Top of page

Book/Printed Material The Grand Monuments of the Ancients in the Nile Valley.

About this Item

Title

  • The Grand Monuments of the Ancients in the Nile Valley.

Summary

  • Kitāb al-athar al-jalīl li-qudamāʼ Wādī al-Nīl (The grand monuments of the ancients in the Nile Valley) is a history of ancient Egyptian civilization by Ahmad Najib, an official of the Egyptian antiquities service under the direction of Jacques de Morgan (1857-1924). Najib published the work as a textbook on orders from education minister Ya'qub Artin (1842-1919) and claimed that it was the first effort by an Egyptian to instruct his countrymen on the historical wonders of their country. The book begins with general remarks on the Nile and a sketch of the beliefs of its early inhabitants. The remainder of the work is organized around the author's rihalat 'ilmiyah (scientific expeditions) to ancient sites made in the 1880s and early 1890s. In some respects, the work resembles the travel guides of Karl Baedeker (1801-59), for example in the notation of distances between sites and the descriptions of the current condition of ancient traces. Accompanying the text are photographic plates, lists of kings, and hieroglyphic tables. Although the book is not footnoted or supplied with a bibliography, the author frequently quotes his sources and predecessors, ancient and contemporary, and often cites the French archeologist Gaston Maspero (1846-1916). The book's descriptions are often personal and its style varies between the strictly narrative and flights of rhymed prose. There is a table of contents and an index of proper names. Presented here is the first edition issued by al-Matbaʻah al-Kubra al-Amiriyah in Cairo in 1893 or 1894, which must have been rushed into print very soon after Najib's survey of antiquities in Daqhaliyah Province in Lower Egypt in 1893. A second edition or printing issued by the same press appeared in 1895.

Names

  • Najīb, Aḥmad, died approximately 1897 Author.

Created / Published

  • Cairo : al-Maṭbaʻah al-Kubrá al-Amīrīyah, [1893 to 1894]

Headings

  • -  Egypt
  • -  3150 B.C. to 30 B.C
  • -  Antiquities
  • -  Archaeological sites
  • -  Archaeology
  • -  Description and travel
  • -  Expeditions and surveys
  • -  Gods, Egyptian
  • -  Hieroglyphics
  • -  Kings and rulers
  • -  Mythology, Egyptian
  • -  Scientific surveys
  • -  Textbooks

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 348 pages ; 25 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Qatar National Library.
  • -  Content in Arabic.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666284

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Najīb, Aḥmad, Died Approximately 1897 Author. The Grand Monuments of the Ancients in the Nile Valley. [Cairo: al-Maṭbaʻah al-Kubrá al-Amīrīyah, to 1894, 1893] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666284/.

APA citation style:

Najīb, A. (1893) The Grand Monuments of the Ancients in the Nile Valley. [Cairo: al-Maṭbaʻah al-Kubrá al-Amīrīyah, to 1894] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666284/.

MLA citation style:

Najīb, Aḥmad, Died Approximately 1897 Author. The Grand Monuments of the Ancients in the Nile Valley. [Cairo: al-Maṭbaʻah al-Kubrá al-Amīrīyah, to 1894, 1893] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666284/>.