This book presents a new analysis of the organization, structure and changes of the pharaonic state through three millennia of its history. Moreno García sheds new light on this topic by bringing to bear recent developments in state theory and archaeology, especially comparative study of the structure of ancient states and empires. The role played by pharaonic Egypt in new studies often reiterates old views about the stability, conservatism and 'exceptionalism' of Egyptian kingship, which supposedly remained the same across the Bronze and Iron Ages.

Ancient Egypt shared many parallels with other Bronze and Iron Age societies as can be shown by an analysis of the structure of the state, of the limits of royal power, of the authority of local but neglected micro-powers (such as provincial potentates and wealthy non-elite), and of the circulation and control of wealth. Furthermore, Egypt experienced deep changes in its social, economic, political and territorial organization during its history, thus making the land of the pharaohs an ideal arena in which to test applications of models of governments and to define the dynamics that rule societies on the longue durée. When seen through these new perspectives, the pharaonic monarchies appear less exceptional than previously thought, and more dependent on the balance of power, on their capacity to control the kingdom's resources and on the changing geopolitical conditions of their time.

Juan Carlos Moreno Garcia is Senior Researcher at the CNRS, University Paris-Sorbonne, France, and Invited Lecturer at the École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. He has published extensively on pharaonic administration and socio-economic history, and his books include Dynamics of Production in the Ancient Near East, 1300-500 BC (2016) and Ancient Egyptian Administration (2013).

Chapter 1: Foreword
Chapter 2: State theory, archaeology and the pharaonic states
Chapter 3: Integrating spaces
Chapter 4: Managing resources
Chapter 5: Co-opting leaders
Chapter 6: Hidden forces? Invisible actors and their impact on the state
Chapter 7: Building up authority
Chapter 8: Building statehood through culture
Chapter 9: Socio-political change and the state
Chapter 10: The pharaonic state(s) in comparative perspective
Bibliography
Index