ABSTRACT

The Ancient Near East embraces a vast geographical area, from the borders of Iran and Afghanistan in the east to the Levant and Anatolia, and from the Black Sea in the north to Egypt in the south. It was a region of enormous cultural, political and linguistic diversity.

In this authoritative new study, Amélie Kuhrt examines its history from the earliest written documents to the conquest of Alexander the Great, c.3000-330 BC. This work dispels many of the misapprehensions which have surrounded the study of the region. It provides a lucid, up-to-date narrative which takes into account the latest archaeological and textual discoveries and deals with the complex problems of interpretation and methodology.

The Ancient Near East is an essential text for all students of history of this region and a valuable introduction for students and scholars working in related subjects.

Winner of the AHO's 1997 James Henry Breasted Award.

Volume 1: List of figures, List of maps, List of tables, Abbreviations, Preface, Introduction, Part I The development of states and cities (c. 3000 - c. 1600), 1. Mesopotamia in the Third Millennium BC, 2. Mesopotamia c.2000 - c. 1600: The Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Periods, 3. Egypt From Dynasty I to Dynasty XVII (c. 3100/3000-1552, Part II The great powers (c. 1600 - c. 1050), 4. Imperial Egypt: The New Kingdom (1552/1550-1069), 5. The Hittites, 6. Syria and the Levant, 7. Mesopotamia c. 1600 - c. 900, Notes. Volume 2: List of figures, List of maps, List of tables, Abbreviations, Part III Political transformation and the great empires (c. 1200-330), 8. The Levant c. 1200 - c. 720, 9. The Neo-Assyrian Empire (934-610), 10. Anatolia c. 900 - c. 550, 11. Babylonia c. 900-539, 12. Egypt c. 1000-525, 13. The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330), Notes, Bibliography, Index.