The latter part of the fifteenth century bc saw Egypt’s political power reach its zenith, with an empire that stretched from beyond the Euphrates in the north to much of what is now Sudan in the south. The wealth that flowed into Egypt allowed its kings to commission some of the most stupendous temples of all time, some of the greatest dedicated to Amun-Re, King of the Gods. Yet a century later these temples lay derelict, the god’s images, names, and titles all erased in an orgy of iconoclasm by Akhenaten, the devotee of a single sun-god. This book traces the history of Egypt from the death of the great warrior-king Thutmose III to the high point of Akhenaten’s reign, when the known world brought gifts to his newly-built capital city of Amarna, in particular looking at the way in which the cult of the sun became increasingly important to even ‘orthodox’ kings, culminating in the transformation of Akhenaten’s father, Amenhotep III, into a solar deity in his own right.

The ancient Egyptians were skilled in the use of herbs and spices for medicines, cooking, cosmetics, perfumes, and many other purposes. Drawing on texts written by the Egyptians and their neighbors, Lise Manniche has reconstructed a herbal of 94 species of plants and trees used before, during, and after the pharaonic period in Egypt. Each plant, from acacia to zizyphus, is named in Latin and English and (where known) in ancient Egyptian, Coptic, Greek, and modern Arabic. The author explains the special properties of each plant, and quotes authentic recipes for cosmetics and remedies. She also dis-cusses the Egyptians’ uses of herbs and flowers for both decorative and practical purposes, and the importance of plants for funerary and festive occasions. A section on perfume draws on the latest research into the ingredients and uses of Egyptian scents.