The Last Pharaohs

Egypt Under the Ptolemies, 305-30 BC

J. G. Manning

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9780691156385, 9780691142623
• eBook ISBN: 9781400831647
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Egyptian Ancient History
• Index: History

The history of Ptolemaic Egypt has usually been doubly isolated--separated both from the history of other Hellenistic states and from the history of ancient Egypt. The Last Pharaohs, the first detailed history of Ptolemaic Egypt as a state, departs radically from previous studies by putting the Ptolemaic state firmly in the context of both Hellenistic and Egyptian history. More broadly still, J. G. Manning examines the Ptolemaic dynasty in the context of the study of authoritarian and premodern states, shifting the focus of study away from modern European nation-states and toward ancient Asian ones. By analyzing Ptolemaic reforms of Egyptian economic and legal structures, The Last Pharaohs gauges the impact of Ptolemaic rule on Egypt and the relationships that the Ptolemaic kings formed with Egyptian society. Manning argues that the Ptolemies sought to rule through--rather than over--Egyptian society. He tells how the Ptolemies, adopting a pharaonic model of governance, shaped Egyptian society and in turn were shaped by it. Neither fully Greek nor wholly Egyptian, the Ptolemaic state within its core Egyptian territory was a hybrid that departed from but did not break with Egyptian history. Integrating the latest research on archaeology, papyrology, theories of the state, and legal history, as well as Hellenistic and Egyptian history, The Last Pharaohs draws a dramatically new picture of Egypt's last ancient state.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Egyptinthe First Millennium BC
• Chapter 2 The Historical Understanding of the Ptolemaic State
• Chapter 3 Moving beyond Despotism, Economic Planning, and State Banditry: Ptolemaic Egypt as a Premodern State
• Chapter 4 Shaping a New State: The Political Economy of the Ptolemies
• Chapter 5 Creating a New Economic Order: Economic Life and Economic Policy under the Ptolemies
• Chapter 6 Order and Law: Shaping the Law in a New State
• Chapter 7 Conclusions
• Appendix: The Trial Record of the Property Dispute Held at the Temple of Wepwawet in Asyut, Upper Egypt, BC before the Local Laokritai-judges
• Bibliography
• Index
• Index of Sources