A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 - 323 BC, 2nd Edition 2nd Edition

by Marc Van De Mieroop (Author)

42 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-1405149112

ISBN-10: 9781405149112

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A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC (Blackwell History of the Ancient World)
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This book presents a clear, concise history of the extraordinary multicultural civilizations of the ancient Near East.

Bestselling narrative of the complex history of the ancient Near East
Addresses political, social, and cultural developments
Contains in-depth discussion of key texts and sources, including the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh
Includes numerous maps, illustrations, and a selection of Near Eastern texts in translation
Integrates new research, and greatly expands the guides to further reading for this second edition

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is no longer any possible excuse for any undergraduate curriculum in ancient history not to offer a course of Ancient Near Eastern history under the pretext that there would be no adequate, accessible, and affordable textbook." (Scholia Reviews)

Praise for second edition:

“The additions to this volume have only added to its immense worth as both a textbook and a scholarly volume.” Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Praise for the first edition:

"Marc Van De Mieroop's introduction to the history of Iraq and the Asiatic Near East is suited to first-year undergraduates in ancient history, the archaeology of Western Asia and ancient Near Eastern studies generally, and to all others who need an up-to-date summary of what happened before the Greeks." Times Higher Education Supplement

"I do not know of any other handbook of similar size that can compete with Van de Mieroop's book in philological competence, in historiographic method, and in expository clearness." Mario Liverani, in Orientalia

“This text deserves a place on the shelves of ancient historians and archaeologists, and it will certainly have pride of place in reading lists for courses in Mesopotamian history.” Norman Yoffee, University of Michigan

“As a textbook on Mesopotamian history, particularly the period from c.3000 BC to 612 BC, this book has no English-language equivalent … This should be standard reading, therefore, for all students and scholars in the field.” Bryn Mawr Classical Review

From the Back Cover

This revised edition of A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000–323 BC integrates new research from the rapidly developing field of ancient Near Eastern history and greatly expands the guide to further reading from the first edition. The book presents a clear, concise history of the extraordinary multicultural civilizations of the ancient Near East, their political and military events, and their cultures and societies. Beginning with the emergence of writing around 3000 BC, the narrative ranges from the origins of the first cities in Mesopotamia, through the growth of the Babylonian and Hittite kingdoms, to the Assyrian and Persian empires. It ends with the transformation of the ancient Near East by the conquests of Alexander the Great.

This accessible text is accompanied by numerous maps and illustrations, and contains a rich selection of Near Eastern texts in translation. Each chapter also includes key research questions or additional text references, such as passages on the use of the Bible as a historical source, excerpts from the Epic of Gilgamesh, or the Assyrian royal annals, intended to add an additional element of comprehension to the text.

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Product details

Paperback: 341 pages
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing; 2nd edition (October 6, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9781405149112
ISBN-13: 978-1405149112
ASIN: 1405149116
Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.7 x 9.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 42 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #318,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #186 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Middle East
- #473 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Ancient
- #739 in Books > History > World > Civilization & Culture

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Metallurgist

A nice overview

January 26, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is a nice overview of the history of the near east, from 3000BC to death of Alexander The Great in 323BC. Being only 300 pages long, the book is an overview rather than a very detailed study of places, people and events. The book contains inserts that focus on topics such as the use of pottery in archaeological research, Babylonian literature, and the translation of ancient texts. The book also contains black and white photographs and numerous maps. I liked the book, especially the maps, which I feel added a lot. However, I was a bit disappointed in the quality of the photographs, which were murky and indistinct. There is also quite a bit of repetition in the text, which I found to be a bit confusing.

What is in the book-
The book is organized chronologically, but uses several general period groupings, as follows:
* City-states – This part of the book describes the origins of cities and how this led to the development of writing and eventually to the local expansion of cities to control the surrounding area.

* Territorial States – This part of the book describes the formation and organization of the states that occupied more territory than the cities discussed in the previous section. This part of the book discusses the territorial states of the Mittani, Hittites, Babylonian Kassites, Assyrians, and Elamites.

* Empires – This final part of the book describes the empires of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Persians. These were more “world wide” empires, at least in terms of the world that these people interacted with. These Assyrians and Babylonians are the more famous ones as they created larger more geographically diverse empires than that of the Assyrians and Babylonians discussed in the previous part of the book. These groups are more properly neo-Assyrians and neo-Babylonians as they were dominated by groups that had defeated the previous Assyrian and Babylonian empires.

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GZP

A summary of centuries

March 20, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book sets out to describe the historical developments resulting from the interaction of Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite and local polities over a period of two thousand years...that's a lot! Because of its super-size plan the book necessarily looses on detail. It reads like an extended article from an encyclopedia. As a summary, it is an achievement. As a source for info on any one specific period, it has limited usefulness. To his credit, the author includes material on the social constructions of each major group.

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November 7, 2017

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School text needed for school. Came promptly for start of class. Came as described.

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C. Starr

Very good introduction to the subject

October 1, 2010

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This was the first book that I have read on the subject of the ancient near east. I later read Georges Roux's "Ancient Iraq" and Foster & Foster's "Civilizations of Ancient Iraq." These books all cover the same subject, but in different style, depth, and breadth.

Van De Mieroop's work is more scholarly and impersonal in its tone than the other two books, like what one would expect from a textbook. While this book is perhaps less descriptive than Roux's, it is a more coherant work (while Roux's was based on a series of articles he had written). Also, it is vastly more complete in the time period covered than Foster & Foster's. (One should note that the back cover of Foster and Foster's book contains praise and recommendation from Marc Van De Mieroop.) However, Van De Mieroop's book ends with the Invasion of Alexander the Great, where the Fosters continue on through Rome's presence in Iraq. "History of the Ancient Near East" includes in-text maps and illustrations, as opposed to "Ancient Iraq," where maps are inserted at the back of the book, and illustrations are sparse, mostly limited to picture plates at the center of the book. For somebody not used to the textbook style of history, this work's fairly deep and well rounded discussion of the material may seem dry and uninteresting at first.

I would never suggest to a person to read only one book on any subject. I would recommend they read all the above mentioned books, as well. I would recommend (to a fellow layman) that the books be read in the following order; Foster & Foster, Van De Mieroop, Roux. But no matter what books you decide to read on the subject of the Ancient Near East, or in what order you chose to read them, Van De Mieroop's "History of the Ancient Near East" should be one of them.

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June 28, 2013

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It's textbooky, but a good read, nonetheless. A lot of facts with very little supposition beyond the normal archeological machinations.

Update

The more I read, the more I immersed myself in the book and the subject matter. A good companion book is "The Ancient Near East- An anthology of Texts and Pictures"

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doc peterson

a good broad view of a complex area of ancient history

December 27, 2012

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Van De Mieroop does an exemplary job of showing the cultural and political interrealationships of Mesopotamia. The history of the region is complex: there isn't as clear a political narrative as say, Egypt during the same time period, its decentralized organization creating a sort of "ebb and flow" of various groups. What Van De Mieroop does (and does well) is to show the social and economic interrelationships between peoples and the common cultural heritage of the Fertile Crescent. For example, the circular and reciprocal trade of luxury goods between Egypt (gold), Anatolia (bronze) and the Levant (timber) among the elite highlights not only the economic interrelationships between these different regions, but also underscores the common values, attitudes and political connections between states.

Van De Mieroop is at his strongest discussing the Babylonians and Assyrians - his sections on their political and economic ascention is among the best I've read. I was less enthused in his treatment of the Hittites and the lesser states in the Levant (the Elamites and Phoenicians for example.) That said, the book is a great general text on Mesopotamia between 3000 BCE and Alexander the Great.

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Gloria J. Eddie

Agriculture to Alexander

December 17, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Comprehensive and absorbing history of mankind's origins from agriculture to Alexander

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December 27, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is just what I wanted: A clearly-written and well-illustrated survey of ancient near-eastern history by an expert. I don't know of a better book than this to introduce this huge and fascinating subject.

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