Egypt from Alexander to the Early Christians: An Archaeological and Historical Guide

The thousand years of Egyptian history from the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. to the Arab conquest in A.D. 641 are rich in archaeological evidence and well documented by 50,000 papyri in Greek, Egyptian, Latin, and other languages. However, travelers and others interested in the remains of this period are ill-served by most guides to Egypt, which concentrate on the pharaonic buildings. The dozen leading experts who have contributed to this volume redress the imbalance with clear and concise presentations of the history and documentary evidence from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods, enabling the reader to appreciate the fascinating cities, temples, churches, and tombs from these later periods. With specially commissioned plans of sites and buildings and room-by-room tours of museums, this book is both a tourist's companion to the principal sites and an armchair guide to the splendors of a little-known and culturally diverse civilization.