Review by Choice Review
For almost half a century, Bingen (emer., Free Univ. of Brussels) has been in the forefront of scholarship on the history of Ptolemaic Egypt. Expertly edited by Roger Bagnall, this collection makes available to college students and their instructors revised translations of 19 of Bingen's most important articles. Following the introduction, which locates Bingen in the development of the historiography of Ptolemaic Egypt, the articles are grouped according to the main themes of his work: the Ptolemaic monarchy, the Greeks in Egypt, the royal economy, and Greeks and Egyptians. The papers' unifying features are their meticulous scholarship and their emphasis on delineating the nature and significance of the Greek presence in Ptolemaic Egypt. The first five articles argue that the Ptolemaic monarchy retained its Macedonian character to the end. The next seven articles highlight the urban character of the Greek presence in Egypt, with even cleruchs being primarily absentee landlords, subleasing their allotments to Egyptian farmers. The next three papers argue for the ad hoc organization of the Ptolemaic economy, and the final four papers emphasize the limited cultural interaction between Greeks and Egyptians. A valuable addition to university libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. M. Burstein emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
