Kindle Price: $11.99

Save $6.00 (33%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Nicky Nielsen
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Pharaoh Seti I: Father of Egyptian Greatness Kindle Edition

by Nicky Nielsen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 32 ratings
See all formats and editions
This authoritative biography examines the life and times of the transformative Egyptian ruler and father of Ramesses the Great.

Pharaoh Seti I ruled Egypt for only eleven years, from 1290 to 1279 BC, but his reign marked a revival of Egyptian military and economic power, as well as advances in cultural and religious life. Born the son of a military officer in northern Egypt, Seti grew up far from the halls of power in Memphis and Thebes. But when Horemheb, the last king of the 18th Dynasty, died without an heir, Seti’s father was named king. He ruled for only two years before dying of old age, leaving Seti in charge of an ailing superpower.

Seti set about rebuilding Egypt after a century of dynastic struggles and religious unrest. He reasserted Egypt’s might with a series of campaigns across the Levant, Libya and Nubia. He dispatched expeditions to mine for copper, gold, and quarry for stone in the deserts, laying the foundations for one of the most ambitious building projects of any Egyptian Pharaoh. His actions allowed his son, Ramesses the Great to rule in relative peace and stability for sixty-nine years, building on the legacy of his father.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    213 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Pen & Sword History
  5. Publication date
    September 30, 2018
  6. File size
    7972 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr Nicky Nielsen obtained a BA in Egyptian Archaeology before progressing to his Masters and PhD in Egyptology at Liverpool University. He is now a Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, as well as Honorary Fellow at the University of Liverpool and Field Director of the Tell Nabasha archaeological excavation in northeastern Egypt. He has published a number of academic papers as well as articles in popular magazines in the UK, USA and his native Denmark, on topics spanning Egyptology, Roman history, British naval history and Viking culture.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07JPD1NXF
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pen & Sword History (September 30, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 30, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7972 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 213 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 32 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Nicky Nielsen

Nicky Nielsen

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Dr Nicky Nielsen obtained a BA in Egyptian Archaeology before progressing to his Masters and PhD in Egyptology at Liverpool University. He is now a Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Manchester, as well as Honorary Fellow at the University of Liverpool and Field Director of the Tell Nabasha archaeological excavation in northeastern Egypt. He has published a number of academic papers as well as articles in popular magazines in the UK, USA and his native Denmark, on topics spanning Egyptology, Roman history, British naval history and Viking culture.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
32 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kinga
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite pharaoh
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2024
Verified Purchase
Thank you for this book !!! Great read greatly researched!! Thank you again
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Mirabai
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2023
Verified Purchase
Well written and interesting.
Helpful
 Report
deborah
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth the money.
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2020
Verified Purchase
I like the color.
Helpful
 Report
P. A. Polocko
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
Great read. Great introduction and precursor to SETI 1.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
This book covers a lot of information.
Helpful
 Report
Marjorie Vernelle
5.0 out of 5 stars A Welcome Addition and Good Read.
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2022
It hurts when you can't find good books on your favorite Pharaoh. Though so much is written about Rameses II, little has been done about his father, Seti, who laid the foundation for much of the former's success. I agree with the criticism about the Setting the Stage chapter being a needless general overview of Ancient Egyptian history. It would be much better to look in more detail at the immediate background to Seti taking the throne, the reaction to Amarna and Akhenaten. However this book, gives details about the successful military campaigns that opened trade routes that were necessary to restoring prosperity to the country, the building projects that have some of Ancient Egypt's best art work, and the people who managed the kingdom under the Pharaoh's supervision, as well as the ones who cut the granite, made the tombs, and the temples. Nielsen gives documented details right down to things said by Seti I as he traveled the country supervising its rebuilding, gaining the hesistant acceptance of this non-royal as the pharaoh, and laying the foundation for his dynasty's continued success. The first line of the Preface says it best, "Seti, son of Paramessu, was a remarkable man." Nielsen helps that fact to become known.
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Dr. Egypt
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent introduction for the interested layperson
Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2019
Verified Purchase
Nielson's volume on Sety I sets out to mark this pharaoh as one of the 'greats' of Egyptian New Kingdom history. This book is very directed at the interested layperson and academics may find it a bit wanting (a fact that the author notes in the preface).

I was a little surprised that the first chapter "setting the scene" basically goes over the entirety of ancient Egyptian history (starting in the Lower Paleolithic to the start of the 18th Dynasty). However, upon reflection, I can tell this is a demand from the publisher that the author include this context. Nielsen is undoubtedly familiar with the context of the New Kingdom and illustrates the main points of Sety I but the inclusion of Egyptian history this far back serves no one (it's much too brief, written in detail elsewhere, and doesn't connect well with the rest of the book). It would have been far more appropriate to go over New Kingdom history in relation with conquests and tomb building. There is some New Kingdom history taken up in the following chapter but, again, I found this to be a bit meandering as some of the topics are expanded upon but, if one is familiar with ancient Egyptian history, these topics are well-known and do not need to be repeated. It appears that an editor was constantly asking Nielsen to write a basic introduction book while the author was attempting to write about this particular ruler.

Despite this, Nielsen does a decent job of describing this king's accomplishments to the uninitiated. However, there are two tangents that I found irritating: the prolonged description of the life of Belzonni and the background of Omm Sety. Nielsen devotes more time and effort to these than to some topics that warrant further review (that is to say that the reader would have benefited from a longer explanation of warfare and its political ramifications prior to the Battle of Qadesh). There are points where Nielsen seems to have tapped into the mindset of the New Kingdom ancient Egyptians for the reader (describing the landscape and the daily chores workers had to occupy themselves with) - these sections are notable but they are too few in number. Considering this is his first general book for the public, I hope that further books from Nielsen are more directed towards this style of writing rather than trying to wedge in heavy academic material. Similarly, there seems a penchant of the author to incorporate the role of women in ancient Egyptian society - commendable in itself but not necessarily in this type of book (and especially in the 19th Dynasty).

An issue I found numerous times with this book is the lack of illustrations and images. Often, Nielsen has to describe a statue, tomb or temple scene without referring to an illustration (this is particularly important in Chapter 3 which follows the conquests of Sety I without showing the Karnak battle scenes or in Chapter 6 when the author describes Sety I's tomb in the Valley of the Kings). Instead, he has to refer to publications that are either very academic or had such a short print-run that the reader must require an extensive Egyptological library nearby to fully comprehend a scene or item's significance. This is not as problem with the author but rather the publisher has, most likely, limited the number of images that could be used (this issue of the publisher also extends to: the use of endnotes instead of footnotes, all the line drawings are at the front of the book instead of where they would be needed in the text, the plates are not numbered nor referenced in the text, etc.). This level of low-effort typesetting is glaring and the publisher should have the reader's scorn. As a result, the interested layperson will feel they don't quite have the full picture of Sety I and his historical impact.

Regardless, this book is a decent introduction to Sety I and I would recommend it to those who have a bit of understanding of ancient Egyptian history.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report