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Zusatztext "It is certainly to be hoped that this book opens the eyes of readers in the West, who may have had little awareness of Mesopotamia's great contributions to human civilization, of just what a legacy Iraq is trying to safeguard, and just how costly the events of the past ten years have been to the heritage shared by us all." ---D.T. Potts, Ancient West and East Informationen zum Autor Benjamin R. Foster & Karen Polinger Foster Klappentext In Civilizations of Ancient Iraq, Benjamin and Karen Foster tell the fascinating story of ancient Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements ten thousand years ago to the Arab conquest in the seventh century. Accessible and concise, this is the most up-to-date and authoritative book on the subject. With illustrations of important works of art and architecture in every chapter, the narrative traces the rise and fall of successive civilizations and peoples in Iraq over the course of millennia--from the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians to the Persians, Seleucids, Parthians, and Sassanians. Zusammenfassung In Civilizations of Ancient Iraq , Benjamin and Karen Foster tell the fascinating story of ancient Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements ten thousand years ago to the Arab conquest in the seventh century. Accessible and concise, this is the most up-to-date and authoritative book on the subject. With illustrations of important works of art and architecture in every chapter, the narrative traces the rise and fall of successive civilizations and peoples in Iraq over the course of millennia--from the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians to the Persians, Seleucids, Parthians, and Sassanians. Ancient Iraq was home to remarkable achievements. One of the birthplaces of civilization, it saw the world's earliest cities and empires, writing and literature, science and mathematics, monumental art, and innumerable other innovations. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq gives special attention to these milestones, as well as to political, social, and economic history. And because archaeology is the source of almost everything we know about ancient Iraq, the book includes an epilogue on the discovery and fate of its antiquities. Compelling and timely, Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is an essential guide to understanding Mesopotamia's central role in the development of human culture. Inhaltsverzeichnis Illustrations ix Preface xi CHAPTER 1: IN THE BEGINNING Of Tigris and Euphrates 1 The First Villages 7 From the Foothills to the Plains 12 CHAPTER 2: THE BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION The First Cities 15 From City to State 27 Sumerians Abroad 29 Setting Words on Clay 30 The Uruk Phenomenon 33 CHAPTER 3: EARLY CITY-STATES New Polities 35 Ur and the Royal Graves 36 When Kingship Came down from Heaven 39 Shuruppak! City of Wisdom 40 A Tale of Two Cities 42 CHAPTER 4: KINGS OF THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE WORLD The First Empire 51 Naram-Sin: When Kingship Went up to Heaven 55 A Golden Age of Sumerian Culture 61 Management and Crisis 67 CHAPTER 5: THE AGE OF HAMMURABI The Amorites 71 Rim-Sin! King of Larsa 73 Shamshi-Adad! King of Upper Mesopotamia 74 Hammurabi! King of Babylon 76 Arts of the Table and Bedroom 81 The Epic of Gilgamesh 83 The End of Amorite Rule 85 CHAPTER 6: BABYLONIA IN THE FAMILY OF NATIONS The Kassites 87 Kassite Statecraft and Society 90 The Club of Great Powers 93 Science and Literature 94 The Hurrians 99 The End of Kassite Rule 100 CHAPTER 7: THE ASSYRIAN ACHIEVEMENT The Rise of Assur 105 The Middle Assyrian Empire 109 The Neo-Assyrian Empire 113 Assurnasirpal II and Nimrud 115 Sennacherib and Nineveh 119 The Library of Assurbanipal 123 The Fall of Assyria 126 CHAPTER 8: THE GLORY OF BABYLON The Last Babylonian Empire 129 Nabonidus! King of Babylon 132 Learning and Memory in Babylonia 134 Works and Days 140 T...
