Happy Sunday, I’m Elena and thanks to be here on Alessandro III di Macedonia: Alexander the Great & Hellenism! Today I’m telling you about an interesting book coming out in the next few months in two editions with different publishers for the American and Anglo-Saxon public and therefore with different release dates that I’ll explain better, but first I want to announce that I’m interrupting reading books in general, to dedicate myself to writing my book on Alexander the Great. It’s highly probable that during the writing I’ll need to read other books and therefore very probably some reviews will arrive soon. I already know a lot of information about Alexander’s life but I want to be as precise as possible so I’ll definitely help myself with other readings that never hurts. In the next few months I hope to give you more information because on the one hand I’m excited about the idea of ​​trying my hand at writing like this, but on the other I’m afraid I won’t be up to it. When the time comes you’ll be the ones to tell me if I’ve succeeded or not. For now let’s talk about this essay coming out:

The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra

by Toby Wilkinson

Bloomsbury (UK)

Publishing date: October 24, 2024

‘A truly splendid read, richly detailed and powered by an unfailing gift for storytelling’ John Guy, author of Mary Queen of Scots
A definitive and thrilling new account of the last great dynasty of ancient Egypt, from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra.

When Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt, he overthrew the hated Persian overlords and was welcomed as a saviour. He repaid them by showing due reverence to their long-held traditions. After his death, as the Greek empire broke up and his closest advisers squabbled over the spoils, a Macedonian general named Ptolemy seized the Egyptian throne, ushering in a new dynasty that would last for 300 years.

What followed was as dramatic and compelling as any period in Egyptian history. The unique blend of Greek and Egyptian cultures led to an unprecedented flowering of learning, as the new city of Alexandria became home to the Great Library, the largest in the ancient world, that attracted the brightest minds. Wars, incest, double-dealing, foreign empires and huge wealth all followed, but the rise of the Roman empire would eventually bring the Ptolemaic era crashing to a close.

Helped by the latest archaeological discoveries and using original papyrus documents, Toby Wilkinson uncovers a story that can only now be fully told. From courtly life to the role of women, from international trade to the tensions between native Egyptians and incoming Greeks, all aspects of life are here. Filled with surprising insights, vivid descriptions and larger-than-life characters, and written in the author’s compelling narrative style, The Last Dynasty will appeal to all lovers of history, archaeology, art and culture.

Toby Wilkinson read Egyptology at Cambridge University and has been hailed by The Daily Telegraph as ‘the foremost Egyptologist of his time’. Since January 2004 he has been a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. He is a member of the international editorial board of the Journal of Egyptian History, and has broadcast on radio and television in the UK and abroad on topics connected with Egypt, ancient and modern. He is the author of seven books including The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt (2010) which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and was recommended as a book of the year by critics on both sides of the Atlantic. He also edited the recent encyclopedic reference work, The Egyptian World. He lives in Suffolk.

Editions:

The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra

by Toby Wilkinson

W. W. Norton & Company (US)

Publishing date: April 8, 2025

One of the world’s leading Egyptologists tells the rich and fascinating story of ancient Egypt’s last dynasty.

Alexander the Great and Cleopatra may be two of the best-known figures from the ancient world, but the Egyptian era bookended by their lives—the Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BC)—is little known. In The Last Dynasty, New York Times best-selling author Toby Wilkinson unravels the incredible story of this turbulent era. Macedonian in origin and Greek-speaking, the Ptolemies presided over the final flourishing of pharaonic civilization. Wilkinson describes how they founded new cities, including Alexandria, their great seaside residence and commercial capital; mined gold in the furthest reaches of Nubia; built spectacular new temples that are among the foremost architectural wonders of the Nile Valley; and created a dazzling culture that produced astonishing works of sculpture, architecture, and literature. As Wilkinson makes clear, the Ptolemaic Period was a time when ancient Egypt turned its gaze westward—in the process becoming the unwitting handmaid to the inexorable rise of Rome and the consequent loss of Egyptian independence.

Toby Wilkinson is the New York Times best-selling author of The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt, A World Beneath the Sands, and Tutankhamun’s Trumpet. He is a fellow of Clare College, University of Cambridge, and lives in England.

Editions:

Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1324052036
352 pages
$ 37.99

This book interests me because it is dedicated to Alexander in Egypt and his legacy through Ptolemy which flows into the last Egyptian dynasty of the great Pharaohs, moreover it is written by a great researcher specialized in ancient Egypt and therefore it is a must read if you want to delve deeper into this aspect of Alexander the Great. I already know that I will buy the Bloomsbury edition because it will be published first and the paperback edition is very convenient while being of excellent quality.

Thank you very much to everyone for continuing to follow me, I hope to give you new news soon.

Have a nice Sunday,

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