THE FOLIO SOCIETY

Amongst the deserts and highlands of Upper Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, the Nile falls in rocky cataracts and provides a narrow stretch of fertile land. Here a series of rich and powerful peoples arose to rival, and sometimes rule over, the ancient Egyptians. While Rome was a small village and the Greek city-states held sway over tiny territories, the rulers of Kush governed an empire that stretched from central Sudan to the ­borders of Palestine. Their successors – Ethiopia and the medieval kingdoms of Nubia – would long outlast the Pharaohs and outdo their grandeur, their beliefs changing from paganism to Christianity in defiance of their powerful Islamic neighbours.

Derek Welsby and David Phillipson have devoted their eminent careers to the history and cultures of ancient Kush and Meroe, and medieval Nubia and Axum, civilisations that, for so long, remained shrouded in mystery. Their words, supplemented by compelling photographs of astonishing rock-cut temples and richly decorated tombs, exquisite sculptures and lavish metalwork, bring back to life the last great cultures of antiquity to be disclosed to modern knowledge. The resulting volume is the single most comprehensive and authoritative portrait of the long-lost splendour and sophistication of this still inaccessible region of the world.