The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East

Over the past few years I have been very interested in the history of the Ancient Near East and have read a number of scholarly books on the subject of ancient Canaan & Israel, Egypt of the Pharaohs, Cyprus, Ebla, the Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, and the Sumerians. But many of these are at least 25 years old, and I thought it was time to bring myself up-to-date with the latest developments, as well as reading modern translations of the important ancient documents. To that end, I recently purchased this book, plus "Ancient Iraq" by Georges Roux, and the two volumes of "The Ancient Near East - An Anthology of Text and Pictures" by James B Pritchard.Fortunately, I read this book first! It was originally published in 1985, and the English translation by Donald G Schley was published in 1994. In the translator's words, Wolfram von Soden (who was born in 1908) was a master in the field of Assyriology, and the intention of the book, as the title states, is "an Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East". In making the text available in English, Professor Schley's aim is to provide a concise, yet comprehensive text for his classes in the ancient Near East, and one which could also serve as a background text for classes in biblical studiesFor Professor von Soden the term "Ancient Orient" denotes ancient Western Asia without Asia Minor, but with Western Iran. That is to say the focus of the book is on the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires for the period from 3000BC to about 500BC with some coverage of the Mittanians, Hurrians, Uruartians, Elamites, and Hittites where they impinge on these empires. There are separate chapters on each of the following topics, and his aim is to show what was has been accomplished in each of these selected themes: Peoples and Cultures of the Ancient Orient Writing and Systems of Writing, The History of Ancient Western Asia - The Historical sources, State & Society, Nutrition & Agriculture Artisanry Trade and Commerce Law Sumerian and Babylonian Science Religion and Magic Literature Building, Art, & Music Did the book meet my expectations? Frankly, no! since I already have some familiarity with the topics covered - but that's not to criticise the quality or the content of the book, or that I don't need a periodic review of the subject. And from that point of view this book serves an admirable purpose. In addition, while it gives a clear indication as to how much is known on these themes, it is also very clear on the limits of that knowledge. It has, therefore, innumerable suggestions for further specialist studies which can be of great help in pointing the determined student to focus his study on areas where there is still much uncertainty. But it is not (nor is it intended to be) a comprehensive treatment of the political history of these particular civilisations. I found the book generally easy to read, and the single map at the back of the book sufficient for my understand

Very, very interesting. Though hard to read if one is not familiar with the local wording/jargon.

This text is an incisive overview of the entire sweep of ancient Near Eastern studies. Particularly valuable is the section on philology and the extent to which various available texts have or have not yet been translated. It is directly useful as a core text for coursework in any aspect of Mesopotamian civilizations.