The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East: Volume II: From the End of the Third Millennium BC to the Fall of Babylon

This groundbreaking, five-volume series offers a comprehensive, fully illustrated history of Egypt and Western Asia (the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), from the emergence of complex states to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Written by a diverse, international team of leading scholars, the volumes focus on the political and social histories of the states and communities of the ancient Near East. The second volume covers the first half of the second millennium BC, examining the history of the Near East, including the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom Egypt, Mesopotamian kingdoms, and the kingdom of Babylon. It also treats critical topics such as absolute chronology, state formation and disintegration, kingship, cult practice, and long-distance trade.

Format: Hardback
Length: 760 pages
Publication date: 16 August 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

This groundbreaking, five-volume series offers a comprehensive, fully illustrated history of Egypt and Western Asia (the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), from the emergence of complex states to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Written by a diverse, international team of leading scholars whose expertise brings to life the people, places, and times of the remote past, the volumes in this series focus firmly on the political and social histories of the states and communities of the ancient Near East. Individual chapters present the key textual and material sources underpinning the historical reconstruction, paying particular attention to the most recent archaeological finds and their impact on our historical understanding of the periods surveyed.

The second volume covers broadly the first half of the second millennium BC or, in archaeological terms, the Middle Bronze Age. Eleven chapters present the history of the Near East, beginning with the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom Egypt and the Mesopotamian kingdoms of Ur (Third Dynasty), Isin and Larsa. The complex mosaic of competing states that arose between the Eastern Mediterranean, the Anatolian highlands, and the Zagros mountains of Iran are all treated, culminating in an examination of the kingdom of Babylon founded by Hammurabi and maintained by his successors.

Beyond the narrative history of each region considered, the volume treats a wide range of critical topics, including the absolute chronology; state formation and disintegration; the role of kingship, cult practice, and material culture in the creation and maintenance of social hierarchies; and long-distance trade—both terrestrial and maritime—as a vital factor in the creation of social, political, and economic networks that bridged deserts, oceans, and continents.

This series is a valuable resource for students, scholars, and anyone interested in the ancient Near East and its rich cultural heritage. It provides a detailed and nuanced account of the political, social, and economic developments that shaped the region, and its insights into the lives and experiences of its people are invaluable.

Weight: 1218g
Dimension: 153 x 217 x 53 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780190687571