The book under review is a “history from below” (p. 1) of one ancient Egyptian province. For this micro-historical approach, which is rare in Egyptology, the author chooses one of the best documented areas in Egyptian archaeology—the Cobra province (Wadjet). Grajetzki's work extends from the Badarian (after 4500 BC) to the end of the Second Intermediate Period (1500 BC), and draws on evidence from the cemeteries of Qau, the most important cemeteries in the province, along with written sources, both local and regional, to reconstruct the history of the Wadjet nome (a ‘nome’ being a conglomeration of small villages, with a central town).

The book is divided into two sections, the first comprising the introduction and Chapter 1, which contextualise the history of research on the Wadjet province and outline the importance of the nome, stressing its ancient economic resources, as well as resources for modern research in both history and archaeology. The second section (Chapters 2–6) outlines a social history of the Cobra province. The introduction specifies Grajetzki's methodological approach; in writing a ‘history from below’, the author seeks to highlight the perspective of the working population rather than that of the ruling class, and takes a Marxist approach to achieve this. Consequently, the book has a focus on social relations and modes of production (according to Grajetzki, a “tributary mode of production”, p. 12). The introduction also reflects on the many important theoretical aspects affecting historical research in this discipline: namely, the appearance of the concept of a class system in ancient Egyptian society (the study of which privileges the middle class) that has arisen with neoliberalism, and the impact of the author's own background (the economic and political context of the author's country of residence) on the interpretation of the social and political structure of the Cobra province. These factors are rarely addressed in Egyptology, but they are ubiquitous in historiography from the Classical authors onwards. Grajetzki highlights the work of Soviet Egyptologist Oleg Berlev, one of the most renowned social historians among Egyptologists, as an example. Grajetzki reflects on the conclusions published by Berlev (e.g. Reference Berlev1972) in his seminal works regarding individuals referred to as ‘bak’ and ‘hem-niswt’, often translated as ‘slave’, ‘servant’, ‘king's servant’ or ‘king's slave’). That Berlev concluded the Egyptian working population were serfs under state control as well as under the control of individuals can be seen to “reflect the experience of Russia under the Tsars” as “especially under the Tsars a significant percentage of the Russian population lived as serfs” (p. 5).

Whether or not Berlev implied the system of Tsarist Russia in his reconstruction of the social system of Middle Kingdom Egypt, the burden of Soviet communistic ideology and ‘correctness’ in writing is certainly something that Soviet authors needed to consider if they wanted their work published and, more generally, to survive under the regime. The sharply bipartite system ‘allowed’ by Soviet doctrine for any ancient society recognised a cruel class of slave holders and a suffering class of slaves; nothing in between was permitted.

The social relations of the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods are briefly outlined in Chapter 2. The earliest human remains in the Wadjet nome belong to the Badarian Culture (c. 4400 BC). As the dating of Early Dynastic burials is problematic in the Cobra province, and Early Dynastic settlements are not excavated at Qau and Badari, the author outlines the social and historical context of the given periods based on the analogies from other sites (Elephantine, Abydos, Memphis).

Chapters 3–6 present the historical periods of the Wadjet nome, beginning with the Old Kingdom and ending with the Second Intermediate Period. Although little is known about the working population at Wadjet during the Old Kingdom, especially in contrast to the evidence from the tombs of local dignitaries built at Hemamieh, Grajetzki rightly highlights the importance of a Gebelein papyrus preserving important data for the reconstruction of the local bureaucracy, and providing a glimpse into the structure of local estates and their interactions with the local population. Another important feature of the province is that the First Intermediate Period, frequently characterised in Egyptology as a time of decline (often through authors’ recourse to existing models rather than based on the available data), is not represented by any significant break in archaeological records (including the tombs of local governors and written sources). On the contrary, as Grajetzki reveals, burials of the wider population, during the First Intermediate Period, were better equipped than ever before or after. On the other hand, the status of their occupants, as well as the social structures in the province, remains obscure.

With the ascent of the Middle Kingdom, a new chapter in the history of the Wadjet nome began, marked by the construction of monumental tombs of local governors at Qau (the largest private tombs of the Middle Kingdom). Grajetzki suggests a putative social structure of the Wadjet nome following important national changes to the Middle Kingdom state, including an expansive and imperialist policy towards Nubia, reorganising the country into administrative units as a process of centralisation etc. By comparing the Wadjet nome with sites that preserve more data from the period, Grajetzki finds that there is a marked dearth of ordinary burials representing the working population and that it is difficult to identify a middle class in either the archaeological or written sources. After 1550 BC, a ‘history from below’ for the Wadjet nome becomes impossible to pursue due to the paucity of sources.

Grajetzki brings to this volume a wealth of previous research expertise: aspects of female burials; changes in burial customs; prosopographic evidence; the rise of local governors and their position between the local populace and central government; the issue of corvée labour; and specific titles such as ‘overseer of the marshland dwellers’ and what can be understood of the social background of individuals who held these titles. The author's profound knowledge of ancient Egyptian society allows detailed and nuanced analysis and encourages further discussion.

The volume includes an appendix listing people from the Wadjet province, an index of names and places, maps and illustrations (the quality of which could stand improvement) and an extensive bibliography. Grajetzki's study is a wonderful example of how applying new perspectives to well-known sources (both archaeological and written) can prove fruitful. It is accessible, intellectually stimulating and highly relevant. There is no doubt that The people of the Cobra province in Egypt will provoke scholarly debate. This book is an important contribution to scholarly discourse on the social history of Ancient Egypt.