An illustrated study of the queens of ancient Egypt ranges from the early dynastic period to the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, offering a biographical portrait of each queen, along with information on the era in which she lived and her influence on Egyptian history.

"Explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshe psut to Cleopatra--women who ruled with real power ... What was so special about ancient Egypt that provided women this kind of access to the highest political office? What was it about these women that allowed them to transcend patriarchal obstacles? What did Egypt gain from its liberal reliance on female leadership, and could today's world learn from its example?"--

Photographs and text provide a comparison of lives of the ancient Egyptian queens to those of the pharaohs, and covers the role of the pharaoh's wife, and features the lives of Tiye, Nefertiti, Kiya, and others.

She was the last ruler of the Macedonian dynasty of Ptolemies who had ruled Egypt for three centuries. Highly educated (she was the only one of the Ptolemies to read and speak ancient Egyptian as well as the court Greek) and very clever (her famous liaisons with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony were as much to do with politics as the heart), she steered her kingdom through impossibly taxing internal problems and railed against greedy Roman imperialism. Stripping away preconceptions as old as her Roman enemies, Joyce Tyldesley uses all her skills as an Egyptologist to give us this magnificent biography.

Celebrated in literature and Hollywood movies, the lives of the Ancient Egyptian queens have become synonymous with power, beauty, and glory. Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Nefertari and Hatchepsut are familiar names today, although the women themselves are not known as well as the mythology around them. The wives, mothers, or daughters of pharaohs, their influence on three thousand years of ancient Egyptian history is indisputable. This book offers a unique and heretofore unexplored insight into the key role they played and unveils the true nature of their political and spiritual influence, which was very different from the cliched portrayals most readers are familiar with. Some of the questions answered in this book include: What was the real status of the Egyptian queens? What was the status of second wives and concubines? What was their role in religious celebrations? What was their beauty regime?

A fascinating look at the artistically productive reign of Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh in ancient Egypt

The last of the Ptolemaic monarchs who ruled Egypt for 300 years, Cleopatra is the most famous of the Ptolemaic queens. But what of her predecessors? The Last Queens of Egypt examines the roles played by the Ptolemaic royal women and explores their part in religion, politics and court intrigue. Explaining their propensity for incest, murder and power, Sally Ann Ashton shows the extent of the power they enjoyed, the price they paid, and how they shaped Cleopatra's reign.

100 biographies reveal the true character and diversity of the ancient world's greatest civilization The biographies included here give voice not only to ancient Egypt's rulers but also to the people who built the great monuments, staffed government offices, farmed, served in the temples, and fought to defend the country's borders. Spanning thousands of years of ancient Egyptian history, the book offers a fresh perspective on an always fascinating civilization through the lives of: The god-kings, from great rulers like Khufu and Ramesses II to less famous monarchs such as Amenemhat I and Osorkon Egypt's queens: the powerful Tiye, the beautiful Nefertiti, Tutankhamun's tragic child-bride Ankhesenamun, and the infamous Cleopatra The officials who served the pharaoh: the architect Imhotep who designed the first pyramid, the court dwarf Perniankhu, and the royal sculptor Bak Ordinary women who are often overlooked in official accounts: Hemira, a humble priestess from a provincial Delta town, and Naunakht, whose will reveals the trials and tribulations of family life Commoners and foreigners such as the irascible farmer Hekanakht, the serial criminal Paneb, and Urhiya, the mercenary who rose to the rank of general in the Egyptian army. Profusely illustrated with works of art and scenes of daily life, Lives of the Ancient Egyptians offers remarkable insights into the history and culture of the Nile Valley and very personal glimpses of a vanished world.