State in Ancient Egypt: Power, Challenges and Dynamics

This book provides a fresh analysis of the pharaonic state's organization, structure, and changes over three millennia of history, drawing on state theory and archaeology. It challenges the notion of Egyptian kingship as stable and exceptional, highlighting the parallels with other Bronze and Iron Age societies and the significant changes in Egypt's social, economic, political, and territorial organization. The pharaonic monarchies are shown to be more dependent on power balance, resource control, and geopolitical conditions than previously believed.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 05 September 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This book offers a fresh examination of the pharaonic state's organization, structure, and evolution over three millennia of its history. By integrating recent advancements in state theory and archaeology, particularly the comparative analysis of the structures of ancient states and empires, Moreno García sheds new light on this subject. The role of pharaonic Egypt in contemporary studies frequently reiterates outdated notions about the stability, conservatism, and 'exceptionalism' of Egyptian kingship, which supposedly remained unchanged throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages.

An analysis of the state's structure, the boundaries of royal power, the authority of local but overlooked micro-powers (such as provincial potentates and wealthy non-elite), and the circulation and control of wealth reveals that ancient Egypt shared many similarities with other Bronze and Iron Age societies. Furthermore, Egypt underwent profound transformations in its social, economic, political, and territorial organization throughout its history, making the land of the pharaohs an ideal setting for testing models of governments and defining the dynamics that govern societies over extended periods.

When viewed through these new lenses, the pharaonic monarchies appear less exceptional than previously believed, and more dependent on the balance of power, their ability to control the kingdoms resources, and the shifting geopolitical conditions of their time.

Weight: 322g
Dimension: 139 x 216 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350074989