A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC

Incorporating the latest scholarly research, the third edition of A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000 323 BC presents a comprehensive overview of the multicultural civilizations of the ancient Near East. Integrates the most up-to-date research, and includes a richer selection of supplementary materials Addresses the wide variety of political, social, and cultural developments in the ancient Near East Updated features include new Key Debate boxes at the end of each chapter to engage students with various perspectives on a range of critical issues; a comprehensive timeline of events; and 46 new illustrations, including 12 color photos Features a new chapter addressing governance and continuity in the region during the Persian Empire Offers in-depth, accessible discussions of key texts and sources, including the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh

Incorporating the latest scholarly research, the third edition ofA History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BCpresents a comprehensive overview of the multiculturalcivilizations of the ancient Near East.* Integrates the most up-to-date research, and includes a richerselection of supplementary materials* Addresses the wide variety of political, social, and culturaldevelopments in the ancient Near East* Updated features include new "Key Debate" boxes atthe end of each chapter to engage students with variousperspectives on a range of critical issues; a comprehensivetimeline of events; and 46 new illustrations, including 12 colorphotos* Features a new chapter addressing governance and continuity inthe region during the Persian Empire* Offers in-depth, accessible discussions of key texts andsources, including the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh

List of Illustrations viiiList of Charts xiList of Maps xiiList of Debates xivList of Boxes xvList of Documents xviPreface xviiiAuthor's Note xxi1 Introductory Concerns 11.1 What Is the Ancient Near East? 11.2 The Sources 31.3 Geography 61.4 Prehistoric Developments 10Part I City-States 192 Origins: The Uruk Phenomenon 212.1 The Origins of Cities 232.2 The Development of Writing and Administration 302.3 The "Uruk Expansion" 372.4 Uruk's Aftermath 413 Competing City-States: The Early Dynastic Period 443.1 The Written Sources and Their Historical Uses 453.2 Political Developments in Southern Mesopotamia 483.3 The Wider Near East 563.4 Early Dynastic Society 603.5 Scribal Culture 634 Political Centralization in the Late Third Millennium 674.1 The Kings of Akkad 684.2 The Third Dynasty of Ur 795 The Near East in the Early Second Millennium 905.1 Nomads and Sedentary People 925.2 Babylonia 955.3 Assyria and the East 1005.4 Mari and the West 1076 The Growth of Territorial States in the Early Second Millennium 1136.1 Shamshi-Adad and the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia 1156.2 Hammurabi's Babylon 1186.3 The Old Hittite Kingdom 1276.4 The "Dark Age" 131Part II Territorial States 1357 The Club of the Great Powers 1377.1 The Political System 1387.2 Political Interactions: Diplomacy and Trade 1427.3 Regional Competition: Warfare 1517.4 Shared Ideologies and Social Organizations 1538 The Western States of the Late Second Millennium 1598.1 Mittani 1608.2 The Hittite New Kingdom 1658.3 Syria-Palestine 1749 Kassites, Assyrians, and Elamites 1829.1 Babylonia 1839.2 Assyria 1909.3 The Middle Elamite Kingdom 19510 The Collapse of the Regional System and Its Aftermath 20210.1 The Events 20310.2 Interpretation 21010.3 The Aftermath 213Part III Empires 22111 The Near East at the Start of the First Millennium 22311.1 The Eastern States 22411.2 The West 23212 The Rise of Assyria 24612.1 Patterns of Assyrian Imperialism 24712.2 The Historical Record 25312.3 Ninth-Century Expansion 25512.4 Internal Assyrian Decline 26113 Assyria's World Domination 26513.1 The Creation of an Imperial Structure 26613.2 The Defeat of the Great Rivals 27013.3 The Administration and Ideology of the Empire 27713.4 Assyrian Culture 27913.5 Assyria's Fall 28414 The Medes and Babylonians 28914.1 The Medes and the Anatolian States 29014.2 The Neo-Babylonian Dynasty 29415 The Creation of a World Empire: Persia 30815.1 The Sources and Their Challenges 30915.2 The Rise of Persia and Its Expansion 31015.3 Governance of the Subject States 31515.4 The Creation of an Imperial Structure 31916 Governing a World Empire: Persia 32716.1 Political Developments 32716.2 Administration of the Empire 33116.3 Local Forms of Persian Administration 33516.4 The End of the Empire 342Epilogue 346King Lists 348Guide to Further Reading 364Bibliography 370Comprehensive Time Line 385Index 389