For more on the Ancient Near East, visit the Ancient Civlilzations LibGuide.
The Ishtar Gate : the Processional Way : the New Year Festival of Babylon by Art Pieces & Architecture
Art and Empire by
A catalog, from two exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, that describes and illustrates the British Museum's extraordinary collection of Assyrian carved reliefs from the palaces of the Assyrian kings at Nimrud and Nineveh in northern Mesopotamia, which date from the ninth to the seventh centuries B.C. Numerous small objects provide a broader picture of life in Assyria. Includes 224 illustrations, 200 in color. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Art of the Ancient Near and Middle East by The art of the ancient Near East by The Arts of Assyria by 
The Lost Treasure Persian Art by
Housed in the Hermitage Museum along with other institutes, libraries, and museums in Russia and the republics of the former Soviet Union are some of the most magnificent treasures of Persian Art. For the most part, many of these works have been lost, but have been catalogued and published here for the first time with an unsurpassed selection of colour plates. In a comprehensive introduction, Vladimir Lukonin, Director of the Oriental Art section of the Hermitage Museum, and his colleague Anatoli Ivanov have broadly documented the major developments of Persian Art: from the first signs of civilisation on the plains of Iran around the 10thcentury BCE through the early 20th century. In the second part of the book they have catalogued Persian Art giving locations, origins, descriptions, and artist biographies where available. Persian Art demonstrates a common theme which runs through the art of the region over the past three millennia. Despite many religious and political upheavals, Persian Art whether in its architecture, sculpture, frescoes, miniatures, porcelain, fabrics, or rugs; whether in the work of the humble craftsmen or the high art of court painters displays the delicate touch and subtle refinement which has had a profound influence on art throughout the world.
Persepolis - the Archaeology of Persa, Seat of the Persian Kings by
Parsa (to its Aryan builders) or Persepolis (to contemporary Greeks) was the national and spiritual sanctuary of the Achaemenid empire that stretched from Greece into India. Nine major structures were spread over an extensive levelled stone platform. Work was undertaken by Darius I about 515BC and carried forward by his son Xerxes I. Burned by Alexander the Great in 330BC, the masses of flaming debris melted the brick walls of the structures and, along with the wind-blown sand, actually preserved the stone columns, gates, and bas-reliefs from desecration during the ensuing centuries. Archaeological excavations have been carried on for many years and have uncovered royal treasures and some 30,000 cuneiform tablets in three ancient languages. The reliefs display 3,000 human figures, including the ruler as hero-king worshipped by his people and by delegates from the twenty-four lands of the empire bearing their distinctive tributes. Parsa still remains one of the marvels of the ancient world. Aside from the scarce and unwieldy reports of the excavations, this lavishly illustrated volume is the only comprehensive account of the site and its history. And Dr Wilber solves the great mystery of the site: Standing in majesty for many centuries, why is there no evidence of human occupation?
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.
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 Archaeology of Mesopotamia by 
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.
Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia by
The ancient world of Mesopotamia (from Sumer to the subsequent division into Babylonia and Assyria) vividly comes alive in this portrayal of the time period from 3100 bce to the fall of Assyria (612 bce) and Babylon (539 bce). Readers will discover fascinating details about the lives of these people from the society where writing began--taken from the ancients' own quotations and descriptions. A wealth of information is provided on such varied topics as: education; literature; mathematics and science; city vs. country life; family life; and religion. Similarities between daily life in ancient Mesopotamia and modern-day Iraq are also discussed. Beautifully illustrated, this easy-to-use reference contains a timeline and an historical overview to aid student research.
The Epic of Gilgamesh by
Since the discovery over one hundred years ago of a body of Mesopotamian poetry preserved on clay tablets, what has come to be known as the Epic of Gilgamesh has been considered a masterpiece of ancient literature. It recounts the deeds of a hero-king of ancient Mesopotamia, following him through adventures and encounters with men and gods alike. Yet the central concerns of the Epic lie deeper than the lively and exotic storyline: they revolve around a man's eternal struggle with the limitations of human nature, and encompass the basic human feelings of loneliness, friendship, love, loss, revenge, and the fear of the oblivion of death. These themes are developed in a distinctly Mesopotamian idiom, to be sure, but with a sensitivity and intensity that touch the modern reader across the chasm of three thousand years. This translation presents the Epic to the general reader in a clear narrative.
Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia by
The Greek name Mesopotamia means 'land between the rivers.' The Romans used this term for an area that they controlled only briefly (between 115 and 117 A.D.): the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, from the south Anatolian mountains ranges to the Persian Gulf. It comprises the civilizations of Sumer and Akkad (third millennium B.C.) as well as the later Babylonian and Assyrian empires of the second and first millennium. Although the 'history' of Mesopotamia in the strict sense of the term only begins with the inscriptions of Sumerian rulers around the 27th century B.C., the foundations for Mesopotamian civilization, especially the beginnings of irrigation and the emergence of large permanent settlements, were laid much earlier, in the fifth and fourth millennium. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia defines concepts, customs, and notions peculiar to the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia, from adult adoption to ziggurats. This is accomplished through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, and hundreds of cross-reference dictionary entries on religion, economy, society, geography, and important kings and rulers.
Letters from Early Mesopotamia by 
Mesopotamia by
Our ancestors, the Mesopotamians, invented writing and with it a new way of looking at the world. In this collection of essays, the French scholar Jean Bottero attempts to go back to the moment which marks the very beginning of history.
To give the reader some sense of how Mesopotamian civilization has been mediated and interpreted in its transmission through time, Bottero begins with an account of Assyriology, the discipline devoted to the ancient culture. This transmission, compounded with countless discoveries, would not have been possible without the surprising decipherment of the cuneiform writing system. Bottero also focuses on divination in the ancient world, contending that certain modes of worship in Mesopotamia, in their application of causality and proof, prefigure the "scientific mind."
Mesopotamian Myths by
A vast legacy of powerful creative writing was revealed when nineteenth-century scholars managed to decipher the mysterious wedge-shaped symbols of cuneiform script, inscribed on clay tablets over 5,000 years ago by the ancient Mesopotamians. Strikingly familiar themes emerged, forcing the Victorian world to review its belief in the Bible as the sole source of literal truth. Imagine the impact of the Epic of Gilgameshthe saga of a man in search of the secret of eternal lifewhich includes scenes of a flood predating the story of Noah and the Ark. In contrast, an alternative version of human origins is described in the Mesopotamian Epic of Creation, while the tale of Etana foreshadows the Greek myth of Ganymede. These and other stories are here retold, based on the latest translations, and illustrated with the works of both contemporary and later artists inspired by the rediscovery of these ancient characters and themes. Not only are the myths a foundation of our Western literary tradition, they are also compelling stories in their own right.
Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and Others by
The stories translated in this volume are all of ancient Mesopotamia, and they stand alongside the Odyssey and the Arabian Nights in being popular with an international audience at the dawn of history. The selection includes not only myths about the creation and stories of the flood, but also the longest and greatest literary composition, the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the story of a heroic quest for fame and immortality, pursued by a man who has an enormous capacity for endurance and adventure, for joy and sorrow, a man of great strength who loses a unique opportunity through a moment's weakness.