This Element provides a new evaluation of burial customs in New Kingdom Egypt, from about 1550 to 1077 BC, with an emphasis on burials of the wider population. It also covers the regions then under Egyptian control: the Southern Levant and the area of Nubia as far as the Fourth Cataract. The inclusion of foreign countries provides insights not only into the interaction between the centre of the empire and its conquered regions, but also concerning what is typically Egyptian and to what extent the conquered regions were culturally influenced. It can be shown that burials in Lower Nubia closely follow those in Egypt. In the southern Levant, by contrast, cemeteries of the period often yield numerous Egyptian objects, but burial customs in general do not follow those in Egypt.

Death on the Nile deepens our understanding of the lives and concerns of ancient Egyptians as they prepared themselves for death and burial. Building on the growing trend in Egyptology to use scientific analysis and imaging to examine artefacts, this new volume focuses on one hundred objects from the Fitzwilliam Museum's renowned Egyptian collection. In addition to shedding new light on the workshops of ancient Egypt, Death on the Nile traces the religious beliefs, economic concerns and political allegiance of the people for whom the coffins were created. Behind these remarkable objects is a human story of daily concerns, aspirations and practical realities.

Grajetzki explores a number of both published and unpublished sources to uncover the lives and work of two treasurers of the mid-13th Dynasty and the people around them. Evidence taken from stelae reveals a picture of administration and different levels of responsibility and authority among the officials of this period.

During the late Middle Kingdom (about 1850-1700 B.C.E.), ancient Egyptian women of high standing were interred with lavish ornamentation and carefully gathered possessions. Buried near the pyramids of kings, women with royal connections or great wealth and status were surrounded by fine pottery and vessels for sacred oils, bedecked with gold and precious stones, and honored with royal insignia and marks of Osiris. Their funerary possessions include jewelry imported from other ancient lands and gold-handled daggers and claspless jewelry made only to be worn in the tomb.Extensively illustrated with archival images and the author's own drawings, "Tomb Treasures of the Late Middle Kingdom" describes and compares the opulent tombs of eminent and royal women. In addition to the ornaments, many of which are considered masterpieces of Middle Kingdom craft, Egyptologist Wolfram Grajetzki examines the numerous grave goods, artifacts of daily life, and markers of social status that were also placed in tombs, presenting a more complete picture of funerary customs in this period. By considering celebrated examples of female burials together for the first time, "Tomb Treasures of the Late Middle Kingdom" sheds new light on the role and status of women in the royal court and explores how the gendered identity of those women was preserved in the grave.

For the ancient Egyptians, the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1700 BC) was a classical period of art, history and literature. The Twelfth Dynasty was one of the strongest ever to rule on the banks of the Nile: some of its kings were later worshipped as local gods, and were made famous by classical Greek authors. Yet Egyptologists tend not to look beyond the extraordinary royal sculpture and literary masterpieces of the time. Although the picture is fragmentary, as with any archaeological record, the last two hundred years of exploration and excavation have revealed much of the splendour of the period. This book examines the evidence for the culture, history and society of both central and provincial Egypt at the time, revealing the wealth of the entire country. Too often overshadowed by the better-preserved architecture of other periods, "Middle Kingdom Egypt" emerges for the reader as a fascinating age in its own right.

Greeks and Parthians is an innovative, archaeologically based investigation into urban life in Mesopotamia and the northern part of what is now the Persian Gulf, from the arrival of Alexander the Great to the end of the Parthian Empire. With detailed coverage of the cities of Seleucia-Ktesiphon, Babylon, Uruk, Susa, Spasinou Charax, Ikaros (Failaka) and Tylos (Bahrein), Wolfram Grajetzki shows that for most people in the region, life and material culture were not, as is commonly stated, transformed by the coming of the Greeks. The Parthians have tended to receive a negative press from historians, but their supremacy lasted some 350 years and the archaeology of their cities reveals innovations in architecture and decorative arts, with lavishly equipped houses showing a high standard of living.

Building on the latest research, Wolfram Grajetzki here looks in detail at the circle of officials that surrounded the king in the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt (Eleventh to Thirteenth Dynasty, also including the Second Intermediate Period; c. 2040-1550 BC). Describing the history of the principal offices of state, he takes into account inscriptions, monuments and the few preserved tombs, and traces the careers of some individual officials. The holders of these offices were the men chosen by the king to be his close advisers. They received strings of important titles, and their monuments are among the finest works of art and architecture of the time. Over all the other officials and second only to the king stood the 'tjaty', or vizier, while alongside him and of only slightly lower status, the treasurer was in charge of the resources of the country. From the evidence for these men, a new, more precise image emerges of ancient Egyptian civilization in its monumental accomplishments and its daily operations. "Court Officials of the Middle Kingdom" is essential reading for all scholars and students of the period. The text is copiously illustrated with drawings by Paul Whelan.

The pyramids at Gizeh and the tomb of Tutankhamun are two spectacular examples of the legendary energy that the Ancient Egyptians devoted to their tombs. Contrary to popular belief, this energy was not confined to the highest classes of society. This is the first book to use the tens of thousands of tombs excavated across Egypt to build up a broad picture of burial as practiced throughout society over the millennia, from 5000 BC to AD 200. In the course of his investigation Wolfram Grajetski removes some popular misconceptions. Many imagine that there are few undisturbed tombs, but this is not the case. In addition to the richest finds, there are numerous other tombs which, lacking gold, never caught the attention of ancient robbers or, till now, that of modern readers. Many also argue that we can only know the richer classes in ancient society because the burials of ordinary farmers or poor people do not survive. As this book shows, this is not true of Ancient Egypt, where such graves are key sources for reconstructing burial customs and Egyptian culture as a whole.