Ancient Egypt: A Cultural Topography

Ancient Egypt, based on articles Kees wrote for the great German classical dictionary, is nothing less than an all-embracing survey of the land and peoples of Egypt in ancient times. This is history from a geographical standpoint, and it reveals with impressive clarity the great extent to which the successive phases of Egypt’s history have been determined and colored by the natural characteristics of the country.
Kees points out how the features of the Egyptian countryside affected agricultural techniques and landholding patterns; how the Nile functioned as a means of transport and communication; and how the desert with its oases and tracks acted as a theater for cultural and commercial exchanges with neighboring peoples.
‘ ‘The result is a treasure-house of information ... for the reader who, with an interest in ancient history, wishes to know more. ” —Margaret S. Downer, Daily Telegraph (London)
HERMANN Kees (1886-1964) was one of the foremost German Egyptologists and for many years professor of Egyptology at the University of Göttingen. He spent several years as a visiting professor at the University of Ain Shams in Cairo and throughout his career traveled extensively in Egypt.