This study investigates identity and concepts of Egyptian-ness in the sharply contrasting worlds of New Kingdom and Coptic Egypt. Horbury analyses the effects of official belief systems on the lives and identities of ordinary Egyptians, using letters as the primary source material, as well as the built environment. In particular the role of the strong New Kingdom state is examined, as is the effect of the official rejection of the Pharaonic past in the Coptic period.