Wilbur Smith · 2014 · global

Wilbur Smith's 2014 novel of ancient Egypt, narrated by the slave Taita. To break the Hyksos who hold the north, Taita devises a grand alliance with Babylon and Crete, escorting two royal princesses to their marriages. Barred from the direct road, his expedition runs up the Nile, across the Red Sea and the deserts of Arabia to Babylon, then over the open sea to the Minoan court at Knossos.

1. 1
   Thebes

   From Thebes, Pharaoh Tamose rules a divided Egypt, hemmed in by the Hyksos who hold the north. His advisor Taita conceives a plan: forge alliances with Babylon and Crete, sealed by the marriages of the royal princesses.

2. 2
   Arabia

   Barred from the direct road, the expedition strikes east to the Red Sea and crosses into the deserts of Arabia - a passage of thirst and raiders, where a princess is seized by brigands and won back by force.

3. 3
   Babylon

   In the magical city of Babylon, Taita treats with King Nimrod to bind Mesopotamia into his grand alliance against the Hyksos, gathering strength and a Minoan escort for the last and most perilous stage of the journey.

4. 4
   Sidon

   The caravan crosses the deserts to the Phoenician coast at Sidon, where ships wait to carry the Egyptian embassy and its precious royal cargo out onto the open waters of the Mediterranean.

5. 5
   Knossos

   After a perilous voyage across the sea, Taita and the princesses reach Knossos on Crete, the glittering, sinister heart of the Minoan world, to seal the alliance with the Supreme Minos on whom Egypt's survival now depends.