Showing posts with label assyria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label assyria. Show all posts

An Introduction to the Ancient World Review

An Introduction to the Ancient World
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This book is a great introduction to the History of the Fertile Crescent, Greece, and Rome. Needless to say, the Romans get the most attention, but the coverage is good all around (Rome lasted longer anyway, right?). The translation into English is clear and, interestingly, flows well; you wouldn't know the book was originally in Dutch unless you read it in the copyright section. This is the text for the Greco-Roman civilization class I took at FSU, and most of the students in there paid like a hundred and twenty dollars for the hardcover edition. Can't say it's that great but buy this paperback if you would like a primer in Ancient History.

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Integrating the results of scholarly work from the past decade, the authors of An Introduction to the Ancient World, Lukas de Blois and R.J. van der Spek, have fully-updated and revised all sixteen chapters of this best-selling introductory textbook. Covering the history and culture of the ancient Near East, Greece and Rome within the framework of a short narrative history of events, this bookoffers an easily readable, integrated overview for students of history, classics, archaeology and philosophy, whether at college, at undergraduate level or among the wider reading public. This revised second edition offers a new section on early Christianity and more specific information on the religions, economies, and societies of the ancient Near East. There is extended coverage of Greek, Macedonian and Near Eastern history of the fourth to second centuries BC and the history of the Late Roman Republic. The consequences of Julius Caesar's violent death are covered in more detail, as are the history and society of Imperial Rome.Thisnew edition is:comprehensive: covers 3,000 years of ancient history and provides the basis for a typical one-semester course lavishly illustrated: contains maps, line drawings and plates to support and supplement the text, with updated captions clearly and concisely written: two established and respected university teachers with thirty years' experience in the subject areas well-organized: traces the broad outline of political history but also concentrates on particular topics user-friendly: includes chapter menus, an extensive and expanded bibliography organized by subject area and three appendices, an improved introduction and the addition of an epilogue.

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The Kingdom of Armenia: New Edition (Caucasus World) Review

The Kingdom of Armenia: New Edition (Caucasus World)
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Of all the concise English-language books that I have read on the ancient and medieval history of Armenia, none have come close to match Mack Chahin's eloquent style of writing, research, and attention to detail in his "Kingdom of Armenia." Chahin is clearly aware that the majority of Western scholars have often dismissed Armenia as just another minor vassal state, straddling on its borders much more larger, and far more interesting apparently, powers, such as Assyria, Rome, Greece, Byzantium, and the Arabs.
It is precisely this notion that Chahin attempts to dispel, as he documents the rich cultural, political, and social characteristics of Armenia, beginning from the ancient Kingdom of Urartu. The fact that Chahin chose to start from here (circa 1300 BC) is significant enough, considering that many scholars choose to ignore Armenian history until the late medieval era (circa 900 AD), when the Bagratuni Kingdom was established. And yet, he devotes roughly 2/3 of the book to Urartian history, richly describing the cultural and political legacy it left behind and showing that, far from being a weak state subject to the whims of the Assyrians, it always provided to be a thorn in the soft northern belly of Assyria, and, at certain points in its history, as well as its regional equal.
There were only a few faults I found in this book: I was a little distressed of how Chahin broached the topic of the transition from Urartian to Armenian rule. Chahin takes the word of ancient historians, most notably Herodotus, at face value, and concludes that the Armenian people must have been colonists from Europe. This may be easier to forgive since new studies proving that Armenians were original inhabitants of the region only came to light in the 1980s, and that this book was published only in 1987. Chahin could have also devoted more space to the other kingdoms of Armenia; i.e., the Yervanduni, the Artashesyan, the Arshakuni, the Bagratuni, and the Cilician kingdoms. In the grand scheme of things, 230 pages on the Urartian kingdom seems significant, but it falls somewhat short when 1500 years of history is summarized in a space of only 90 pages. Nevertheless, it's an engaging read and a great introductory tome on the little known kingdoms that were founded in the Armenian highlands.

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While the majority of contemporary works on Armenia concentrate on the modern era, The Kingdom of Armenia takes its beginning in the third century BC, with the ancient literate peoples of Mesopotamia who had commercial interests in the land of Armenia, and continues with a comprehensive overview through to the end of the Middle Ages.

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The Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of Ramesses II Review

The Eastern Mediterranean in the Age of Ramesses II
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This was the required reading for an adult enrichment course in ancient history. For students familiar with Egyptian history, this book opens up the Mediterranean world, and deals with the interrelationships with other "states" or "empires". Many of the names, such as: Elam, Hatti, Ugarit, Hurrians, and Hittites, will be unfamiliar to a casual reader, but the author builds an interesting story of trade, shared literature, and cultures interacting in ways other than warfare.

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Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China: The 'Zhou Bi Suan Jing' (Needham Research Institute Studies) Review

Astronomy and Mathematics in Ancient China: The 'Zhou Bi Suan Jing' (Needham Research Institute Studies)
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Don't let the title fool you. This is not just about China, this is about the human condition. Someone with an imagination should have worked on the title and given it a bit more excitement. I almost skipped reading the book because the title seemed so dry.
I read this book twice and will probably read it, again. The author's presentation is simply masterful. Step by step, he recreates the setting and background for the book's creation and utilization. In fact, he walks the reader through about 2000 years of 'uses' that people found for the book. According to Cullen, this classic was probably a gift to a Chinese emperor and then dumped in a back room for 200 years. It was only when political circumstances changed and an 'old' book might be valuable that it was 'rediscovered' and rendered useful.
For anyone interested in the practice of ancient astronomy, Cullen goes into great detail on the tools and practice of Chinese astronomers from about 3000 BC to the arrival of Jesuits in 1600. For anyone interested in Chinese political history, Cullen explores imperial Chinese history in a way that simply makes one want to read much, much more. For anyone interested in ancient Chinese record keeping, Cullen offers practical advice on what to make of the 'documents' we moderns discover.
I hope they make this a paperback so that it can get wider circulation. What is commonly called 'the history of math' is often embarrassingly western (ethno-centric). This book offers a means of correcting that unfortunate state of affairs.

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In the World of Sumer: An Autobiography Review

In the World of Sumer: An Autobiography
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This is the autobiography of Samuel Noah Kramer, who for many years was a leading authority on the reading and interpretation of Sumerian literature. This literature, consisting of myths, epics, proverbs, lamentations, love poetry, and more, was written in cuneiform on clay tablets roughly 4000 years ago. Thousands of tablets, often broken, often at least partly illegible, were uncovered at various archeological sites in Iraq in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
How does one come to be an expert in cuneiform and Sumerian literature? Kramer was born in 1897 in Ukraine. Fearing anti-Jewish persecution, his family moved to Philadelphia when he was eight, where his father established a Hebrew school. After graduating from high school and obtaining a bachelor's degree, Kramer taught in his father's school, tried and failed to become a writer, tried and failed in business, and was approaching 30 without a career. "Finally it came to me that I might well go back to my beginnings and try to utilize the Hebrew learning on which I had spent so much of my youth, and relate it in some way to an academic future." Thus, he enrolled in the Dropsie College of Philadelphia for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, where he became passionately interested in Egyptology. He then enrolled in the Oriental Studies Department of the University of Pennsylvania. There he decided to work with "the brilliant young Ephraim Avigdor Speiser, who was to become one of the world's leading figures in Near Eastern Studies." Since Speiser was at that time interested in cuneiform tablets dating from about 1300 BC, Kramer began his life-long studies in cuneiform.
The book details his remarkable career, from his Ph.D. in 1929, through his retirement in 1968, to his very active post-retirement years and the writing of this autobiography in 1986. He writes in a straightforward non-technical manner, but with obvious enthusiasm. We learn not only about him, but also about the Sumerian literature which clearly enthralled him and which he wrote about for specialist and non-specialist alike. He sums up his accomplishments as follows: "First, and most important, is the role I played in the recovery, restoration, and resurrection of Sumerian literature, or at least of a representative cross section...Through my efforts several thousand Sumerian literary tablets and fragments have been made available to cuneiformists, a basic reservoir of unadulterated data that will endure for many decades to come. Second, I endeavored...to make available reasonably reliable translations of many of these documents to the academic community, and especially to the anthropologist, historian, and humanist. Third, I have helped to spread the name of Sumer to the world at large, and to make people aware of the crucial role the Sumerians played in the ascent of civilized man."
Samuel Noah Kramer died in 1990. I finished the book thinking that it would have been wonderful to know this man.

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Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature (Oriental Institute Essays) Review

Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature (Oriental Institute Essays)
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Although now somewhat outdated in certain aspects of interpretation, this book surely will remain as one the pillars for the study of ancient Egyptian religion, and, in fact, is one of the never-absent bibliographic references. I do not agree in toto with Frankfort's ideas about several subjects, but I must confess that it is one of the most interesting studies that I ever read about the matter. There are many thought-provoking ideas! Buy it, read it, learn from it. Both for the learned and the newcomer!

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This classic study clearly establishes a fundamental difference in viewpoint between the peoples of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. By examining the forms of kingship which evolved in the two countries, Frankfort discovered that beneath resemblances fostered by similar cultural growth and geographical location lay differences based partly upon the natural conditions under which each society developed. The river flood which annually renewed life in the Nile Valley gave Egyptians a cheerful confidence in the permanence of established things and faith in life after death. Their Mesopotamian contemporaries, however, viewed anxiously the harsh, hostile workings of nature. Frank's superb work, first published in 1948 and now supplemented with a preface by Samuel Noah Kramer, demonstrates how the Egyptian and Mesopotamian attitudes toward nature related to their concept of kingship. In both countries the people regarded the king as their mediator with the gods, but in Mesopotamia the king was only the foremost citizen, while in Egypt the ruler was a divine descendant of the gods and the earthly representative of the God Horus.

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The Ancient Assyrians (Elite) Review

The Ancient Assyrians (Elite)
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Healy's book gives a quick review of the Assyria Empire from start to finish in a mere 64 pages. However its shortness is made up by the wonderful photos (12 in color) and diagrams presented in the book. One unusaul aspect of this book is there is no table of contents, index, or biblography. It's almost written like a research paper that was converted into a published book. Nevertheless the purchase price is well worth the money.

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For the greater part of the period from the end of the 10th century to the 7th century BC, the Ancient Near East was dominated by the dynamic military power of Assyria. At the zenith of its rule Assyria could lay claim to an empire that stretched from Egypt in the west to the borders of Iran in the east and encompassed for the first time in history, within the realm of a single imperial domain, the whole of the 'Fertile Crescent'. Mark Healy, covers the history of the Assyrians from their ancient beginnings to the eventual fall of the city of Nineveh.

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Science in Ancient Mesopotamia Review

Science in Ancient Mesopotamia
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The editorial review of this series from School Library Journal is wrong. The new editions of these books do not "expand greatly" on the original 1988 editions; they greatly contract. The 1988 edition of the books on Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia had eight chapters and 92 pages. This new edition gives them only only six chapters and 64 pages, and the word count per page is reduced. Indeed color pictures and illustrations were added and the glossary expanded, but the text is reduced to about two thirds of the original. Students are better off reading the original editions in the Watts "First Book" series.

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Describes the enormous accomplishments of the Sumerians and Babylonians of ancient Mesopotamia in every scientific area, a heritage which affects our own everyday lives.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Ancient Armies of the Middle East (Men-at-Arms) Review

Ancient Armies of the Middle East (Men-at-Arms)
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Covering 2500 years and a fair chunk of real estate in 40 pages, this volume of the normally quite nice Osprey Military books is only recomendable for the Angus McBride art. It concentrates on the better known states, when the limited size would have done well for a study some of the lesser known states and left the Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians and such for their own volumes. However, it does have a nice integrated timeline, and the aforementioned wonderful Angus McBride art.

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This text by Terence Wise explores some of the fascinating peoples who comprised the ancient armies of the Middle East: the Sumerians, who were the first to introduce the use of bronze into warfare, and were centuries ahead of the Egyptians in the use of the wheel – The Akkadians, whose citizen army was composed almost entirely of light troops – The Babylonians, whose people were granted land in return for army service – the horned warriors of the Elamites – the Egyptians, with thier heavy spearmen and archers – the tribal and warlike Libyans – Nubians and Ethiopians – Hyksos – the armies of the Hittite Empire – the Sea People and others.

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Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement Review

Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament with Supplement
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Prichard's ANET is a standard reference for those examining the cultural setting of the Bible. It contains translations of many important inscriptions which shed light on otherwise mysterious Bible customs.
Generally regarded as a scholarly work, it's worth checking out for the layperson as well. Some of the jargon may be a little tricky, but there's no substitute for original source material, which makes up the majority of the book. Besides, some of the stories are just a plain old (very old) good read.
Included are such things as the Epic of Gilgamesh (containing our oldest Flood parallels), the Nuzi Texts (which help us understand the life of Jacob, among others), and various of the ancient law codes which have parallels to the biblical code.
Tremendously useful for study!

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Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia Review

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
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If you're interested in ancient Mesopotamian civilization, you'll probably love this book. It's full of fascinating information about the day-to-day lives of the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians. Chapters include such topics as Love and Sex, Women's Rights, Food and Cuisine, the Law, Religion, and so on. The book is written mostly by Bottero, but there are also several other scholars who contribute some of the chapters. Most are well written and not too technical or difficult to read, and as I said, full of lots of interesting and intriguing information and facts.
The ancient Mesopotamians come across as practical, no-nonsense people who, in contrast to the ancient Egyptians, weren't especially religious and believed in living life in the here and now as best one could. Although they did have a religion, it was mostly for propitiating various gods and deities who they hoped would bestow their blessings on them in their personal or public affairs. There was a concept of the afterlife, but it was basically a dark, dingy, netherworld where not much happened, it seems, and they regarded the present life as far preferable to it.
A good example of their practical approach to affairs is that marriage was a simple contract without much ceremony. Women could marry who they wanted and could divorce much as men could, although adultery was tolerated much less for women than for men. A surprising fact is how extensive their food and cuisine was. According to the writer of the chapter, the Sumerians knew how to make hundreds of different types of breads, soups, beer, and other dishes, depending on the ingredients and how they were prepared.
Overall, a fine book and addition to the practical history and understanding of the ancient Mesopotamians.

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Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean Review

Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean
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Charles Freeman's work, Egypt, Greece and Rome, is a long and ambitious work, intended as an undergraduate introductory text as well as a text for the layman. Works of this size and scope (over 600 pages of text and illustrations covering the Egyptian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman civilizations as well as some others) tend to leave the reader breathless as they jump from one important topic and time period to another. This is not the case with Freeman's work. He wisely juxtaposes the overviews of civilizations with interludes that highlight a small part of the civilization in greater detail.
For example, between Chapter 14 ("Religion in the Greek World") and Chapter 15 ("Athens: Democracy and Empire") is an interlude titled "The Classical Age in Art." This short section discusses the golden age of art in ancient Greece, and brings us to the modern age briefly as the art historian Johann Winckelmann is discussed in relation to his views on the age. ("Winckelmann claimed that the `sublimity' of Classical art was the result of the atmosphere of liberty and exuberance which followed the Persian Wars" 244.)
The text is very accessible, and has a generous bibliography at the end of each chapter in case one wants more. Recommended highly as an introduction to the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean.

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Egypt, Greece, and Rome is a unique and comprehensive introduction to the ancient world's three major civilizations. The book draws a fascinating picture of the deep links between the cultures across the Mediterranean and explores the ways in which these civilizations continue to be influential to this day. Beginning with the emergence of the earliest Egyptian civilization around 3500 BC, Charles Freeman follows the history of the Mediterranean over a span of four millennia to AD 600, beyond the fall of the Roman empire in the West to the emergence of the Byzantine empire in the East. The author examines the art, architecture, philosophy, literature, and religious practices of each culture, set against its social, political, and economic background. Especially striking are the readable and stimulating profiles of key individuals throughout the ancient world, covering persons like Homer, Horace, the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and Alexander the Great. The second edition incorporates new chapters on the ancient Mediterranean and the Ancient Near East, as well as extended coverage of Egypt. Egypt, Greece and Rome is a superb introduction for anyone seeking a better understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean and their legacy to the West.

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