Review: Pharaohs of the Sun

Title: Pharaohs of the Sun

Author: Guy de la Bédoyère

Publisher: 12th July 2022  by Hachette Australia

Pages: 382 pages

Genre: non fiction, history, Egypt

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

For more than two centuries Egypt was ruled by the most powerful, successful, and richest dynasty of kings in its long end epic history. They included the female king Hatshepsut, the warrior kings Thutmose III and Amenhotep II, the religious radical Akhenaten and his queen Nefertiti, and most famously of all for the wealth of his tomb the short-lived boy king Tutankhamun. The power and riches of the Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty came at enormous cost to Egypt's enemies and most of its people. This was an age of ruthless absolutism, exploitation, extravagance, brutality, and oppression in a culture where not only did Egypt plunder its neighbours but Egyptian kings and their people robbed one another.

3,500 years ago ancient Egypt began two centuries in which it became richer and more powerful than any other nation at the time, ruled by the kings of the 18th Dynasty. They presided over a system built on war, oppression, and ruthlessness, pouring Egypt's wealth into grandiose monuments, temples, and extravagant tombs. Tutankhamun was one of the last of the line and one of the most obscure. Among his predecessors were some of the most notorious and enigmatic figures of all of Egypt's history. Pharaohs of the Sun is their story, showing how the glamour and gold was tainted by selfishness, ostentation, and the systematic exploitation of Egypt's people and enemies.

My Thoughts

‘Their legacy was their history, temples, tombs, and works of art of the 18th Dynasty which the world has looked upon in awe ever since, all the while sobered by the wreckage and decay, and the lone and level sands stretching far away. In that. if we are honest, we can also see the relics of our own time and our hubris in some far distant future.’

Ever since I was at school and first introduced to Egypt and its history I have been fascinated. So much so that I had to fulfill a childhood dream by sitting beside the Sphinx and visiting Tutankhamen’s tomb. I have read both fiction and nonfiction tales from this time as I just can't get enough of it. For anyone like me, Guy de la Bédoyère 's latest book is sure to make you happy. 

Guy has written many historical books over three decades. His latest, Pharaohs of the Sun, details ancient Egypt in the 18th Dynasty, a time when this civilisation was at its peak. Under this particular group of Pharaohs, Egypt became the richest and most powerful Bronze Age state that would prove to intrigue and captiviate people for thousands of years to come. This book covers it all and is very readable for the non-academic. I enjoyed the parallels Guy brought from other Empires to try and explain and correlate. 

‘Egypt’s glory days of the 18th Dynasty were built on a hierarchy with gold-bedecked kings at the top and the broken bodies of labourers, including children and prisoners of war, at the bottom. These kings presided over a population most of whom died before their thirties from disease or other hazards.’

Guy does an amazing job across the depth and breadth of this dynasty. With the big names such as Tutankhamen, Hatshepsut, Akhenaten and Nefertiti to lesser known ones, he writes of their stories inclusive of the cost to those they ruled. It was certainly a time of great riches with complete and utter ruthlessness. There is also a most impressive index, glossary, timeline colour photos and more included in some of the 100+ pages of reference materials and extras. 

The 18th Dynasty was an incredible era for the ancient Egyptians - well up there with some of the world's best. For me, and for many others, it continues to be such a source of fascination. We see it all from the grandeur to the enormous cost to all involved.  This is a book I highly recommend to lovers of all things ancient Egyptian.

‘My imagination runs riot wondering what the common people who see my monument in the years to come will say. Beware of saying I know not, I know not why this was made and a mountain fashioned entirely from gold like an everyday event I swear as Re loves me, as my father Amun favours me shall be eternal like the star that never sets.’

~ Hatshepsut, on her obelisks at Karnak ~

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.