolemies presided over the final flourishing of pharaonic civilization. Wilkinson describes the extraordinary cultural reach displayed at the height of their power: how they founded new cities, including Alexandria, their great seaside residence and commercial capital; mined gold in the furthest reaches of Nubia; built spectacular temples that are among the foremost architectural wonders of the Nile Valley; and created a dazzling civilization that produced astonishing works of sculpture, architecture, and literature. Stunningly, he also shows how such expansionist ambitions led to the era's downfall. The Ptolemaic period was a time when ancient Egypt turned its gaze westward—in the process becoming the unwitting handmaid to the inexorable rise of Rome and the consequent loss of Egyptian independence.

Featuring a superb blend of first-rate scholarship and evocative narrative history, The Last Dynasty provides fresh insights into this overlooked period of history and its legacy in shaping the world as we know it.