The story of Ancient Egypt
About this audiobook
George Rawlinson (1812-1902) was a prolific author about classical history, and The Story of Ancient Egypt is one of Rawlinson’s most famous works. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the Ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world’s first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world.
With world-famous leaders like King Tut and Cleopatra, it’s no wonder that today’s world has so many Egyptologists. What makes the accomplishments of the Ancient Egyptians all the more remarkable is that Egypt was historically a place of great political turbulence. Its position made it both valuable and vulnerable to tribes across the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and Ancient Egypt had no shortage of its own internecine warfare. Its most famous conquerors would come from Europe, with Alexander the Great laying the groundwork for the Hellenic Ptolemy line and the Romans extinguishing that line after defeating Cleopatra and driving her to suicide.
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About the author
George Rawlinson was born at Chadlington, Oxfordshire, the son of Abram Tysack Rawlinson and the younger brother of the famous Assyriologist, Sir Henry Rawlinson. He was educated at Ealing school. Having taken a First in Literae Humaniores at the University of Oxford (from Trinity College) in 1838, he was elected to a fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1840, of which from 1842 to 1846 he was fellow and tutor. He was ordained in 1841, was curate at Merton, Oxfordshire, from 1846 to 1847, Bampton lecturer in 1859, and was Camden Professor of Ancient History from 1861 to 1889. In his early days at Oxford, Rawlinson played cricket for the University, appearing in five matches between 1836 and 1839 which have since been considered to have been first-class. He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1869. In 1872 he was appointed canon of Canterbury, and after 1888 he was rector of the rich City benefice All Hallows, Lombard Street. In 1873, he was appointed proctor in Convocation for the Chapter of Canterbury. He married in 1846 Louisa Chermside, daughter of Sir Robert Alexander Chermside. They celebrated their golden wedding in 1896. Canon Rawlinson died at his residence in Cathedral precincts, Canterbury, on 6 October 1902.
