Southern Mesopotamia (c.6500-3800 BCE)
Northern Mesopotamia (c.5300-4300 BCE)
A Handbook of Ancient Religions by
Ancient civilisations exercise an intense fascination for people the world over. This Handbook provides a vivid, scholarly, and eminently readable account of ancient cultures around the world, from China to India, the Middle East, Egypt, Europe, and the Americas. It examines the development of religious belief from the time of the Palaeolithic cave paintings to the Aztecs and Incas. Covering the whole of society not just the elite, the Handbook outlines the history of the different societies so that their religion and culture can be understood in context. Each chapter includes discussion of the broad field of relevant studies alerting the reader to wider debates on each subject. An international team of scholars convey their own deep enthusiasm for their subject and provide a unique study of both popular and'official'religion in the ancient world.
A Handbook of Ancient Religions by
Ancient civilisations exercise an intense fascination for people the world over. This Handbook provides a vivid, scholarly, and eminently readable account of ancient cultures around the world, from China to India, the Middle East, Egypt, Europe, and the Americas. It examines the development of religious belief from the time of the Palaeolithic cave paintings to the Aztecs and Incas. Covering the whole of society not just the elite, the Handbook outlines the history of the different societies so that their religion and culture can be understood in context. Each chapter includes discussion of the broad field of relevant studies alerting the reader to wider debates on each subject. An international team of scholars convey their own deep enthusiasm for their subject and provide a unique study of both popular and'official'religion in the ancient world.
Sumer: Cities of Eden by 
The Royal City of Susa by
The ancient city of Susa (biblical Shushan), settled about 4000 B.C., lay at the edge of the Iranian plateau, not far from Mesopotamia. This book presents more than 200 objects found at Susa, many of them undisputed masterpieces, now in the collection of the Louvre, Paris.
Urkesh (Tell Mozan)
Kharbe
Nagar (Tell Brak)
Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur by
This stunning catalogue includes color photographs of more than 230 objects, excavated in the 1930s by renowned British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley, from the third-millennium-B.C. Sumerian city of Ur. Learn the fascinating story of the excavation and preservation of these magnificent artifacts.
Many of the objects are published in color and fully described for the first time--jewelry of gold and semiprecious stones, engraved seal stones, spectacular gold and lapis lazuli statuettes and musical instruments; and vessels of gold, silver, and alabaster. Curator Richard Zettler sets the stage with a history of Ur in the third millennium and the details of the actual excavations. Art historians Donald Hansen and Holly Pittman discuss the historical importance and significance of the many motifs on the most spectacular finds from the tombs.
The Archives of Ebla by 
Democracy's Ancient Ancestors by
Democracy's Ancient Ancestors examines the political landscape of the ancient Near East through the archive of over 3000 letters found in the royal palace of Mari. These letters display a rich diversity of political actors, encompassing major kingdoms, smaller states and various tribal towns. Mari's unique contribution to the ancient evidence is its view of tribal organization, made possible especially by the fact that its king Zimri-Lim was first of all a tribal ruler, who claimed Mari as an administrative base and source of prestige. These archaic political traditions are not essentially unlike the forms of pre-democratic Greece, and they offer fresh reason to recognize a cultural continuity between the classical world of the Aegean and the older Near East. This book bridges several areas of interest, including archaeology, ancient and classical history, early Middle and Near East, and political and social history.
The Phoenicians by
The ancient Phoenician civilization is still shrouded in mystery. Scholars question when the Phoenicians became powerful, where they came from, and how they came to be such brilliant navigators and merchants that they colonized much of the Mediterranean rim. This detailed study of the Phoenicians is filled with important essays and illustrations that trace the rise and fall, the art and customs, the trade and exploration, and the rich legacy of this fascinating culture.
Major Cities / City-states
Tyre
A Companion to Assyria by
A Companion to Assyria is a collection of original essays on ancient Assyria written by key international scholars. These new scholarly contributions have substantially reshaped contemporary understanding of society and life in this ancient civilization. The only detailed up-to-date introduction providing a scholarly overview of ancient Assyria in English within the last fifty years Original essays written and edited by a team of respected Assyriology scholars from around the world An in-depth exploration of Assyrian society and life, including the latest thought on cities, art, religion, literature, economy, and technology, and political and military history
Place
Middle Assyrian Period (c.1350-1100 BCE)
Place
People
Babylonians by
The people of ancient Mesopotamia, who settled in the 'fertile crescent' between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers before the fourth millennium BC, laid the foundations of Western civilization. Some of the earliest experiments in agriculture and irrigation, the invention of writing, the birth of mathematics and the development of urban life began there. Many fundamental developments in human society - from hunter-gatherer to farmer, from village to city-state - first occurred in this area. Biblical associations also are numerous, from Nineveh to the Tower of Babel and the Flood.
Professor H. W. F. Saggs describes the ebb and flow in the successive fortunes of the Sumerians, Akkadians, Amorites and Babylonians. Using evidence from pottery, cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, early architecture and metallurgy, he illuminates the myths, religion, languages, trade, politics and warfare, as well as the legacy, of the Babylonians and their predecessors.
Place
People
King Hammurabi of Babylon by
This is the first biography in English of King Hammurabi, who ruled Babylon from 1792 to 1750 BC and presents a rounded view of his accomplishments. Describes how Hammurabi dealt with powerful rivals and extended his kingdom. Draws on the King's own writings and on diplomatic correspondence that has only recently become available. Explores the administration of the kingdom and the legacies of his rule, especially his legal code. Demonstrates how Hammurabi's conquests irrevocably changed the political organization of the Near East, so that he was long remembered as one of the great kings of the past. Written to be accessible to a general audience.
Middle Babylonian Period (c.1400-1100 BCE)
Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times by
Covering the time span from the Paleolithic period to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the eminent Egyptologist Donald Redford explores three thousand years of uninterrupted contact between Egypt and Western Asia across the Sinai land-bridge. In the vivid and lucid style that we expect from the author of the popular Akhenaten , Redford presents a sweeping narrative of the love-hate relationship between the peoples of ancient Israel/Palestine and Egypt.
Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? by
Dever (Near Eastern archaeology, University of Arizona) explores controversies regarding the true nature of ancient Israel and presents the archaeological evidence for assessing the accuracy of biblical narratives. He posits that the ancestors of the Israelite peoples were most likely Canaanites who
Kingdom of the Hittites by
In the 14th century BC the Hittites became the supreme political and military power in the Near East. How did they achieve their supremacy? How successful were they in maintaining it? What brought about their collapse and disappearance? This comprehensive history of the Hittite kingdom, featuring numerous translations from the original texts, seeks to answer these questions. The revised edition contains a substantial amount of new material, taking account of important recent advances in Hittite scholarship. - ;In the 14th century BC the Hittites became the supreme political and military power in the Near East. How did they achieve their supremacy? How successful were they in maintaining it? What brought about their collapse and disappearance? This comprehensive history of the Hittite kingdom seeks to answer these questions. It takes account of important recent advances in Hittite scholarship, including some major archaeological discoveries made in the last few years. It also features numerous translations from the original texts, so that on many issues the ancient Hittites are given the opportunity to speak to the modern reader for themselves. The revised edition contains a substantial amount of new material, as well as numerous other revisions to the first edition. - ;...the standard treatment in English of the history of the Hittites...clear enough to be read with interest and profit by anyone interested in Ancient History but also written with the care and respect for varying opinions that any specialist might demand...I would urge all to read it...as a fine example of work from a specialist who can write in a clear and interesting way. - Noel Weeks Ancient History: Resources for Teachers;substantial and compehensive ... This is a serious work of scholarship and fundamental to study of the Hittites; its updating can only be welcomed. - Christopher Burnand and Katherine Clarke, Greece and Rome;the standard comprehensive description of Hittite political history in English...provides a well-informed and very balanced picture of current research...highly readable - Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Volume 70/1;...an indispensable handbook for Hittite history...this reviewer heartily recommends the revised edition of the Kingdom of the Hittites. By incorporating and discussing a vast corpus of new material, Bryce has provided the field with a useful and up-to-date tool, while the book has lost none of its original quality and it still reads like a captivating novel. - Bibliotheca Orientalis
Hittles by
The Hittites were an Indo-European speaking people who established a kingdom in Anatolia (modern Turkey) almost 4,000 years ago. They rose to become one of the greatest powers of the Ancient Middle Eastern world by conquering Babylon and challenging the power of the Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II at the battle of Quadesh. They themselves were destroyed in the wake of movements of the enigmatic Sea peoples around 1180 BC. This study investigates the origins of the Hittites, the sources of the metals that were so vital to their success and their relationship with contemporaries in the Aegean world, the Trojans and the Mycenaean Greeks. It includes descriptions of excavations, particularly at the temples and great defensive ramparts of the Hittite capital at Hattusas.
Place
The History of Ancient Palestine by
In this magisterial work the history of the peoples of Palestine from the earliest times to Alexander's conquest is thoroughly sifted and interpreted. All available source materialtextural, epigraphic, and archeologicalis considered, and the approach taken aims at a dispassionate reconstruction of the major epochs and events by the analysis of social, political, military, and economic phenomena.
People
The Rise and Fall of the Ancient Israelite States by
By subjecting biblical writings to a political analysis, Sicker constructs a plausible political history of the ancient Israelite states that dealt with virtually every issue faced by governments throughout subsequent history. As he makes clear, the way they dealt with those issues, successfully or otherwise, is highly instructive and relevant to today's analysis of geopolitical issues. Our knowledge of the political history of ancient Israel is almost exclusively dependent on the information that may be gleaned from biblical writings, which reflect a historiosophical perspective very different from that employed in modern historical writing. Nonetheless and despite all the problems encountered in dealing with the biblical texts, the history of the ancient Israelite states that can be derived from them has much to offer a student of politics. Instead of the critical literary analysis common to contemporary biblical studies, Sicker constructs a plausible political history of the ancient Israelite states that takes into consideration the geopolitical realities that directly conditioned much of that history as well as the religious dimensions of Israelite political culture that played a critical role in it. He demonstrates that the ancient Israelite states were confronted by virtually every political dilemma, domestic and international, encountered by states and governments throughout the subsequent history of the world. The way they dealt with the issues, successfully or otherwise, is highly instructive and relevant to the complex issues faced by states and governments today.
The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Ancient Israel by
The Companion to Ancient Israel offers an innovative overview of ancient Israelite culture and history, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields. Distinguished scholars provide original contributions that explore the tradition in all its complexity, multiplicity and diversity. A methodologically sophisticated overview of ancient Israelite culture that provides insights into political and social history, culture, and methodology Explores what we can say about the cultures and history of the people of Israel and Judah, but also investigates how we know what we know Presents fresh insights, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields Delves into 'religion as lived,' an approach that asks about the everyday lives of ordinary people and the material cultures that they construct and experience Each essay is an original contribution to the subject
People
People
Persians by
Readers assume the role of archaeologists, uncovering secrets of ancient civilizations. Stunning photographs and illustrations, plus detailed cutaways, maps and diagrams.
The Persian Empire by
Traces the history of the Persian Empire and examines the development of its religious beliefs, armed forces, art, and architecture.
People
People
Alexander the Great by
Everything we know about Alexander comes from ancient sources, which agree unanimously that he was extraordinary and greater than everyday mortals. From his birth into a hypercompetitive world of royal women through his training under the eyes and fists of stern soldiers and the piercing intellect of Aristotle; through friendships, rivalries, conquests and negotiations; through acts of generosity and acts of murder, this book explains who Alexander was, what motivated him, where he succeeded (in his own eyes) and where he failed, and how he believed that he earned a new 'mixed' nature combining the human and the divine. This book explains what made Alexander 'Great' according to the people and expectations of his time and place and rejects modern judgments asserted on the basis of an implicit moral superiority to antiquity.
Alexander the Great by 
The Genius of Alexander the Great by
N. G. L. Hammond, the foremost expert on ancient Macedonian history, here presents a new account of Alexander's fabled career. Based on a thorough analysis of the ancient sources and enriched by a lifetime of research, Hammond's narrative pronounces the Macedonian conqueror a man truly deserving of the title Alexander the Great.
Conquest and Empire by
This book is an exploration of the process and consequences of the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon (who reigned from 336 to 323 BC), focusing on the effect of his monarchy upon the world of his day. A detailed running narrative of the actual campaigns from the Danube to the Indus is complemented and enlarged upon by thematic studies on the reaction in Greece to Macedonian suzerainty, the administration of the empire, the evolution of the Macedonian army and its role as the instrument of conquest, and on the origins of the ruler cult.
People
People
Sacrificing Truth by
In this fascinating volume, Ben-Yehuda (Hebrew Univ.) argues that a nationalistic agenda provided the primary motivation for Yigael Yadin's excavations at Masada and significantly impacted Yadin's interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Ben-Yehuda begins with a discussion of the Masada narrative, showing that the well-known heroic story diverges in many ways from the historical account provided by Josephus, which is much less sympathetic to Masada's defenders. Using various primary sources in this thoroughly documented and well-written book, Ben-Yehuda documents how Yadin's choices between alternative interpretations of the evidence were often based not on scientific criteria, but on how well each interpretation supported the heroic Masada narrative. He also discusses several cases where Yadin overlooked or misrepresented evidence that did not fit the heroic account, attributing this to Yadin's ideological commitment to the heroic Masada story because of its role as a national symbol in the creation of the modern state of Israel. Ben-Yehuda concludes by situating his analysis in the broader context of the study of the social construction of knowledge in archaeology and science as a whole. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. W. Kotter Weber State University