The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an Antique Land

by Mogens Trolle Larsen

Overview

The Conquest of Assyria tells what must surely be one of the most romantic tales of archaeological endeavour. The great cities and ancient palaces of Mesopotamia had lain buried for over two millenia, and were all but forgotten, half remembered in the Hebrew Bible and Classical texts. This volume records the dramatic finds, the decipherment of the cuneiform system of writing and the rediscovery of a lost civilisation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415143561
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/10/1996
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

I: The First Explorers; 1: The Mounds of Nineveh; 2: Paolo Emilio Botta; 3: The First Palace Appears; 4: Austen Henry Layard; 5: The Journey into the East; 6: Mesopotamia — The First Impression; 7: Indiana Jones Among the Bakhtiyaris; 8: Mosul and Constantinople; 9: Nimrud; 10: The Ideal English Soldier; 11: The Return of Nimrod; 12: But is It Art?; 13: Cholera and Small-Mindedness; 14: Monuments and Inscriptions; 15: Packing Bulls and other Luggage; 16: Triumph and Revolution; II: The Excavation of Sennacherib's Palace; 17: Home Again; 18: Depths of Time; 19: Eusebius or Moses?; 20: The Mysteries of Cuneiform; 21: Back to Constantinople; 22: Mosul Revisited; 23: An Encounter on Nimrud; 24: Rawlinson in Paradise; 25: Palaces and Treasures; 26: Guests; 27: Pastoral; 28: Disasters and New Discoveries; 29: Summer in the Palace; 30: Babylonia; 31: Goodbye to Assyria; III: Victor Place and Hormuzd Rassam; 32: Rawlinson Gets It Right; 33: New Men, New Excavations; 34: Jealousy and Ill-Feeling; 35: War; 36: Shipwreck; 37: Fates

Editorial Reviews

Danish scholar Larsen has written a vivid narrative about the lives and activities of the creators of Assyrian archaeology. A prevailing preoccupation with biblical sites by 19th-century Europeans inspired a group of adventurous individuals, beginning in the 1840s, to excavate the ancient cities of the Middle East. The central character of this narrative is a young English Romantic, Austen Henry Layard, who becomes obsessed with the idea of uncovering the ruins of Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrians. As Layard was preparing his dig at a site he believed to be Nineveh, an English officer in the area, Henry Rawlinson, was deciphering cuneiform, the writing system of the Assyrians. Layard and Rawlinson struck up one of the most productive archaeological partnerships in history, destined to uncover the remains of an ancient civilization and, by the decipherment of cuneiform, give it back its voice. Larsen's fascinating study should appeal to anyone with an interest in archaeology and ancient history. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.-Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., Minn.

Library Journal

'... an elegantly well written and irresistibly exciting book. A well researched and eminently learned work, it keeps jargon to a minimum, making it accessible to every reader.' - Weekendavisen

'Mogens Trolle Larsen has written a book which excels itself in terms of gripping narrative and pure excitement.' - Jyllands Posten

'Professor Larsen's scholarly book describes the history of Assyrian excavation and the rivalry for buried Mesopotamian treasure between England and France.' - Irish Independent

'[Larsen] has a rare gift of empathy with men long dead, and goes about unmasking the false claims of Rawlinson and salvaging the reputations of others as if they were current injustices. His book, moreover, is beautifully written and illustrated.' - Times Literary Supplement

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