Ancient Assyrians - Identity and Society in Antiquity and Beyond

In this book, Jonathan Valk asks what did it mean to be Assyrian in the 2nd millennium BCE? To answer this question, Valk develops a new theory of social categories that facilitates an understanding of how collective identities work. This study demonstrates how changing historical circumstances condition identity and society.

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. The theory of social categories; 3. They swore by the life of the city: Assyrians in the old Assyrian period (c. 2000-1650 BCE); 4. Aššur, king of the gods: the middle Assyrian Period (c. 1400-1050 BCE); 5. Conclusion; Abbreviations; Bibliography.

About the author

Jonathan Valk is a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and a docent in ancient Near Eastern studies at the University of Helsinki. He is the recipient of a European Research Council Starting Grant and the co-editor of Ancient Taxation: The Mechanics of Extraction in Comparative Perspective.

Product details

• Authors: Jonathan Valk, Jonathan (Spanish National Research Council) Valk, Jonathan (University of Helsinki) Valk
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.10.2025
• EAN: 9781009610551
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0961055-1
• No. of pages: 338
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > History > Pre and early history, antiquity; Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); SOCIAL SCIENCE / Archaeology, Middle East, Middle Eastern history, Archaeology by period / region, c 2000 to c 1000 BCE, Assyro-Babylonian (Akkadian) languages