Description
Book SynopsisA Companion to the Ancient Near East offers students and general readers a comprehensive overview of Near Eastern civilization from the Bronze Age to the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Trade Review“This is a welcome companion volume intended to be used with an introductory text to the history of the ancient Near East. There are unexpected topics and insightful inclusions … .In addition to serving successfully as a companion for teaching, this volume also serves as a useful short reference because of the sixty-eight page bibliography.” (
Religious Studies Review, September 2008)
"Many will find specific chapters of interest, both for insights into their own specialities and for challenging overviews of related fields. Students will find stimulating introductions to a wide range of subjects, not treated in encyclopaedias or dryer standard works ... on which to hone their own critical faculties." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)
"The chapters are written by some of the world's leading scholars, like the veterans Liverani and Limet ... Some of the articles are highly relevant, even dealing with contemporary issues such as the individual, ethnicity ... democracy, and freedom." (Scholia)
"As is usual for the Blackwell Companions the essays making up this volume have all been written by leading experts and as such the coverage is inclusive... The introduction, written by the editor, is excellent and clearly explains what the book is setting out to achieve, aims which are met. A Companion to the Ancient Near East is an excellent book and is one that should, without doubt, be read by those with a keen interest in this historical period." (Reference Reviews)
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year
Table of ContentsList of Figures viii
List of Maps ix
Notes on Contributors x
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xviii
Part I The Shape of the Ancient Near East 1
1 Historical Overview 3
Mario Liverani
2 From Sedentism to States, 10,000–3000 BCE 20
Augusta McMahon
3 The Age of Empires, 3100–900 BCE 34
Mark Chavalas
4 World Hegemony, 900–300 BCE 48
Paul-Alain Beaulieu
Part II Discourses on Methods 63
5 Archaeology and the Ancient Near East: Methods and Limits 65
Marie-Henriette Gates
6 The Languages of the Ancient Near East 79
Gonzalo Rubio
7 The Historian’s Task 110
Daniel C. Snell
Part III Economy and Society 123
8 The Degradation of the Ancient Near Eastern Environment 125
Carlos E. Cordova
9 Nomadism Through the Ages 142
Jorge Silva Castillo
10 Mesopotamian Cities and Countryside 157
Elizabeth C. Stone
11 Money and Trade 171
Christopher M. Monroe
12 Working 185
David A. Warburton
13 Law and Practice 199
Bruce Wells
14 Social Tensions in the Ancient Near East 212
John F. Robertson
15 Gender Roles in Ancient Egypt 227
Ann Macy Roth
16 Royal Women and the Exercise of Power in the Ancient Near East 235
Sarah C. Melville
17 Warfare in Ancient Egypt 245
Anthony J. Spalinger
Part IV Culture 259
18 Transmission of Knowledge 261
Benjamin R. Foster
19 Ancient Near Eastern Literature: Genres and Forms 269
Tawny L. Holm
20 Ancient Near Eastern Architecture 289
Sally Dunham
21 Mesopotamian Art 304
Marian H. Feldman
22 Ancient Mesopotamian Medicine 325
JoAnn Scurlock
23 Mesopotamian Cosmology 339
Francesca Rochberg
24 Divine and Non-Divine Kingship 353
Philip Jones
25 How Religion Was Done 366
Gary Beckman
Part V Heritage of the Ancient Near East 377
26 The Invention of the Individual 379
Daniel C. Snell
27 Ethnicity 392
Henri Limet
28 Public versus Private in the Ancient Near East 406
Steven J. Garfinkle
29 Democracy and Freedom 419
Matthew Martin III and Daniel C. Snell
30 Monotheism and Ancient Israelite Religion 430
S. David Sperling
31 The Decipherment of the Ancient Near East 443
Peter T. Daniels
32 Legacies of the Ancient Near East 454
Daniel C. Snell
References 458
Index 527
