The Lost World of Elam


Book Description




When God Was A Woman


Book Description

Here, archaeologically documented,is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under her, women’s roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the decline in women’s status.




The Elamite World


Book Description

Amongst the civilizations to participate in the dynamic processes of contact and interchange that gave rise to complex societies in the ancient Near East, Elam has remained one of the most obscure, at times languishing in the background of scholarly inquiry. In recent years, however, an increasing body of academic publications have acknowledged its relevance and suggested that its legacy was more considerable and long-lasting than previously estimated. The Elamite World assembles a group of 40 international scholars to contribute their expertise to the production of a solid, lavishly illustrated, English language treatment of Elamite civilization. It covers topics such as its physical setting, historical development, languages and people, material culture, art, science, religion and society, as well as the legacy of Elam in the Persian empire and its presence in the modern world. This comprehensive and ambitious survey seeks for Elam, hardly a household name, a noteworthy place in our shared cultural heritage. It will be both a valuable introductory text for a general audience and a definitive reference source for students and academics.




The Archaeology of Elam


Book Description

From the middle of the 3rd millennium BC until the coming of Cyrus the Great, southwestern Iran was referred to in Mesopotamian sources as the land of Elam. A heterogeneous collection of regions, Elam was home to a variety of groups, alternately the object of Mesopotamian aggression, and aggressors themselves; an ethnic group seemingly swallowed up by the vast Achaemenid Persian empire, yet a force strong enough to attack Babylonia in the last centuries BC. The Elamite language is attested as late as the Medieval era, and the name Elam as late as 1300 in the records of the Nestorian church. This book examines the formation and transformation of Elam's many identities through both archaeological and written evidence, and brings to life one of the most important regions of Western Asia, re-evaluates its significance, and places it in the context of the most recent archaeological and historical scholarship.




Elam


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Not Another U.S. History Textbook


Book Description

Why on earth would two history nerds use their own free time to write another US history textbook? Well, that, intelligent human, is the right question. This work breaks from the traditional memorization of who, what, when, where, and focuses on why and how. The former is popular in schools due to its efficiency in quantification for testing. You're either right or wrong about remembering facts. But it's so boring that most students turn off their brains once they set foot in the class, and that habit continues well into old age, if not recognized and corrected. Why and how are more subjective, therefore harder to grade. But with their asking, people become re-centered in our collective story, where they belong. Only then can proper context be understood, and criticism and perspective be applied. We believe this approach to be the missing link in our education and understanding of current issues, norms, and discussion points. Hopefully, after reading this work, each reader's critical thinking will activate around all history permanently. That will certainly aid humanity's evolution and communication. Wait, does that mean this book can be categorized as self-help? Argue away!




Black Athena


Book Description

Black Athena, an audacious three-volume series, strikes at the heart of today's most heated culture wars. Martin Bernal challenges Eurocentric attitudes by calling into question conventional explanations for the origins of classical civilization. Provocative, passionate, and colossal in scope, this thoughtful rewriting of history continues to stir academic and political controversy.




Fucus


Book Description

This is a memorial volume for Albert Ehrman. The contributions of this Gedenkschrift testify to his scholarly excellence in the field of Judaic-Semitic lexicography and etymology, and do full justice to the richness and thought inspiring qualities of his publications. Besides the papers in honour of Ehrman the volume contains four reprints of the Aramaic 'Fucus, Red Lichen', and a full bibliography of the works of Albert Ehrman.




Iran and the Challenge of Diversity


Book Description

This interrogates the racist construction of Aria and Aryanism in an Iranian context, arguing that these concepts gave the Indo-European speaking Persian ethnic group an advantage over Iran's non-Persian nationalities and communities.




Anahita


Book Description

Anahita was the most important goddess of pre-Islamic Iran. From her roots as an ancient Indo-European water deity her status was unrivalled by any other Iranian goddess throughout the course of three successive Iranian empires over a period of a thousand years. The first scholarly book on Anahita, this study reconstructs the Indo-European water goddess through a comparison of Celtic, Slavic, Armenian and Indo-Iranian myths and rituals. Anahita's constantly-evolving description and functions are then traced through the written and iconographic records of Iranian societies from the Achaemenid period onwards, including but not limited to the Zoroastrian texts and the inscriptions and artistic representations of the great pre-Islamic Iranian empires. The study concludes by tracing survival of the goddess in Islamic Iran, as seen in new Persian literature and popular rituals. Manya Saadi-nejad demonstrates the close relationship between Iranian mythology and that of other Indo-European peoples, and the significant cultural continuities from Iran's pre-Islamic period into the Islamic present.