Mesopotamia (Introductory Guides) by Julian Reade (2000) Paperback

by Julian Reade

A concise, yet thorough study of early Mesopotamia before c.1500 BC. The history of this area of modern-day Syria and Iraq and the people that inhabited it are discussed alongside some wonderful photographs of objects from the British Museum collection. Mesopotamia was a leading centre for literacy and spear-headed innovation and change in the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. Julian Reade discusses the archaeological and textual evidence for early agriculture, the development of social and political complexity, the emergence of the city-states and later empires.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Middle East

Paperback

First published December 31, 1991

Reviews

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise history although pretty dry. Has a good map in it. Good explanation of the use of the bevel-edged bowls.

[Troy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up during a trip to the British museum because I found the exhibits on the anciet middle east to be very interesting and realised that I knew so little about that period. It is only a very brief book and only covers the period up to 1500BC but it did give me a good introduction to the brief outline of the period covered and some good suggestions for further reading (which I'm now following up). The book does also have some good pictures of archeological sites and some of the more interesting (and amazing) objects in the British Museum collection.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief, but surprisingly engaging and informative introduction to the history of ancient Mesopotamia.