Civilizations of Ancient Iraq

by Benjamin R. Foster, Karen Polinger Foster

Overview

In Civilizations of Ancient Iraq, Benjamin and Karen Foster tell the fascinating story of ancient Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements ten thousand years ago to the Arab conquest in the seventh century. Accessible and concise, this is the most up-to-date and authoritative book on the subject. With illustrations of important works of art and architecture in every chapter, the narrative traces the rise and fall of successive civilizations and peoples in Iraq over the course of millennia—from the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians to the Persians, Seleucids, Parthians, and Sassanians.

Ancient Iraq was home to remarkable achievements. One of the birthplaces of civilization, it saw the world's earliest cities and empires, writing and literature, science and mathematics, monumental art, and innumerable other innovations. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq gives special attention to these milestones, as well as to political, social, and economic history. And because archaeology is the source of almost everything we know about ancient Iraq, the book includes an epilogue on the discovery and fate of its antiquities. Compelling and timely, Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is an essential guide to understanding Mesopotamia's central role in the development of human culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691149974
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	05/08/2011
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Benjamin R. Foster is the Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature and curator of the Babylonian Collection at Yale University. Karen Polinger Foster is a lecturer in ancient Near Eastern and Aegean art at Yale.

Table of Contents

Illustrations ix

Preface xi

CHAPTER 1: IN THE BEGINNING

Of Tigris and Euphrates 1

The First Villages 7

From the Foothills to the Plains 12

CHAPTER 2: THE BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION

The First Cities 15

From City to State 27

Sumerians Abroad 29

Setting Words on Clay 30

The Uruk Phenomenon 33

CHAPTER 3: EARLY CITY-STATES

New Polities 35

Ur and the Royal Graves 36

When Kingship Came down from Heaven 39

Shuruppak, City of Wisdom 40

A Tale of Two Cities 42

CHAPTER 4: KINGS OF THE FOUR QUARTERS OF THE WORLD

The First Empire 51

Naram-Sin: When Kingship Went up to Heaven 55

A Golden Age of Sumerian Culture 61

Management and Crisis 67

CHAPTER 5: THE AGE OF HAMMURABI

The Amorites 71

Rim-Sin, King of Larsa 73

Shamshi-Adad, King of Upper Mesopotamia 74

Hammurabi, King of Babylon 76

Arts of the Table and Bedroom 81

The Epic of Gilgamesh 83

The End of Amorite Rule 85

CHAPTER 6: BABYLONIA IN THE FAMILY OF NATIONS

The Kassites 87

Kassite Statecraft and Society 90

The Club of Great Powers 93

Science and Literature 94

The Hurrians 99

The End of Kassite Rule 100

CHAPTER 7: THE ASSYRIAN ACHIEVEMENT

The Rise of Assur 105

The Middle Assyrian Empire 109

The Neo-Assyrian Empire 113

Assurnasirpal II and Nimrud 115

Sennacherib and Nineveh 119

The Library of Assurbanipal 123

The Fall of Assyria 126

CHAPTER 8: THE GLORY OF BABYLON

The Last Babylonian Empire 129

Nabonidus, King of Babylon 132

Learning and Memory in Babylonia 134

Works and Days 140

The Persian Empire 142

CHAPTER 9: MESOPOTAMIA BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Alexander the Great and the Seleucids 147

Antiochus I Soter, King of Asia 149

The Realm and Its Economy 152

The Culture of Hellenistic Babylonia 154

The Rise of Parthia 156

Mithridates I and the Reunification of Iraq 158

Parthian Iraq 160

Roman Armies in Iraq 164

The End of Mesopotamian Civilization 166

CHAPTER 10: SASSANIAN IRAQ

The Sassanian Empire and Religious Pluralism 168

By the Waters of Babylon: Judaism in Iraq 173

Christianity in Iraq 176

Sassanian Society, Statecraft, and Economy 178

Arab Settlement in Iraq 180

Sassanian Art 182

Shapur I and Shapur II 184

The Sassanians and Byzantium 187

Prelude to Conquest 189

EPILOGUE: Discovery and Destruction of Ancient Iraq

Exploration and Decipherment 191

Archaeology Past and Present 198

The Nation of Iraq and Cultural Heritage 201

The Gulf War and Cultural Destruction 205

The Iraq War and Cultural Devastation 206

Notes 211

Bibliography 231

Index 283

What People are Saying About This

Snell

With its penetrating asides about Iraq's archaeological history and the recent fate of its antiquities, this introduction to the country's ancient history will be a revelation to general readers. Iraqi history has not been covered before with this concision or with this concern for the history of archaeology and how the archaeological record has been affected by the country's current conditions. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is written with flair.
— Daniel C. Snell, author of "Life in the Ancient Near East"

Eleanor Robson

Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is an elegantly engaging account of cultural and political history around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the first human settlements to the coming of Islam. Equally importantly the authors describe the rediscovery of Mesopotamia beginning in the mid-nineteenth century and highlight the dire state of Iraqi heritage today. They deftly interweave quotations from Babylonian and Sumerian literature with the latest archaeological and historical research to bring their narrative to life.
— Eleanor Robson, author of "Mathematics in Ancient Iraq: A Social History"

From the Publisher

"Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is an elegantly engaging account of cultural and political history around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the first human settlements to the coming of Islam. Equally importantly the authors describe the rediscovery of Mesopotamia beginning in the mid-nineteenth century and highlight the dire state of Iraqi heritage today. They deftly interweave quotations from Babylonian and Sumerian literature with the latest archaeological and historical research to bring their narrative to life."—Eleanor Robson, author of Mathematics in Ancient Iraq: A Social History

"With its penetrating asides about Iraq's archaeological history and the recent fate of its antiquities, this introduction to the country's ancient history will be a revelation to general readers. Iraqi history has not been covered before with this concision or with this concern for the history of archaeology and how the archaeological record has been affected by the country's current conditions. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq is written with flair."—Daniel C. Snell, author of Life in the Ancient Near East

"Original and unique, this ambitious grand survey provides a refreshing history of ancient Iraq in its entirety in one brief and accessible volume. Considering the current crisis in Iraq, and especially the catastrophe facing its ancient heritage, general readers should find this book interesting. It should also inspire students and scholars to approach the history of ancient Iraq as a whole rather than a set of fragments."—Marc Van De Mieroop, author of King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography

Marc Van De Mieroop

Original and unique, this ambitious grand survey provides a refreshing history of ancient Iraq in its entirety in one brief and accessible volume. Considering the current crisis in Iraq, and especially the catastrophe facing its ancient heritage, general readers should find this book interesting. It should also inspire students and scholars to approach the history of ancient Iraq as a whole rather than a set of fragments.
— Marc Van De Mieroop, author of "King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography"

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the 2010 Felicia A. Holton Book Award, Archaeological Institute of America

From the Publisher

[This] is an excellent survey of a civilization that is unfamiliar to most general readers, and a lament for all that is being forever lost through looting and destruction. One hopes the book will make an impression not just on those interested in ancient history but also on policy makers who have authority over sites and museums in Iraq and over preventing the trade in smuggled objects from the ancient sites.

Journal of the American Oriental Society - Amanda H. Podany

[I]t can be extremely useful to have a single account of Mesopotamia's history reduced to its salient points, in order to provide a focused framework onto which the more complex details of history and culture can be placed. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq achieves this with ease, and emerges with a huge amount of appeal for a diverse audience.

Rosetta - Elizabeth Wheat and Erika D. Johnson

[A] superb one-volume overview.

FineBooksMagazine.com - Nicholas Basbanes

A very readable overview of the importance of Iraq in its own terms and in the larger context of the forces that have shaped modern civilisation. Here are chapters on the creation of the first cities ever constructed, of the first examples of writing, of the great King Hammurabi of Babylon and humanity's first poetic utterance in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Here is a story of great scientific achievement, of the powerful Assyrian Empire, of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, of Sennacherib and his transformation of Nineveh into a city of aqueducts, canals, dams and, most impressively, of the invention of the device now known as the Archimedes screw. It is a story of an ancient and extraordinary civilisation that in recent times has been buried under acts of brutality and violence.

Sydney Morning Herald - Bruce Elder

It's an undeniable benefit to have Civilizations of Ancient Iraq (note the plural), . . . [a] crystal-clear and well-illustrated narrative ranging from the earliest villages (c. 8000 BCE) to the Arab conquest of 637 CE. . . . This is a most rewarding book with fine illustrations and a challenging bibliography.

ForeWord Magazine - Peter Skinner

Benjamin Foster and Karen Polinger Foster, both at Yale University, have written an excellent overview of the history and cultures of ancient Iraq beginning with the earliest references to Sumer and ending with the Arab defeat of the Sassanians in 637 CE. . . . The text is clear, well written and a pleasure to read. It should be highly recommended to anyone, student and layman alike, as an introduction to the history of ancient Iraq. Perhaps most importantly the book seems to have been designed for an audience that wishes to know more about ancient Iraq as a consequence of recent and current events. . . . This book is for bookshops, on the high street and at airports, as well as for students and for scholars for whom ancient Iraq or contemporary attitudes to the civilization of ancient Iraq might be tangential.

Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews - Geoffrey D. Summers

[This] is an excellent survey of a civilization that is unfamiliar to most general readers, and a lament for all that is being forever lost through looting and destruction. One hopes the book will make an impression not just on those interested in ancient history but also on policy makers who have authority over sites and museums in Iraq and over preventing the trade in smuggled objects from the ancient sites.
— Amanda H. Podany

Journal of the American Oriental Society

[I]t can be extremely useful to have a single account of Mesopotamia's history reduced to its salient points, in order to provide a focused framework onto which the more complex details of history and culture can be placed. Civilizations of Ancient Iraq achieves this with ease, and emerges with a huge amount of appeal for a diverse audience.
— Elizabeth Wheat and Erika D. Johnson

Rosetta

[A] superb one-volume overview.
— Nicholas Basbanes

FineBooksMagazine.com

A very readable overview of the importance of Iraq in its own terms and in the larger context of the forces that have shaped modern civilisation. Here are chapters on the creation of the first cities ever constructed, of the first examples of writing, of the great King Hammurabi of Babylon and humanity's first poetic utterance in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Here is a story of great scientific achievement, of the powerful Assyrian Empire, of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, of Sennacherib and his transformation of Nineveh into a city of aqueducts, canals, dams and, most impressively, of the invention of the device now known as the Archimedes screw. It is a story of an ancient and extraordinary civilisation that in recent times has been buried under acts of brutality and violence.
— Bruce Elder

Sydney Morning Herald

It's an undeniable benefit to have Civilizations of Ancient Iraq (note the plural), . . . [a] crystal-clear and well-illustrated narrative ranging from the earliest villages (c. 8000 BCE) to the Arab conquest of 637 CE. . . . This is a most rewarding book with fine illustrations and a challenging bibliography.
— Peter Skinner

ForeWord Magazine

Benjamin Foster and Karen Polinger Foster, both at Yale University, have written an excellent overview of the history and cultures of ancient Iraq beginning with the earliest references to Sumer and ending with the Arab defeat of the Sassanians in 637 CE. . . . The text is clear, well written and a pleasure to read. It should be highly recommended to anyone, student and layman alike, as an introduction to the history of ancient Iraq. Perhaps most importantly the book seems to have been designed for an audience that wishes to know more about ancient Iraq as a consequence of recent and current events. . . . This book is for bookshops, on the high street and at airports, as well as for students and for scholars for whom ancient Iraq or contemporary attitudes to the civilization of ancient Iraq might be tangential.
— Geoffrey D. Summers

Bryn Mawr Classical Reviews

Benjamin Foster and Karen Polinger Foster, both at Yale University, have written an excellent overview of the history and cultures of ancient Iraq beginning with the earliest references to Sumer and ending with the Arab defeat of the Sassanians in 637 CE. . . . The text is clear, well written and a pleasure to read. It should be highly recommended to anyone, student and layman alike, as an introduction to the history of ancient Iraq. Perhaps most importantly the book seems to have been designed for an audience that wishes to know more about ancient Iraq as a consequence of recent and current events. . . . This book is for bookshops, on the high street and at airports, as well as for students and for scholars for whom ancient Iraq or contemporary attitudes to the civilization of ancient Iraq might be tangential.
— Geoffrey D. Summers

Bryn Mawr Classical Review