Ambitious, intelligent, and desired by men and Emperors, Cleopatra VII came to power at a time when Roman and Egyptian interests increasingly tended to concern the same object: the Egyptian Empire itself. Cleopatra lived her whole life at the center of this complex and persistent power struggle, and her death simultaneously heralded the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty, the loss of Egyptian political independence, and the beginning of Caesar Augustus's Roman rule in Egypt. Cleopatra's legacy has since lost much of its former political significance, as she has come to symbolize instead the potent force of female sexuality and power. In this engaging and multifaceted account, however, Stanley M. Burstein displays Cleopatra in the full manifold brilliance of the several cultures, countries, and people that surrounded her throughout her compelling life, and in so doing develops a stunning picture of a legendary Queen, and a deeply historic reign. Designed as an accessible introduction to Cleopatra VII and her time, this book offers readers and researchers an appealing mix of descriptive chapters, biographical sketches, and annotated primary documents. An overview of the Ptolemaic Dynasty is presented in the introduction, and is followed by chapters on Cleopatra's life, the reality of Ptolemaic Egypt, Cleopatra's multicultural Egyptian society, and Alexandria's culture and conflicts. The narrative chapters conclude with a section discussing Cleopatra's significance as a person, a queen, and a symbol. An annotated bibliography and index are also included in this work.

..".this specialist-oriented volume is a rich contribution to the literature on this region. Notably it seems directed as much toward the ongoing historiographical conversation in Bali itself as it is toward external scholars." JASO Online

..".constitutes an outstanding contribution in the study of history outside the traditional perspective of recourse to narrative sources (whether these be oral or written)." African Affairs

"This amazing book...represents a model for scholars seeking to blend the tools of history writing and political/ cultural anthropology; its value is applicable not only in Cameroon, but elsewhere." International Journal for African Historical Studies

"With the suspense of a detective novel, this slim, richly detailed volume] proceeds in a series of comparisons...This charming book is an exacting exercise in comparison and historical reconstruction." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

..".an important contribution - not only to the local history of the Grasslands of Cameroon. It offers a better understanding of processes of transformation of rituals and asks important methodological questions, which should be of interest to anybody dealing with the history of early photography in Africa and visual anthropology. As to be expected from the "Cameroon Studies" series the volume is rounded up by a comprehensive bibliography and a very useful index." Anthropos

"As in his previous works, Fardon does not make it easy for his readers to labour through his dense writing. However, it is absolutely worthwhile. This unconventional book contains a wealth of insights with far-reaching methodological consequences. It demonstrates how to recover history without even for a moment losing sight of the constructivity of the knowledge produced." Journal of African History

Lela in Bali tells the story of an annual festival of eighteenth-century kingdoms in Northern Cameroon that was swept up in the migrations of marauding slave-raiders during the nineteenth century and carried south towards the coast. Lela was transformed first into a mounted durbar, like those of the Muslim states, before evolving in tandem with the German colonial project into a festival of arms. Reinterpreted by missionaries and post-colonial Cameroonians, Lela has become one of the most important of Cameroonian festivals and a crucial marker of identity within the state. Richard Fardon's recuperation of two hundred years of history is an essential contribution not only to Cameroonian studies but also to the broader understanding of the evolution of African cultures.

Richard Fardon, Professor of West African Anthropology in the University of London, is the author of four monographs on West Africa, as well as numerous works of anthropological theory. Since 1988 he has taught at the School of Oriental and African Studies, where he chaired the University of London's Centre of African Studies for eight years. In addition to its obvious archival sources, this book draws upon ethnographic research he began in Nigeria (from 1976) and in Cameroon (from 1984). Richard Fardon has been editor of the journal AFRICA since 2001.

Ben Viljoen (1868–1917) was ’n prominente jonger generaal in die Anglo-Boereoorlog, maar ná die oorlog is hy nie opgeneem in die nuwe politieke elite van die Afrikaners nie. Nadat hy die eed van getrouheid op St. Helena onderteken het, het hy noot weer permanent na Suid-Afrika teruggekeer nie.

Carel van der Merwe het besluit om Viljoen se spore te volg na Brittanje, Nederland, Mexiko en Amerika en te gaan uitvind hoe dit gebeur het dat dié Boereoorloggeneraal burgerskap van vier verskillende lande gehad het, die ster was van ’n Boereoorlogskouspel, aan ’n Mexikaanse revolusie deelgeneem het, as vredeskommissaris tussen die Yaqui-Indiane opgetree het en voor sy dood op die punt was om ’n film in Hollywood te vervaardig.

’n Prentjie van ’n komplekse persoonlikheid kom na vore wat herinner aan ’n deel van die huidige generasie Afrikaners – minder godvresend, gemaklik in verskillende kulture, en bereid om te emigreer wanneer hulle dink dit tot hul voordeel is.

An attempt to use archaeological materials to investigate the colonization of southeastern Africa during the period 1500 to 1900. Perry demonstrates the usefulness of archaeology in bypassing the biases of the ethnohistorical and documentary record and generating a more comprehensive understanding of history. Special attention is paid to the period of state formation in Swaziland and a critique of the Settler Model', which the author finds to be invalid.

This book examines a key period in the formation of modern Egypt, the early years of military rule following the coup of 1952. The Free Officers, a secret organization of junior officers, overthrew Egypt's parliamentary regime in July 1952 and over the next few years consolidated their rule, brutally suppressing alternative political movements. Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the young officers, emerged as the leader of the military junta and launched an ambitious program for economic development, making Egypt a leader in Arab, African, and non-aligned politics, as well as a model for political mobilization and national development throughout the Third World. Focusing on the goals, programs, successes, and failures of the young regime, Gordon provides the most comprehensive account of the Egyptian revolution to date. Besides bringing to light newly opened American and British sources on the period, Gordon's book is also informed by interviews he conducted with a number of actors and observers of the events.

Upton Sinclair's main concern is social justice. He wanted, through his writings, to make the common people aware of the many hypocrisies of organized religion. He saw the aligment of religion with the forces of capitalism and exploitation of the poor and the working clases of America. He wrote this book in 1918 at the end of World War I and it is a fascinating look at the American left and its thinking during this period of American history. A Collector's Edition.

Mazrui examines the importance of Africa--historically, culturally, and economically--in the development of the West, particularly the United States. And he contrasts this demonstrable importance with the combination of neglect and malice directed at Africa and those of African descent by the West and by the United States in particular. As Mazrui illustrates throughout, this is a tale of two Edens: Africa as the Eden of Lost Innocence and America as the Eden of Current Power and Future Fulfillment. People of African ancestry have been part of the vanguard for the Edenization of America. But America is also influencing the first Eden: Africa. America is a major force in the liberalization of black people in Africa; and black people are a major force in the democratization of all people in America.

David Livingstone was a doctor from Scotland, trained at the University of Glasgow and sent to South Africa by the London Missionary Society. He attended to both the spiritual and physical needs of people as he met them, but he also aimed to help people by being more strategic - trying to end slavery and promote trade. These quests caused him to be the first European to cross the African Continent. It should be noted that Livingstone's words are of his time and would be seen as racist by today's standards. He uses the terms and the science that were available to him, which were flawed, but is fascinated by the people that he meets and approaches them as fellow human beings. He writes with delicious humor and captivates the reader. This is book that both fascinates and enthrals.

This is the only available book on the Congo war, the most important current conflict in Africa. Two chapters situate the war in its historical and theoretical context, while others survey the interests of the Congolese government, of the rebel groups, and of intervening states in the war. These chapters reveal the underlying sources of the war and explain the strategies of the various combatants. Other chapters examine the impact of the war on neighboring countries, individual citizens, refugees, and other non-state actors in the zone of conflict and beyond.

This is a biography of Sir Humphrey Gibbs, an upper-class Englishman who settled in Southern Rhodesia soon after it became a self-governing colony. He was a leading farmer and churchman, an MP, and eventually Governor of the country. In 1964 the Rhodesian Front declared UDI, but he remained at his post in Government House for a further five years, and was a conduit for negotiations between the British Government and the rebel regime.

This book constitutes a major reassessment of the mortuary remains from the two X-Group royal cemeteries at Qustul and Ballana in Lower Nubia (c. AD 380-500). Since their excavation more than seventy years ago, and the subsequent flooding of the sites following the building of the Aswan High Dam, and despite the spectacular nature of the finds, the sites have received remarkably little scholarly attention. This book offers the first interpretation of social life at these key sites, and proposes a series of innovative, theoretically informed frames for exploring the significance of the material remains found there. In doing so, it sheds new light on a culture which, although less well known than the Meroitic Empire that preceded it and the subsequent development of the Christian Kingdoms of the Sudan, is nevertheless of considerable archaeological and historical significance. The sites present a series of archaeologically unique monumental tumuli and multi-chambered tomb structures containing evidence of human and animal sacrifice, as well as a highly sophisticated material culture. The interpretations presented here draw on the emergent field of sensory archaeology to address the key issue of identity formation. It makes a case for the heretofore unrecognised significance of an 'aesthetic' identity mediated by material culture. It approaches X-Group culture as a materially complex indigenous culture that created and altered identities through time via the manipulation of materials, colours and patterns (the 'aesthetic' basis of identity). This study explores the relationships between humans, animals, and artefacts. It demonstrates how a less stable society, which based control on aggressive public displays, became a more stable state, as power was mediated by magico-ritual performances, festal occasions, and the rise of certain individuals. The interpretations put forward here are based on a systematic quantitative analysis of the archaeological material from the sites. These analyses draw on complex typologies differentiating objects according to use, ware, colour, decoration method, designs, surface finish, contents, grafitto, location in a tomb, location near a body, etc. Such a quantification and synthesis of tens of thousands of individual pieces of data enabled the identification of key trends in the dataset--the empirical basis for the modelling of socio-political change undertaken here. The study was undertaken to combat the limited and unsatisfactory set of questions posed by previous debates about the activities at Qustul and Ballana. It constitutes a significant departure from previous work which restricted the discussion of life at the sites to a limited debate about the identity of tribal groups and the chronology of activity at the sites. In contrast, this research demonstrates that the way in which the X-Group(s) dynamically created, maintained, and altered their identity through various forms of praxis. The book is essential reading for anybody researching ancient Sudanese civilisations. It has a wider appeal for researchers and graduate students interested in new developments in approaches to the archaeology of North-East Africa. It also has a broader appeal to all those interested in the theorisation of identity, the practical application of archaeological theory to the study of material culture and the human relationship to the sensory nature of the sensory world.

In Seven Khoi lives Karel Schoeman writes about seven Khoi men and women whose lives became inextricably linked to the VOC’s settlement at the Cape in the seventeenth century. Chiefs and servants, enemies and interpreters; none of them escaped unscathed as their people were marginalised and their stories reduced to mere footnotes in the annals of history. These biographies were first seen in Kinders van die Kompanjie: Kaapse lewens uit die sewentiende eeu and have now been reworked for the benefit of a non-South African readership. Schoeman paints a vivid picture of life at the southernmost point of Africa at a time when the Khoikhoi believed they could find a way of living with these foreigners and their unceasing appetite for cattle – or free themselves forever of this unasked-for presence.

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was Keeper of the British Museum's department of oriental antiquities from 1894 until his retirement in 1924. Carrying out many missions to Egypt in search of ancient objects, Budge was hugely successful in collecting papyri, statues and other artefacts for the trustees of the British Museum: numbering into the thousands and of great cultural and historical significance. Budge published well over 100 monographs, which shaped the development of future scholarship and are still of great academic value today, dealing with subjects such as Egyptian religion, history and literature. First published in 1912, this work is the first of two volumes which deal explicitly with ancient Egyptian literature. Budge reproduces the most typical literature in hieroglyphic form, with the intention of providing the beginner with a series of books to read alongside translations. They are arranged here with English translations next to the original writing, and are complemented by a detailed introduction which provides a contextual framework for this fascinating material. Also including a number of other texts and a range of detailed images and hieroglyphics, this classic work will be of interest to scholars and students of Ancient Egyptian literature, language and history.

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was Keeper of the British Museum's department of oriental antiquities from 1894 until his retirement in 1924. Carrying out many missions to Egypt in search of ancient objects, Budge was hugely successful in collecting papyri, statues and other artefacts for the trustees of the British Museum: numbering into the thousands and of great cultural and historical significance. Budge published well over 100 monographs, which shaped the development of future scholarship and are still of great academic value today, dealing with subjects such as Egyptian religion, history and literature. First published in 1912, this work is the second of two volumes which deal explicitly with ancient Egyptian literature. This volume contains Egyptian texts, with English translations, taken from the Seven Stelae which originally stood in a group at the great temple at Gebel Barkal. The texts describe areas of the history of Egypt, including the principal events which took place in the kingdom of Napata from c.750 B.C. to 500 B.C. Also including a number of other texts and a range of detailed images and hieroglyphics, this classic work will be of interest to scholars and students of Ancient Egyptian literature, language and history.

Sir E. A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was Keeper of the British Museum's department of oriental antiquities from 1894 until his retirement in 1924. Carrying out many missions to Egypt in search of ancient objects, Budge was hugely successful in collecting papyri, statues and other artefacts for the trustees of the British Museum: numbering into the thousands and of great cultural and historical significance. Budge published well over 100 monographs, which shaped the development of future scholarship and are still of great academic value today, dealing with subjects such as Egyptian religion, history and literature. First published in 1908, this is the second of two volumes dealing with the kings of Egypt. Using a variety of material from the British Library's extensive collections, Budge meticulously collated the names of the Pharaohs and royal personages from the 20th to the 30th Dynasties of Egypt. With a detailed discussion concerning Egyptian chronology, this classic work will be of great interest and value to scholars and students of Ancient Egyptian history and archaeology.

A work of history, culture, politics, economics, packed with period photographs and period insights.

The Liberal Party of South Africa was founded in 1953 to promote nonracial democratic liberalism in opposition to white supremacist apartheid. Under Alan Paton, it quickly moved into the extra-parliamentary field and won considerable black support, competing with Communism and black nationalism. Growing influence brought heavy government attack, and the 'banning' of nearly 50 of its leaders, black and white. Despite forced dissolution in 1968, the Liberals' ideas have triumphed over those of left and right in the 'new South Africa'.

Egypt was the first of the Arab-speaking Muslim countries to come into close contact with modern European states. The experience was not a particularly happy one. It resulted in political and economic subjugation and in the breakdown of her traditional culture and society: but it led also to her emancipation from the Ottoman Empire and to the eventual development of a modern and autonomous Egyptian identity. The central aim of this book is to trace the history of Egypt during this period of change, from Napoleon's invasion at the end of the eighteenth century to the Free Officer's Revolution in the middle of the twentieth. The author describes the effects of European - particularly British and French - involvement on the course of Egyptian history, shown variously for example in her changing trade pattern, in her forced participation in two world wars and in the planning and construction of the Suez Canal. One of these effects was to stimulate the development of Egyptian nationalism and the emergence of her own leaders. A major factor in the course of Egyptian history, and one of which the author is constantly aware, was the European ignorance of Islamic and Arabic thought and attitudes, which was largely responsible for the misunderstandings and conflicts which characterized the period. The book provides a valuable analysis of interaction between communities with different and sometimes opposing value systems. To understand this interaction is essential to the study of the history, politics and culture of the Middle East.

As the leaders of a revolutionary, nationalist regime, the Egyptian Free Officers who came to power following the 1952 Revolution committed themselves to the attainment of goals associated with modernization, namely rapid economic development based on State planning and industrialization and the political mobilization of society along State-decreed lines. Arising from a conference held at the Centre of Middle Eastern Studies at SOAS, with contributions from scholars from the Arab world, Europe and the US as well as the UK, these papers raise the questions most important to students of economic and political development.