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This important contribution to the study of Phrygian religious practice and spatial conceptualizations examines the role of the rock-cut monuments in Iron Age Anatolian and provides the reader with new aspects and theories of Phrygian cult and the Mother goddess Kybele. ... Read more

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The Evolution of the Ancient City is an interdisciplinary look at how cities developed from Hunter-Gatherer societies to centers of vast empires in the Fertile Crescent between 21,500 BCE and 1,200 BCE. The reader is guided through each stage of social evolution and its consequences for our understanding of modern cities. As a result, urban theory must adapt to this long-range view of the city. ... Read more

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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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Too Little
I agree with previous reviewers that this title very much bit into more than it could chew, and that some of these peoples (Israelites, Hittites, Sea Peoples) could almost deserve their own titles.Has a useful timeline, usual nice plates, and briefly covers the following peoples:
The Sumerians
The Akkadians
The Babylonians
The Elamites
The Egyptians (now have their own elite title)
The Libyans
The Nubians and Ethiopians
The Hyksos
The Hittites
The Sea Peoples
The Arabs (including the Amalekites and Midianites of the Old Testament)
The Aramaeans
The Israelites (all the Tribes of Israel)
The Judaeans (otherwise, the Jews)
The Assyrians (now have their own elite title)

Angus Artwork
Wholeheartedly agree with the previous review.Too ambitious to catalog so many culturally different peoples over so long a period of time.Would've been better to concentrate on one or two at the most.However,the fabulous artwork is worth the small sum of the book's price.

Too Much Time and Space for One Little Book
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 betterknown states, when the limited size would have done well for a study someof the lesser known states and left the Egyptians, Hittites, Assyrians andsuch for their own volumes.However, it does have a nice integratedtimeline, and the aforementioned wonderful Angus McBride art. ... Read more

Product Description
The Middle East continues to dominate international news and global politics. From the perspective of religion, however, many Americans think of that area only in terms of Muslims and Israeli Jews and are unaware of the extensive Christian communities that still exist there. "Who Are the Christians in the Middle East?" chronicles the history and current state of Christianity in this highly volatile region of the world.

Written by a married couple who has lived and worked a long time in the Middle East, this book is must reading for anyone who wishes to be au courant on the Christian dimension of the Middle East. The Baileys describe each Christian denomination now active in the region and provide country-by-country reports on the present situation of the church. They also discuss the history of the relationship between church and state in the Middle East, pointing out the challenges to the future of Middle Eastern Christians.

In addition to these larger discussions, the book features introductory chapters on the Middle East and Christianity written by David A. Kerr, a professor of Christianity in the non-Western world, and Riad Jarjour, general secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches. Also included are an informative timeline and short vignettes on people and places of special historical significance to the church in the Middle East.

Based on personal experience, official church documents, and extensive interviews, "Who Are the Christians in the Middle East?" looks at the conflicted Middle East region from a perspective that has received scant attention in the mainstream media. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unknown Christendom
The Baileys, Betty Jane and Martin, have put together an important text on a little known and less understood population at the centre of a very volatile portion of the world.I recall several years ago seeing a spokeswoman from the Palestinian people on the Larry King Show, and was intrigued about half-way through when she challenged my assumptions - this woman, who looked Arab and spoke Arabic (among other languages), and was an official spokesperson for the Palestinian cause, was in fact a Christian (and not only that, but was my 'kind' of Christian, an Anglican).This cast a new light on the entire conversation, and from that moment forward, my perceptions of the events and people in the Middle East changed - I would not go so far as to say it changed my opinions or beliefs in the matters, but it did make me question my long-term ideas, and made me always mindful that the situation there was broader and more complex than most assume.

The Baileys write with a personal affection for the people and the region of the Middle East.For the context of this relatively slim volume, the Middle East includes not only the traditional nations surrounding Israel and Saudi Arabia (the context in which most Westerners think of the region), but goes as far north as Turkey, as far west as Morocco along the African coast, and includes the peripheral states of Iran and Sudan.

In the first section of the text, a general overview of the situation, the Baileys are joined by David Kerr and Riad Jarjour, who each contributed a chapter.Kerr writes about the Western view of Eastern Christianity (often an overlooked subject, even in seminary and graduate education); Jarjour discusses the future of Christianity in Arab-dominated cultures.The authors give an historical timeline for Christianity in the region, as well as an overview of ecumenical cooperation in the area, particularly through the MECC - Middle Eastern Council of Churches.

The second section looks at particular churches in the diverse realm of Christianity in the Middle East.This includes several varieties of Orthodox - Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and various minor groupings; it also includes Catholic and Protestant/Evangelical churches, mostly implants from various missionary periods from the West.However, there are various Latin Catholic Churches that have existed since prior to the East/West split, who have remained in association (if not full communion) with the See of Rome.Each section also has contact information (often physical address, internet information, and telephone contact information as appropriate and available).

The third section looks at the region nation by nation, examining the situation of church/state issues, as well as general cultural issues involved in the Christian churches' functioning, often in minority status with little or no official protections or authorisations.Each national chapter looks at composition of the Christian population, interfaith relations, historical circumstances and contemporary situations.

There are literally millions of Christians in the Middle Eastern region, many of whose histories go back far longer than any Western Protestant Church, and have pedigrees as long as an institution in Christendom.They provide an interesting set of case-studies in historical and cultural development, as well as serving as witnesses to a broader definition of what 'to be Christian' can mean.

This is an important book for anyone who wishes to be well-versed in current affairs.
... Read more

Product Description
This title encompasses the history of Israel from its very beginnings up to the destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The successive parts are (1) The Dawn of Israel, dealing with the Israelite proto-history, Mari and early Israel as well as the tribal societies and genealogies. (2) Forming a Nation, The Exodus and Conquest of Canaan, the period of the Judges and the charismatic nature of the Judges, the Danite migration. (3) The Rise of the Davidic Dynasty, a political view of the kingdom of David and Solomon, the diplomatic, international marriages of the latter, organs of statecraft in the Israelite monarchy. (4) King Amon and Josiah and their final fate, twilight of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem. (5) This part is dedicated to historical episodes in the Former Prophets and in the Prophetical Books. Several excursi follow. ... Read more

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The figure of King Solomon is central to our understanding of the history of Israel and Judah. This volume of collected articles seeks to bring the reader up-to-date with current scholarship in the field. The book consists of 24 chapters providing studies in the historical approach to Solomon and to the 10th-century BC Judah and Israel with archaeological surveys of the neighbouring regions, sociological surveys and literary readings of the biblical texts. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents new translations of Mesopotamian and ancient Near Eastern historiographic texts, providing the reader with the primary sources for the history of the ancient Near East.

• A primary source book presenting new translations of Mesopotamian and ancient Near Eastern historiographic texts, and other related materials.
  
• Helps readers to understand the historical context of the Near East.
  
• Covers the period from the earliest historical and literary texts (c.2700 B.C.) to the latest Hellenistic historians who comment on ancient Near Eastern history (c.250 B.C.)
  
• Texts range from the code of Hammurabi to the Assyrian royal inscriptions.
  
• A detailed commentary is provided on each text, placing it in its historical and cultural context.
  
• Maps, illustrations and a chronological table help to orientate the reader.

Product Description
* Explores the cultures of ancient Near East civilizations from prehistoric times to the death of Alexander the Great..* Encompasses Western Asia and Egypt, through the Eastern Mediterranean, to the borders of Greece..* Note: Knapp (unlike Jones, above) does not include coverage of Ancient Greece and Rome. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Don't buy this book!!!
This was a textbook in my first ancient near eastern history class in college.All the other textbooks were fine, but this one seems to have been written for an elementary school audience.It's overly simplistic in every conceivable way a history book could be, and furthermore is almost condescending to the reader, with its dumbed-down vocabulary and basic terms in bold print.If you're looking for a good introductory text on this subject, try some of the cambridge ancient history volumes, or The Egyptians by Cyril Aldred and Ancient Iraq by Georges Roux.I wasted my hard-earned money and some valuable time, but now YOU don't have to. ... Read more

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This pioneering study surveys all 446 Lower Stratum families in the period under review (8-6 B.C.). It is the most important and the most responsible study of the lower stratum of the Neo-Assyrian society proposed to date. ... Read more

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Over the decades, Anatolian metal artefacts have been the focus of scientific analysis. In this volume Aslihan Yener provides an analysis of the organization of production within a broader social context, based on his field work, surveys, excavations and analytical programmes regarding transformations in metallurgy. Yener introduces convincing evidence for a revision of existing models concerning the metal industry. He locates a core of technological innovation in the highland zones, where critical resources are in close proximity to the developing polities in the fertile, agricultural lowlands. The Early Bronze Age tin mine, Kestel, and the contemporary workshop and habitation site of nearby Gultepe, illustrate an industrial complex specializing in the production of tin metal. Metallurgical data explains the organization and management of a range of interactive technologies in prehistoric states in Anatolia from 8000-2000 BC. ... Read more

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The Ancient Near East embraces the borders of Iran and Afghanistan in the east to the Levant and Anatolia, and from the Black Sea in the north to Egypt in the south. The Ancient Near East dispels many of the misapprehensions which have surrounded the study of the region. In this well-illustrated volume, Amelie Kuhrt offers a comprehensive survey of the history of the Near East from the earliest written documents to Alexander the Great's Conquest, and provides up-to-date narrative which takes into account the latest archaeological and textual discoveries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

GOOD BUT SLOW
These books arrived much longer than I anticipated, and I had to email the store twice until I got a response.

Great author, terrible publisher
For a work that approaches the $100 mark, this 2-vol. set is a bit of a disappointment for the serious student of the Ancient Near East.On the one hand, Amelie Kuhrt's scholarship is absolutely outstanding.In my hours spent on the Internet searching for ANE textbooks, nothing out there rivals Kuhrt's comprehensive scholarship, particularly her attention to primary sources.She is honest about what her discipline knows, but also about what it doesn't know (by the way, Van de Mieroop's survey of the ANE makes a nice companion volume to Kuhrt in its offering of alternatives to some of her views).On the other hand, however, the publisher has done a great disservice to Kuhrt's fine scholarship in its latest printing of the book.The copy I bought on Amazon was actually missing whole sections of pages (pp. 12-16 and 28-29, to be exact), not to not mention a regularly recurring host of typographical errors throughout.Shame on Routledge for so carelessly printing a scholar's work that, in this case, certainly has no readily identifiable peers.

A good overview with some drawbacks
This is one of the best "comprehensive" introductions to the Ancient Near East (ANE), which attempts to cover all the major civilizations from Egypt through the fertile crescent to ancient Persia.Given the breadth of the subject matter, she does a fine job.As earlier reviewers point out certain subjects (especially Egypt, which you can supplement with Grimal A History of Ancient Egypt, for instance) are somewhat skimpy, while others receive a reasonably good treatment.Kuhrt is especially good at interacting with the textual sources, which she always treats with scholarly detachment.

There are, however, two major flaws with this 2-volume work.The maps are absolutely ATROCIOUS.A number of them are so poorly reprinted (from whichever sources they were originally taken) that they are nearly illegible; moreover, they rarely point out the places or geographical regions under discussion.I would have expected the publisher either to locate better maps or to draw up a new set of maps.Much cheaper books have managed to do so.

The other flaw, in my estimation, is the actual publishing.The binding of this paperback is not nearly strong enough.Every copy I have ever seen of it (and it was a textbook in one of my classes) has developed a serious spine crack--even under the gentlest of use.Moreover, the paper used is the heavy, shiny, plastic-like paper often used for photographic plates.If the book were full color, I might understand the use of such paper, but since it is black-and-white I personally do not understand the choice of the publisher.Not only is the book disproportionately heavy, but one has to be extremely careful of lighting conditions when reading it in order to avoid glare on the text.

If your interest in the ANE is merely a passing curiosity, I agree with a former reviewer that this book is not for you.Nevertheless, it is a very useful introduction for those who are seriously contemplating scholarship in the ANE.

Not a book for everyone
This comprehensive, 2-volume book about the Ancient Near East clearly has some outstanding points in its favor, but sadly also several serious drawbacks.

On the upside, there is not too much more you would want to know about the history of Anatolia or Mesopotamia in the timeframe covered, unless you are upper division college student in history or archeology. The book gives a painstaking account of all major sources, has an outstanding bibliography, and the author certainly went to great lengths to portray pro's and con's of various interpretations to points of contentions regarding the interpretation of historic evidence in general, and in particular while discussing specific sites, possible historical outlines of a region etc.
Be advised though, that the coverage of areas like Egypt, Eastern Iran or Afghanistan, to name a few, is by far not as substantial as that of the other two.

If, on the other hand, you are not a student in aforementioned subjects, or at least a very interested layperson with a previous solid foundation in the science, and simply want an overview of the regional history, this is not your book.

Among several things that will be unsatisfying for you are her endless enumeration of sources (incredibly boring, unless you actually have access to those), a constant jumping from region to region, which makes sense on the one hand, but is not exactly enhancing the readability for the casual reader.

Another very unsatisfying aspect, and maybe even one of the worst parts of the book, while having the general reader in mind at this point, but also to some extend to the more informed reader, are the maps. While there are quite a number of them, their quality is, to put it mildly, pitiful. Many don't name the real points of interest (as for example it would be nice to have the maps actually show the sites she discusses in the text that refers to them), they never show any regional boundaries, as to make clear for example where, when, who was in charge of what territory. Also don't hope for anything like a timeline, or other features that will help the lay reader to follow more easily the course of her presentation.

To sum it up, a book with good use for the serious student of the subject, while only of limited, if any, interest for the layperson.

If you have any further questions regarding this review or the subject in general, feel free to contact me.

A good overview but a boring read
This work is a basic overview of the Near East spanning the massive time frame between 3000BC to 330BC.The book touches on all major points of interest in the time period.However, it contains many things which will bog down the average reader.For example, it contains lengthy descriptions of what must be almost every pot fragment found in Anatolia.For those of you who don't care about every student's notepad found in Sumeria, you can obviously skip these parts.Still it tends to decrease the readability of the text as a whole. ... Read more

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Freedom as a value is older than Greece, as evidence from the Ancient Near East shows us through this work. Snell first looks at words for freedom in the Ancient Near East. Then he examines archival texts to see how runaways expressed their interest in freedom in Mesopotamian history. He next examines what elites said about flight and freedom in edicts, legal collections, and treaties. He devotes a chapter to flight in literature and story. He studies freedom in Israel by looking at Biblical terminology and then practice in narratives and legal collections. In a final chapter Snell traces the descent of ideas about freedom among Jews, Greeks and Christians, and Muslims, concluding that the devotion to freedom may be nearly a human universal. ... Read more

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The stamp and cylinder seals catalogued and described here are part of the collection of Ancient Near Eastern glyptic art acquired by the Kist family. The collection ranges from the fourth millennium Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods up to the Achaemenid period of the first millennium BC. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the best reference for Near Eastern Cylinder seals
I brought this book primarily because I had brought a Neo Assyrian cylinder seal and the seller had provided reference of this book. I found my seal to be similar in the design as mentioned in this book. A very good reference for serious seal collectors.

Cheers,
Subramaniam.


... Read more

Product Description
A strong Egyptian presence and governance of 13th and 12th centuries BC Palestine has since long become clear from both textual and archaeological evidence. How this Egyptianization came about in Ramesside Palestine forms the focus on the present study. Carolyn Higginbotham convincingly attends to internal factors affecting the region's cultural and political development. Two models are carefully considered. The prevailling theory, that Egyptian policy shifted from economic and political domination to military occupation, is contrasted with a new, convincing model, elite emulation, derived from modern core-periphery studies. The author's conclusion is that Egyptian policy remained largely unchanged, and that the increased Egyptianization of the material culture represents voluntary adoption of the overpowering Egyptian culture by the Palestinian ruling class. The appendices are especially important for scholars interested in ancient international connections in Palestine; they catalogue all Egyptian and Egyptian-style material from LB IIB - Iron 1A Palestine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Scholarship performance!
Redford's treatment of the wars of Thutmose III in the Levant comprise (to my knowledge) one of the first systematic studies to such a difficult subject.The material and composition is rendered in such a way that its very useful to all academics but I would generally sugest the interested public steer away from this one for awhile.Get the basics and see how Redford draws connections and lays out historical studies at their best! ... Read more

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The fall of Samaria is narrated in 2 Kings 17. The cuneiform inscriptionsdealing with this event are prima facie contradictory: the conquest isascribed to both Shalmaneser V and Sargon II. The surmise of H. Tadmor thatSamaria was conquered twice is investigated. At the same time the events areinterpreted in their socio-historical framework.Tadmor's assumption cannot be falsified, although his theory should bemodified as regards the date of the first conquest: 723 B.C.E. The fall ofSamaria can be interpreted as an inevitable result of the expansion of theAssyrian Empire in combination with internal struggles in Israel. Evidence ofdeportation reveals that deportees were treated as normal citizens.Thorough discussion of the sources and their interpretation is a feature ofthis book. ... Read more

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Creditors have always sought the protection of the law to secure themselves against loss if the debtor cannot or will not pay the debt. This volume examines the legal instruments of security available to creditors in the earliest known legal systems, their use and abuse, and the ways in which the law sought to satisfy the differing interests of creditors, debtors, and society in general, with varying degrees of success. The book covers all the major legal systems of the ancient Near East, from Sumer to Ptolemaic Egypt, as well as comparative historical developments up to the present day. Twelve scholars have each contributed a study of their special period of expertise, while the general issues that arise from their research are discussed in a concluding chapter. ... Read more

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Origins is the first fully comprehensive study of the debt owed bymodern western culture to Ancient Near Eastern civilization - a debt touchedupon by standard histories of the Ancient Near East but never assystematically investigated as here by William W. Hallo.The author, who has devoted a lifetime to the study of the Ancient Near East,places the emphasis on the way the Ancient Near East continues to shape ourWestern world. He takes an in-depth look at the ancient origins of manyinstitutions that are most essential to contemporary life - and most oftentaken for granted.In the exploration of the "first half of history", Hallo shows that modernideas of urbanism and the formation of capital were first developed between3000-500 BC and that aspects of 20th-century agriculture, manufacturing andtrade go back to ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel. Special attention isgiven to the role played by women, arguing that this was an oftennon-traditional one; for example, women are shown to have been among the firstauthors in history who are actually known by their names.The scope of the work is vast: Hallo methodically examines a wide range oftopics, from the order of the alphabet to the coronation of kings, and fromschooling to the calendar. An intriguing touch is provided by sections ongames and on the world's oldest cookbooks.This ground-breaking study leaves the reader with a full appreciation of thelegacy of the Ancient Near East to modern Western society, in all its aspects.It will be essential reading for researchers and general readers alike who areinterested in the cultural history of the West as well as the history of theAncient Near East. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Continuity of ancient innovations in the modern world.
The author of this book, William W. Hallo, is a specialist in Near Eastern languages and literature and is a professor of Assyriology and Babylonian literature at Yale university, where he has taught since 1962. According to the author the object of the book is "... to show how ancient Near Eastern innovations or their consequences have survived into our own day and age.", and "To put it another way, I will try to assess the extent to which our modern western world is indebted to the ancient Near East." Although the author links those Near Eastern innovations to developments within Western history and by extension the modern western world, he avoids linkages and continuities to developments within Islamic civilization and therefore by extension to the Islamic world as we know it today.Had the author done so, the book would truly be more comprehensive and valuable. In fact it would have been much easier to trace the path which some of the innovations have traveled to reach parts of the western world. I have included details of the book's contents* for conveying to the reader the rational for its structure and the institutions it covers.Part I, for instance, is based on the notion that civilization's three-leg tripod is based on urbanism, capital formation, and writing. The Appendix is very useful as the author skillfully summarizes centuries of history in a short and very readable synoptic of the three cultural regions which the book addresses. Part VII on Religion is disappointing, as the the Near East was the birthplace of the three monotheistic religions, and therefore a more thorough analysis of the religious contextualityof the region is warranted. It is quite possible that a separate volume would be needed to address this topic. One of the book's strengths is the abundance of bibliographic references cited at the end of each chapter. There are also abundant footnotes on almost every page of the book. This is a very valuable contribution for all those who are interested in tracing some of the contributions which the ancient Near Eastern civilizations have gifted to the western world and to the world at large. It is particularly useful for the specialist or the serious inquirer as a first step for more detailed information available through the extensive bibliographic references. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Introduction; I. Essentials of Civilization: urban origins, capital formation, writing; II. Secondary Aspects of Civilization: manufacturing, agriculture and animal husbandry, trade; III. Refinements of Civilization: travel and geographical knowledge, culinary arts, games; IV. Calendar: hour, week, era; V. Literature: creativity, genre, and canon, bilingualism and the beginnings of translation, the birth of rhetoric; VI. Kingship: royal titles, inscriptions, hymns, royal lifetime, royal afterlife; VII. Religion: the sacrificial cult, public prayer, individual prayer; VIII. Women: in law, in public life, as authors; IX. Appendix- The First Half of History: the land between the rivers, the gift of the Nile, the land of `milk and honey'; X. Conclusion: the legacy of the ancient Near East; Index. ... Read more