The Kebra Nagast is an ancient text, detailing the relationship between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; this work examines these legends, and how they correspond with Ethiopian folklore and the Holy Bible.

Written by Ethiopian scholar Is'haq Nebur -Id in the 14^th century, the Kebra Nagast is a complete narration of the meeting and relationship between the ancient King Solomon and the Ethiopian Queen named Sheba. Drawing heavily upon the Biblical lore, the Kebra Nagast includes further detail upon pertinent topics; other ancient monarchs, prophetic visions, and the culture of the court of Ethiopia. The final chapters allude to the birth, life and death by crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with foreshadowings to these momentous events also present earlier in the Kebra Nagast.

This book is an informed and heavily detailed treatise by academic, archaeologist and scholar of antiquity E. A. Wallis Budge, who acts as both translator and annotator. Imbuing his narration with the knowledge he had gained from several decades of excavations, researches and learning, we are treated to an intense and detailed translation of each chapter. Some thirty-one illustrations accompany the text; they belong to the British Museum's Maḳdal Collection of aged Ethiopian artworks.

A New Edition of the Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, Perfect for History Buffs, Budding Archaeologists, or Mythology Enthusiasts

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is unquestionably one of the most influential books in all history. Containing the ancient ritual to be performed for the dead with detailed instructions for the behavior of the soul in the afterlife, it served as the most important repository of religious authority for some three thousand years. Chapters were carved on the pyramids of the ancient 5th Dynasty, texts were written in papyrus, and selections were painted on mummy cases well into the Christian era. In a certain sense, it represented all history and research of Egyptian civilization.

In the year 1888, Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge, then purchasing agent for the British Museum, followed rumors he heard of a spectacular archaeological find in Upper Egypt, and found in an 18th Dynasty tomb near Luxor a perfectly preserved papyrus scroll. It was a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, written around 1500 B.C. for Ani, Royal Scribe of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Abydos, and Scribe of the Offerings of the Lords of Thebes.

This Papyrus of Ani is presented here by Dr. Budge. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, an interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an original introduction of more than 150 pages. This classic material combined with a brand-new foreword by Dr. Foy Scalf of Chicago University gives the reader has a unique opportunity to experience all the fascinating aspects of The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is unquestionably one of the most influential books in all history. Embodying a ritual to be performed for the dead, with detailed instructions for the behaviors of the disembodied spirit in the Land of the Gods, it served as the most important repository of religious authority for some three thousand years. Chapters were carved on the pyramids of the ancient 5th Dynasty, texts were written in papyrus, and selections were painted on mummy cases well into the Christian Era. In a certain sense it stood behind all Egyptian civilization.In the year 1888, Dr. E. Wallis Budge, then purchasing agent for the British Museum, followed rumors he heard of a spectacular archeological find in Upper Egypt, and found in an 18th Dynasty tomb near Luxor the largest roll of papyrus I had ever seen, tied with a thick band of papyrus, and in a perfect state of preservation. It was a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, written around 1500 B.C. for Ani, Royal Scribe of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Abydos, and Scribe of the Offerings of the Lord of Thebes.This Papyrus of Ani, a full version of the Theban recension, is presented here by Dr. Budge, who later became perhaps the world's most renowned Egyptologist. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, an interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an introduction of more than 150 pages. As a result of this multiple apparatus the reader has a unique opportunity to savor all aspects of the Book of the Dead, or as it is otherwise known, The Book of the Great Awakening.

The 'Kebra Nagast' (Glory of Kings) was written at least one thousand years ago, and takes its theme from much older sources, some going back to the first century AD. Written originally in the African classical language Ge'ez, the book tells the history of a Davidic line of African monarchs, descended from King Solomon of Israel and Maqeda, Queen of Sheba (Saba), who journeyed to the Levant specifically to visit the wise and far-famed monarch. It was a successful meeting of minds, and Maqeda proved the equal of Solomon the Wise in a series of long philosophical discussions. But the Hebrew monarch was not merely attracted to the African Queen's intellect - by means of a ploy, he seduced Maqeda, who gave birth to a son, Ebna-Lahakim. But this seduction proved to be Solomon's undoing. While in Israel, Prince Ebna-Lahakim gathered around him a group of royal nobles and together they seized the two most powerful symbols of Israel's compact with the Almighty - the Ark of the Covenant and the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. These trophies were carried back to Abyssinia where, it is said, they remain to this day.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is unquestionably one of the most influential books in all history. Containing the ancient ritual to be performed for the dead with detailed instructions for the behavior of the soul in the afterlife, it served as the most important repository of religious authority for some three thousand years. Chapters were carved on the pyramids of the ancient 5th Dynasty, texts were written in papyrus, and selections were painted on mummy cases well into the Christian era. In a certain sense, it represented all history and research of Egyptian civilization.

In the year 1888, Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge, then purchasing agent for the British Museum, followed rumors he heard of a spectacular archaeological find in Upper Egypt, and found in an 18th Dynasty tomb near Luxor a perfectly preserved papyrus scroll. It was a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, written around 1500 B.C. for Ani, Royal Scribe of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Abydos, and Scribe of the Offerings of the Lords of Thebes.

This Papyrus of Ani is presented here by Dr. Budge. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, an interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an original introduction of more than 150 pages. This classic material combined with a brand-new foreword by Dr. Foy Scalf of Chicago University gives the reader has a unique opportunity to experience all the fascinating aspects of The Egyptian Book of the Dead.

What did Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia have in common? A love for the Kebra Negast, holy book of Ethiopian Christians and Jamaican Rastafarians. Contemporary scholars date the Kebra Negast to the 14th century, but it retells the stories of much earlier Biblical times, one very important story in particular. According to the Kebra Negast, the Israelites' Ark of the Covenant was spirited away to the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia by wise King Solomon's own son, offspring of the union between Solomon and the exotic Queen Makeda of Ethiopia (a.k.a. the Queen of Sheba). Gerald Hausman, a consummate storyteller of native traditions, presents the core narrative of the Kebra Negast, from Adam to the rise of the Ethiopian Solomonid dynasty. On top of this, he injects his own encounters with Rastafarians during his travels in Jamaica--dreadlocked Rastas as modern-day Samsons, their unwavering faith in Jah, and a rare outsider's glimpse at the Nyabinghi ceremony. The Kebra Nagast, or the Book of the Glory of Kings, is an account written in Ge'ez of the origins of the Solomonic line of the Emperors of Ethiopia. The text, in its existing form, is at least seven hundred years old, and is considered by many Ethiopian Christians and Rastafarians to be an inspired and a reliable account. Not only does it contain an account of how the Queen of Sheba met Solomon, and about how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia with Menelik I, but contains an account of the conversion of the Ethiopians from the worship of the sun, moon, and stars to that of the Lord God of Israel. As Edward Ullendorff explained in the 1967 Schweich Lectures, The Kebra Nagast is not merely a literary work, but it is the repository of Ethiopian national and religious feelings. According to the colophon attached to most of the existing copies, the Kebra Nagast originally was written in Coptic, then translated into Arabic in the Year of Mercy 409 (dated to AD 1225) by a team of Ethiopian clerics during the office of Abuna Abba Giyorgis, and finally into Ge'ez at the command of the governor of Enderta province Ya'ibika Igzi'. Based on the testimony of this colophon, Conti Rossini, Littmann, and Cerulli, inter alios, have marked off the period 1314 to 1321-1322 for the composition of the book.. Marcus, (1994), indicated that the religious epic story was conflated in the fourteenth century by six Tigrayan scribes. Other sources put it as a work of the fourteenth century Nebura'ed Yeshaq of Aksum. Careful study of the text has revealed traces of Arabic, possibly pointing to an Arabic vorlage, but no clear evidence of a previous Coptic version. Many scholars doubt that a Coptic version ever existed, and that the history of the text goes back no further than the Arabic vorlage. On the other hand, the numerous quotations in the text from the Bible were not translated from this hypothetical Arabic vorlage, but were copied from the Ethiopian translation of the Bible, either directly or from memory, and in their use and interpretation shows the influence of patristic sources such as Gregory of Nyssa. Hubbard details the many sources that the compiler of the Kebra Nagast drew on in creating this work. They include not only both Testaments of the Bible (although heavier use is made of the Old Testament than the New), but he detects evidence of Rabbinical sources, influence from apocryphal works (especially the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees, and such Syriac works as the Book of the Cave of Treasures, and its derivatives the Book of Adam and Eve and the Book of the Bee. Marcus thus describes it as a pastiche of legends ... that] blended local and regional oral traditions and style and substance derived from the Old and New Testaments, various apocryphal texts, Jewish and Islamic commentaries, and Patristic writings

The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript with cursive hieroglyphs and illustrations created c. 1250 BCE, in the 19^th dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Egyptians compiled an individualized book for certain people upon their death, called the Book of Going Forth by Day, more commonly known as the Book of the Dead, typically containing declarations and spells to help the deceased in their afterlife. The Papyrus of Ani is the manuscript compiled for the Theban scribe Ani.

It was stolen from an Egyptian government storeroom in 1888 by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, as described in his two-volume By Nile and Tigris, for the collection of the British Museum where it remains today. Before shipping the manuscript to England, Budge cut the seventy-eight foot scroll into thirty-seven sheets of nearly equal size, damaging the scroll's integrity at a time when technology had not yet allowed the pieces to be put back together.

This Papyrus of Ani, a full version of the Theban recension, is presented here by Dr. Budge, who later became perhaps the world's most renowned Egyptologist. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, an interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an introduction of more than 150 pages. As a result of this multiple apparatus the reader has a unique opportunity to savor all aspects of the Book of the Dead, or as it is otherwise known, The Book of the Great Awakening.

2019 Reprint of 1911 Edition Originally Published in Two Volumes and Now Bound into One. New introduction by Jane Harrison. Two volumes bound in one. In this book E. A. Wallis Budge, one of the world's foremost Egyptologists, focuses on Osiris as the single most important Egyptian deity. In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Osiris was the god of the beyond whose death and resurrection brought a guarantee of an afterlife to mortals. He was a kindly Pharaoh, teaching agriculture, music, arts, and religion to his people. Jealous of his successful reign, his brother Seth killed him with the help of many accomplices and took control of Egypt. However, Seth's reign was foreshortened by Isis's great love for her husband and brother Osiris, whom she brought back from the dead. Osiris and Isis then conceived Horus, their beloved son. Seth, seething in anger, killed Osiris once again, this time by cutting his body to pieces and throwing them into the Nile River. Isis, with the help of Anubis, the god with the jackal head, reconstituted Osiris's body with bandages and embalming rites, thus creating the first mummy. During this act, the god Thoth recited an incantation. Finally, Horus avenged his father Osiris in a bloody duel with Seth in which Horus lost his eye, which was then given as a food offering to Osiris.

This is the most thorough explanation ever offered of Osirism. With rigorous scholarship, going directly to numerous Egyptian texts, making use of the writings of Herodotus, Diodorus, Plutarch and other classical writers, and of more recent ethnographic research in the Sudan and other parts of Africa, Budge examines every detail of the cult of Osiris. He also establishes a link between Osiris worship and African religions.

The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus manuscript with cursive hieroglyphs and illustrations created c. 1250 BCE, in the 19^th dynasty of the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. Egyptians compiled an individualized book for certain people upon their death, called the Book of Going Forth by Day, more commonly known as the Book of the Dead, typically containing declarations and spells to help the deceased in their afterlife. The Papyrus of Ani is the manuscript compiled for the Theban scribe Ani.

It was stolen from an Egyptian government storeroom in 1888 by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, as described in his two-volume By Nile and Tigris, for the collection of the British Museum where it remains today. Before shipping the manuscript to England, Budge cut the seventy-eight foot scroll into thirty-seven sheets of nearly equal size, damaging the scroll's integrity at a time when technology had not yet allowed the pieces to be put back together.

This Papyrus of Ani, a full version of the Theban recension, is presented here by Dr. Budge, who later became perhaps the world's most renowned Egyptologist. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, an interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an introduction of more than 150 pages. As a result of this multiple apparatus the reader has a unique opportunity to savor all aspects of the Book of the Dead, or as it is otherwise known, The Book of the Great Awakening.

This papyrus is long known as the standard version of The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Egyptians believed in an afterlife and this book served these beliefs for more than 3000 years. It provides instructions for the souls that pass on and enter into the Land of the Gods, while also covering detailed rituals to be performed for the dead. The Papyrus of Ani was purchased for the British Museum in 1888 by E. A. Wallis Budge, who also became its' translator. It was discovered near Luxor in an 18th Dynasty tomb, written as a copy in about 1500 BC for the Royal Scribe of Thebes, Ani. Chapters have been found carved on the walls of the pyramid from the earlier 5th Dynasty, on the walls of ancient tombs, painted on mummy cases, and written on papyrus throughout Egypt's long history. Budge described this particular text as being the largest roll of papyrus I had ever seen, tied with a thick band of papyrus, and in a perfect state of preservation. It turned out to be 78 feet in length, with 37 separations according to topic and chapter divisions. This book is a copy of that scroll, with a running English translation. It is unquestionably the most important text of ancient Egypt, meant to insure the spiritual welfare of everyone who passes on and enters their future life.

The most fascinating language of the ancient world is that of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, as seen on countless tombs and temples that remain to this day in Egypt. What do they say? The only way to learn what these symbols mean is to study the ancient texts. Many of them are reproduced here with full translations for the reader to study. This rare text was previously published under the misleading title of Egyptian Language, and is now back in print. It is known as the standard introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphics, written by one of the greatest Egyptologists of his time, E. A. Wallis Budge. Budge was once Keeper of the Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum. As a result, he goes beyond translation lessons by revealing a fascinating history of hieroglyphic writing, including how the code to its understanding was cracked, and the overall evolution of the language. The main portion of the book, however, contains lists of hundreds of characters that have their phonetic meanings defined, often within important historical texts. This is followed by chapters on grammatical usage in all areas, including verbs, adjectives, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, and more. This is the perfect book for anyone wishing to gain a true understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The dearth of suitable introductory texts presents a serious obstacle to the study of the Egyptian language, so this practical grammar answers a longstanding need. Its well-known and highly respected author, a Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, has written many other popular Dover books on Egyptology. Contents include lists of frequently used signs and determinatives, a short vocabulary of about 500 words, a series of 31 texts and extracts (with interlinear transliteration and word-for-word translation), and a few untransliterated and untranslated texts (with glossary), to be worked out independently. This is a valuable book for archaeologists, anthropologists, and anyone with a professional or amateur interest in Ancient Egypt.

Volume 2 of a two-volume set by one of the foremost Egyptologists contains 20 chapters including Amen, and Amen-Ra, and the Triad of Thebes; Hapi, the God of the Nile; The Triad of Elephantine; Osiris; Isis; miscellaneous gods of the winds, senses, planets, and more; and Sacred Animals and Birds. 49 plates, 93 illustrations.

For millennia, Egypt, the dark land, has been considered the home of magic. The feats of her priests and magicians were renowned throughout the ancient world, from the simplest legerdemain (according to present interpretation) to the heights of necromancy and sorcery. Even their most severe critics, the ancient Hebrews, admitted the power of Egyptian magic. In the famous sorcerers' duel between Moses and Egyptian priests before Pharaoh, the Egyptians were almost as skilled as Moses.
This well-known study of ancient Egyptian magic, by E. A. Wallis Budge, long curator of Egyptian antiquities at the British Museum, sums up everything that is known about the wonder-working of ancient Egypt. After a general discussion of the role of magic in Egyptian religion proper -- Dr. Budge covers the powerful amulets that warded off evil spirits; the scarabs of immortality; the use of wax images and spirit placements; magical pictures and formulas; magic via the secret name; magic of sounds; rituals; curses; destruction of hostile magic; determination of fortunate dates, and many of the other practices of the ancient Nile dwellers.
Dozens of magic formulas are given in full -- both in the original Egyptian sounds, as far as they can be recreated -- and in English; dozens of excerpts are also given from the magical papyroi, tomb inscriptions, and other sources. Many wonderful tales are told in these Egyptian stories; mind control, enforcing will upon animals, suspended animation, calling up the dead, finding ancient books of incredible magical power, and other miraculous events that we may or may not believe.

Former Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum, E. A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934) was one of the great Egyptologists of the century and author of a host of books on ancient Egypt. For this collection, he carefully selected nine of the most interesting and important Egyptian legends and published them in hieroglyphic texts with literal translations on facing pages. The result is a wonderful sampling of typical Egyptian literature in the best and most complete form possible.
This convenient edition enables students to study these ancient myths for their linguistic, literary, and cultural meanings -- all in one inexpensive volume. The legends included are:
The Legend of the Creation
The Legend of the Destruction of Mankind
The Legend of Ra and the Snake-Bite
The Legend of Horus of Edfu and the Winged Disk
The Legend of the Origin of Horus
A Legend of Khensu Nefer-Hetep and the Princess of Bekhten
The Legend of Khnemu and a Seven Years' Famine
The Legend of the Death and Resurrection of Horus
The Legend of Isis and Osiris According to Classical Writers
Any student of ancient Egyptian literature, language, or culture will welcome this classic compilation, enhanced with 19 illustrations from Egyptian art.

The sacred wisdom of the priests of ancient Egypt and the experiences of the soul after death created what became one of the most important books in Egyptian history. Now in this new translation, we have a more complete and improved version of what was intended in the original hieroglyphic text.

2924 Hardcover Reprint of 1911 Edition Originally Published in Two Volumes and Now Bound into One. New introduction by Jane Harrison. Two volumes bound in one. In this book E. A. Wallis Budge, one of the world's foremost Egyptologists, focuses on Osiris as the single most important Egyptian deity. In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Osiris was the god of the beyond whose death and resurrection brought a guarantee of an afterlife to mortals. He was a kindly Pharaoh, teaching agriculture, music, arts, and religion to his people. Jealous of his successful reign, his brother Seth killed him with the help of many accomplices and took control of Egypt. However, Seth's reign was foreshortened by Isis's great love for her husband and brother Osiris, whom she brought back from the dead. Osiris and Isis then conceived Horus, their beloved son. Seth, seething in anger, killed Osiris once again, this time by cutting his body to pieces and throwing them into the Nile River. Isis, with the help of Anubis, the god with the jackal head, reconstituted Osiris's body with bandages and embalming rites, thus creating the first mummy. During this act, the god Thoth recited an incantation. Finally, Horus avenged his father Osiris in a bloody duel with Seth in which Horus lost his eye, which was then given as a food offering to Osiris.

For centuries, historians have been excavating the secrets of Ancient Egypt, but there has never been another text quite like From Fetish to God. Written by one of the foremost Egyptologists of his time, this classic book is as ambitious as it is vast. Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, author E.A. Wallis Budge submerged himself in the historic tablets, artifacts, and scrolls that are our best clues to understanding the fascinating peoples that inhabited the Nile River delta over 4000 years ago.

As the title suggests, Budge focuses on the religious beliefs and practices of the Ancient Egyptians. The special attention to the predynastic origin of these archaic rites and deities set this book apart from others in the genre. With expert skill, the author interweaves the evolution of theology with coinciding shifts in political power, that ultimately lead to the emergence of Egypt as an early superpower. The first half of the book catalogues the transformation of religion along the Nile, a dynamic theology peppered with animistic cults, fetishes, and a deep respect for the power of magic. Part II includes select translations of hymns recited in reverence to these gods and idols of yesteryear. The combination of analysis and translation in one text is uncommon in books of this field, and makes this gem by Budge especially fruitful. To round out the piece is a selection of myths and legends, and an astute essay by revered Egyptologist Sidney Smith. Far reaching, intriguing, and illuminating, From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt will delight all who explore it.

A study of the remains of the native religious literature of ancient Egypt which have come down to us has revealed the fact that the belief in magic, that is to say, in the power of magical names, and spells, and enchantments, and formul , and pictures, and figures, and amulets, and in the performance of ceremonies accompanied by the utterance of words of power, to produce supernatural results.

The Book of the Cave of Treasures is a translation of a history in the Syriac language, stretching from the dawn of the Creation to the birth and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Some five and a half thousand years of human history span the narrative, with various ancient monarchs of human history depicted together with the Great Flood. The final portions narrate the arrival of Jesus Christ, and his sentence of death at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate.

Writing towards the end of his distinguished career, E. A. Wallis Budge is keen to distinguish between this text and the contents of other apocryphal works such as the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Adam and Eve. The reader will benefit from this discerning scholarship, as well as the photographic illustrations of pages of the original Ethiopic and Syriac script.

Contemporary scholars generally believe that the Cave of Treasures dates from the 7^th century, and is adapted from texts that originate from around the 5^th or 6^th centuries. It would go on to influence various Medieval-era scholarly texts, with the Book of the Bee by Solomon, Bishop of Per th Maish n notable for its derivations. Several of Solomon's translations are appended near the conclusion of this book.