The Emperors' Needles: Egyptian Obelisks and Rome

The obelisks of Egypt adorned the Nile's banks and proclaimed the splendour of the pharaohs over 1,000 years before the rise of the Roman Empire. These monumental images so impressed the Emperor Augustus when he annexed Egypt in 30 BC that he set about transporting them to Rome, the seat of his burgeoning empire, to lend his rule an appearance of divine sanction.

Today, those Egyptian obelisks that are still standing are scattered across the world in Italy, Egypt, England, France, the USA and Israel. Rome, with thirteen, boasts more than anywhere else — including Egypt itself.

The Emperors' Needles is a general guide to the obelisks that have found their way to the four corners of the earth. It is also the first major work to link the two great civilizations of Egypt and Rome through the eccentric preoccupation shown by the Roman emperors for these monuments. The book discusses each obelisk in detail and traces individual histories and anecdotes concerning their journeys from Egypt.