The good kings Absolute power in ancient Egypt and the modern world

Kara Cooney

Book - 2021

"Written in the tradition of historians like Stacy Schiff and Amanda Foreman who find modern lessons in ancient history, this provocative narrative explores the lives of five remarkable pharaohs who ruled Egypt with absolute power, shining a new light on the country's 3,000-year empire and its meaning today. In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, best-selling author Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs -- Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa -- to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. As the first centralized political power on earth, the pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about ...the world's politics, past and present. Every animal-headed god, every monumental temple, every pyramid, every tomb, offers extraordinary insight into a culture that combined deeply held religious beliefs with uniquely human schemes to justify a system in which one ruled over many. From Khufu, the man who built the Great Pyramid at Giza as testament to his authoritarian reign, and Taharqa, the last true pharaoh who worked to make Egypt great again, we discover a clear lens into understanding how power was earned, controlled, and manipulated in ancient times. And in mining the past, Cooney uncovers the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again"--

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Subjects
Genres
Biographies
Published
Washington D.C., United States : National Geographic Society 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Kara Cooney (author)
Physical Description
399 pages, 16 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations, map ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index (pages 363-398).
ISBN
9781426221965
  • We are all Pharaoh's groupies
  • Khufu: size matters
  • Senwosret III: the King strikes back
  • Akhenaten: drinking the Kool-Aid
  • Ramses II: the grand illusion
  • Taharqa: no zealot like the convert
  • Smashing the patriarchy.
Review by Booklist Review

Cooney (When Women Ruled the World, 2018) identifies herself as a "recovering Egyptologist." Here she explores the world of the pharaohs and draws out of their ancient politics and social structure some lessons for the modern world. Deftly describing how Egyptians built monuments that have endured for millennia, Cooney holds that these structures, magnificent as they seem, actually reflect the insecurity of the pharaohs who ordered them to be built, hoping to so impress and cow any rivals that their thrones and their dynasties might rest secure. The pharaohs' authority derived from their creation of a "mortuary industrial complex" that demanded skilled artisans and thus empowered elites to the eventual detriment of the monarch. Dispensing with the pyramid-constructing pharaohs, Cooney cites the Theban Senwosret III for his appointment of loyalist and relatives to cement his power, but whose dynasty quickly dissolved. Cooney's feminist critique of Egypt's heritage offers instructive perspective, and she does not hesitate to draw parallels to today's leaders' impulses toward authoritarianism and autocracy. Color photographs illustrate the text. Includes bibliographic notes.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.