A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75


Book Description

Provides a new narrative history of the ancient world, from the beginnings of civilization in the ancient Near East and Egypt to the fall of Constantinople Written by an expert in the field, this book presents a narrative history of Babylon from the time of its First Dynasty (1880-1595) until the last centuries of the city’s existence during the Hellenistic and Parthian periods (ca. 331-75 AD). Unlike other texts on Ancient Near Eastern and Mesopotamian history, it offers a unique focus on Babylon and Babylonia, while still providing readers with an awareness of the interaction with other states and peoples. Organized chronologically, it places the various socio-economic and cultural developments and institutions in their historical context. The book also gives religious and intellectual developments more respectable coverage than books that have come before it. A History of Babylon, 2200 BC – AD 75 teaches readers about the most important phase in the development of Mesopotamian culture. The book offers in-depth chapter coverage on the Sumero-Addadian Background, the rise of Babylon, the decline of the first dynasty, Kassite ascendancy, the second dynasty of Isin, Arameans and Chaldeans, the Assyrian century, the imperial heyday, and Babylon under foreign rule. Focuses on Babylon and Babylonia Written by a highly regarded Assyriologist Part of the very successful Histories of the Ancient World series An excellent resource for students, instructors, and scholars A History of Babylon, 2200 BC - AD 75 is a profound text that will be ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses on Ancient Near Eastern and Mesopotamian history and scholars of the subject.




The Ancient Egyptian Economy


Book Description

The first economic history of ancient Egypt employing a New Institutional Economics approach and covering the entire pharaonic period, 3000-30 BCE.




The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C.


Book Description

The Second Intermediate Period designates the 250 year period (18001550 BC) which separates the two glorious periods of the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom. During the 19th century BC, an invasion by Caanite tribes into the Delta took place. Around 1800 BC these people proclaimed their own king and the Delta thus became independent from the rest of Egypt. Egypt remained split between the Canaanitic rulers in North and the native Egyptian Kings in the South for the rest of the Second Intermediate Period. The division of Egypt brought about an economic decline, and the entire period is characterized by a lack of royal monuments. This circumstance has greatly hampered any attempts to establish a chronology of the period, and as a consequence it has been very difficult to date many sources which are relevant for the social and political situation of the period. The Second Intermediate Period has therefore remained one of the most obscure periods of Egypt's ancient history. The dissertation is a new attempt to establish a chronology for the Second Intermediate Period and define the different kingdoms, their territories and political relations. The study consists of four main chapters, three appendixes, a catalogue of sources, bibliography and indices. Included is a catalogue of all the historical sources, about 1500, known to certify the names of the Egyptian kings of the Second Intermediate Period. Each source is described in terms of type, origin and present location, followed by bibliographical references.




Ancient Egyptian Chronology


Book Description

This volume deals with the chronology of Ancient Egypt from the fourth millennium until the Hellenistic Period. An initial section reviews the foundations of Egyptian chronology, both ancient and modern, from annals and kinglists to C14 analyses of archaeological data. Specialists discuss sources, compile lists of known dates, and analyze biographical information in the section devoted to relative chronology. The editors are responsible for the final section which attempts a synthesis of the entire range of available data to arrive at alternative absolute chronologies. The prospective readership includes specialists in Near Eastern and Aegean studies as well as Egyptologists.




A History of Ancient Egypt


Book Description

The ancient world comes to life in the first volume in a two book series on the history of Egypt, spanning the first farmers to the construction of the pyramids. Famed archaeologist John Romer draws on a lifetime of research to tell one history's greatest stories; how, over more than a thousand years, a society of farmers created a rich, vivid world where one of the most astounding of all human-made landmarks, the Great Pyramid, was built. Immersing the reader in the Egypt of the past, Romer examines and challenges the long-held theories about what archaeological finds mean and what stories they tell about how the Egyptians lived. More than just an account of one of the most fascinating periods of history, this engrossing book asks readers to take a step back and question what they've learned about Egypt in the past. Fans of Stacy Schiff's Cleopatra and history buffs will be captivated by this re-telling of Egyptian history, written by one of the top Egyptologists in the world.




The Second Intermediate Period (thirteenth-seventeenth Dynasties)


Book Description

During the 18th-16th centuries BC, from the late Middle Kingdom to the early New Kingdom, pharaonic Egypt went through a period of great political and cultural change. Kings came and went at unprecedented speed, saw their power reduced, and failed to keep the land under one sceptre. In the eastern Nile Delta, a community of Asiatic origin proclaimed its own rulers, known later as the Hyksos, who ultimately controlled the entire northern half of Egypt. Kings at Thebes maintained a fragile independence, then went to war and defeated the Hyksos, restoring national unity. Ongoing fieldwork and research have thrown new light on all stages and aspects of this fascinating era. This volume, resulting from an international colloquium at The British Museum, assembles work of prime importance from leading scholars in the field, and will long be a major source of reference for researchers as well as the interested layman.




"Ra is My Lord"


Book Description

Due to extremely poor and difficult sources, we are as much in the dark about the history of the Egyptian 2nd Dynasty (c.2850-2700 BCE) as we are about the Gods worshipped at that time. Nor are we sure about the reigns and order of kings from this period. having assumed that veneration of the Sun God Re began during the 2nd Dynasty, opinion has changed over the last thirty years: evidence for the worship of Re has been found only for the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty.




Amenemhat IV and the End of the Twelfth Dynasty


Book Description

AmenemhatIV's short and poorly documented reign as penultimate Pharaoh of the TwelfthDynasty presents an interesting subject for Egyptological research, as it marksa crucial moment in Egyptian history. Following the crisis of the FirstIntermediate Period and the great work of unification and innovation undertakenby the rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty, Egypt once again achieved great power andprosperity. However, with the Thirteenth Dynasty, the country's fate changedagain, leading to the Second Intermediate Period, a phase that would shake thefoundations of Egyptian society, and which paved the way to the New Kingdom.The purpose of this book is a comprehensive and integrated analysis ofAmenemhat IV's activity in the context of this historical period. In definingAmenemhat IV's role, and establishing whether his reign represented an elementof continuity or of fracture, the author seeks to clarify the causes andmechanisms that led to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty.




The Second Ottoman Empire


Book Description

This book is a post-revisionist history of the late Ottoman Empire that makes a major contribution to Ottoman scholarship.




The Rise and Fall of the Second Largest Empire in History


Book Description

How Genghis Khan and the Mongols conquered nearly one-sixth of the planet: “The fascinating story of history’s most misunderstood empire builders.” —Alan Axelrod, bestselling author of Miracle at Belleau Wood Emerging out of the vast steppes of Central Asia in the early 1200s, the Mongols, under their ferocious leader, Genghis Khan, quickly carved out an empire that by the late thirteenth century covered almost one-sixth of the Earth’s landmass—from Eastern Europe to the eastern shore of Asia—and encompassed 110 million people. Far larger than the much more famous domains of Alexander the Great and ancient Rome, it has since been surpassed in overall size and reach only by the British Empire. The Rise and Fall of the Second Largest Empire in the World recounts the spectacularly rapid expansion and dramatic decline of the Mongol realm, while examining its real, widespread, and enduring influence on countless communities from the Danube River to the Pacific Ocean. “Great sweeping history from a superb writer.” —Joseph Cummins, author of The War Chronicles “A skillful and imaginative storyteller and conscientious historian.” —David Willis McCullough, author of Wars of the Irish Kings