Description
Book SynopsisThe Pax Assyriaca provides a study of the evolutionary process of ancient civilisations, stressing the complementarity between theoretical principles and the relevant historical and archaeological evidence. Taking its approach from World Systems Theory, the study focuses on the origin, development and collapse of the first, ‘Near Eastern’, stage of the ‘Central Civilisation’. The volume seeks to better understand the evolution of this stage of the Central Civilization, exploring its origin in the fusion of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations resulting from the expansion of the so-called Neo-Assyrian Empire from 1000 BC to 600 BC – better known as the
Pax Assyriaca. Alongside investigations into the structure and development of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations, the book presents a theoretical analysis of Neo-Assyrian imperialism and traces the characteristics of the incorporation of Egypt into the
Pax Assyriaca, concluding that this integration was only fully completed by the successor empires of Assyria around 430 BC. Finally an explanation for the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire is presented and its legacy in the context of the ‘Central Civilisation’ is assessed.
Table of ContentsIntroduction ;
The concept of civilisation ;
The historical evolution of civilisations ;
First aim of this study: the Central Civilisation and the Mesopotamian / Egyptian merger ;
Second aim of this study: the methodological approach to the archaeological knowledge of the Ancient Near East ;
Third aim of this study: an approach to World Systems Theory and archaeology ;
Chapter 1: The Historical Evolution of the Ancient Near East and the Rise of the Assyrian Phenomenon ;
The Ancient Near East as geopolitical entity ;
The Land of Mesopotamia as the Cradle of Civilisation ;
The Mesopotamian symbiosis ;
The Assyrian phenomenon ;
The Ancient Near East and the ‘catastrophe’ at the end of the Bronze Age ;
Chapter 2: The Neo-Assyrian Empire and the
Pax Assyriaca ;
The archaeology of empires: theories, approaches and problems ;
The meaning of ‘empire’ and its principal dimensions ;
The Neo-Assyrian expansion and the peripheral polities under its domination ;
The Neo-Assyrian hierarchy of its imperial core ;
The Neo-Assyrian order and its global context ;
Chapter 3: Ancient Egypt and the
Pax Assyriaca ;
General introduction to the Egyptian civilisation ;
Ancient Egypt, the Neo-Assyrian expansion and its peripheral polities of domination ;
Ancient Egypt and the Neo-Assyrian imperial core ;
Ancient Egypt and the Neo-Assyrian order in its global context ;
Chapter 4: The Collapse of the
Pax Assyriaca ;
The collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire ;
Ancient Egypt and the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire ;
Conclusion ;
Bibliography
