The Last Dynasty

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

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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.