Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome

by Charles Gates

Well illustrated with nearly 300 line drawings, maps and photographs, Ancient Cities surveys the cities of the ancient Near East, Egypt, and the Greek and Roman worlds from an archaeological perspective, and in their cultural and historical contexts. Covering a huge area geographically and chronologically, it brings to life the physical world of ancient city dwellers by concentrating on evidence recovered by archaeological excavations from the Mediterranean basin and south-west Asia Examining both pre-Classical and Classical periods, this is an excellent introductory textbook for students of classical studies and archaeology alike.

Genres: History, Archaeology, Nonfiction, Architecture, Greece, Reference, Ancient History

464 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2003

Reviews

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been also watching the Teaching Company's class on the ancient city. I have to say that I think the archaeologist/professor covers a lot more in those short classes than this book does. Gates seems to veer off to other archaeological sites that are not based in a city and I'm not sure why. I do recommend the class as far as I've gotten. I think the book is best for students of archaeology rather than for people interested, as I am, in urban studies.

[Cenken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arkeoloji ders kitabı olarak düşünülmüş olan bu eser, konuya meraklı ve uzak kişilerin dahi okuyabileceği akıcı bir dilde ve çokça görsel, şema, plan ve fotoğraf ile zenginleştirilerek yazılmış. Tarihi bilgilerle desteklenen içerik konuyu daha zevkli hale getiriyor. Kültürlerin oluşumu ve bunlara antik inançlar ve modern dinlerin etkisi konularını merak edenler için güzel bir kaynak olacaktır. Ayrıca Arkeoloji konusuna meraklı kişilere yardımcı olacak oldukça düzenli kitap yapısında küçük bir sözlük ve şekilller listesi ve ayrıntılı bir kaynakça gibi çok işe yarar özellikler bulunmaktadır.

[Aykut Karabay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uygarlık tarihini kentler üzerinden anlatan uygarlık,mimari, siyasi ve sanat tarihinin harmanlandığı bir kitap. MÖ. 9. Yüzyılda Yakın doğunun oluşumundan, Konstantinopolis- Doğru Roma ya kadar uygarlıkların merkezi olmuş kentler ele alınmış.

Kitapta en çok dikkatimi çeken nokta şu oldu;

Doğu-Batı uygarlıkları ve mimari-sanat anlayışları savaşlar, hegemonyalar, siyasi anlaşmalar ile daima iç içe geçmiş. Tarih boyunca her medeniyet karşısındaki medeniyeti yenilgiye uğratsa da, mutlaka birbirlerinden etkilenmişler. Aslında her medeniyet kendi geçmişinden ve diğer medeniyetlerden tarih boyunca etkilenmiş, esinlenmiş. Elbette doğu ve batı medeniyetlerinde bariz farklar var, sanat anlayışları bambaşka, ikiside özgün birer forma bürünmüş. Ancak aynı zamanda tarih boyunca bu farklılık birbiriyle iç içe geçmiş, birbirine mutlaka gerek teknik, gerek sanatsal veya felsefi anlamda bir şeyler katmış. Önceki Kentler elbette zamanın akışı içinde silinip gidiyor. Ancak işe yaradığı sürece geçmiş ayakta kalıyor. Ama o geçmişin mutlaka yenilik yapıp güncellenmesi de gerekiyor. Bu uyarlanım sayesinde kentsel yaşam geçmişten sürekli yeniden yaratılıyor.

[Ela Uleyyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that should be in the library of everyone intrested in the growth of civilizations and cities.

[bahar vural · Rating 4 out of 5]

sadece yunan ve roma kısmını okudum tabi ama geri döner döner dururum işte öyle bi kitap

[William Boyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancient cities is a overview of 8 thousand years of architectural evolution from the late Stone Age to the end of Antiquity, focusing primarily on the Eastern Mediterranean region, specifically Greece, Mesopotamia, and Rome. The information is compiled from archaeological evidence as well as artistic and literary artifacts to create a realistic view of these long gone towns.
Each chapter starts with a concise historical overview of the time, and if necessary the geography, and then delves into the archaeological evidence of the town, offering multiple plans as well as illustrations to help visualize these ancient places. Also covered prominently are the artistic artifacts of these cities, with photographs provided for most of these. This contribution helps to let the reader see what the culture and character of the people of these towns may have been like, which helps give a fairer perspective on the people than just the buildings can.
While this book is interesting, some parts are still very dense, particularly when he is deep into explaining the architecture of specific palaces and walls, which can go on for pages without offering anything particularly distinctive from the last dozen, or so at least it would seem. It is a textbook, so predictably the writing is dull, it is only meant to give information, not argue something. Regardless, it’s still entertaining enough to read if you are interested in the subject.
Overall, for what it set out to do, it succeeded well, or well enough at the very least. While not being a great book by any means, it still serves its purpose well and for the existing literature of the topic it stands paramount, at least in its large scope. For these reasons, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the architecture of the Ancient Near East, as it is a valuable work to have.

[Caglar Tukel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bu kitap bölük pörçük bir kısım tarih bilginin daha düzgün ve sistematik anlamamı sağladı. Tarihte geriye gittikçe bir insanın erken çocukluğunu hatırlamaması gibi biz de insanlık tarihini çok daha az hatırlarız ve anlarız ama şuanki durumumuz aslında insanlığın teknik, ekonomik ve kültürel evriminin bir sonucudur. Kitap Neolititik çağı başlarından Roma İmparatorluğunun yıkışılışı ve ortaçağa kadar olan bir dönemi kentler ve mimari üzerinden anlatıyor. Her dönem için tarihsel bir özet verilirken dönemin önemli kentleri ve ikonik yapıları örnek olarak anlatılıyor İnsanlığın önemli kavşaklarından birisi üzerinde bulunan güzel ülkemizden de örnekler okumak çok anlamlı hale geliyor. Bir dahaki sefere bir tarihi mekana gittiğinde ya da bir müzeyi gelince gördüklerim daha anlamlı gelecek. Kitaptaki kronolojik anlatım ve çizimler de metinlerin anlaşılmasına çok katkı koymuş. Mesela Bergama'yı gezerken gördüğüm Kızıl Avlu'daki tuğladan yapılmış ve Mısır tanrısı Serapis'e adanmış o ihtişamlı tapınağın neden diğer yerlerden çok farklı olduğunu anlamanın mutluluğu bir arkeoloğun keşfi kadar önemli benim için.

[Brian Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book takes the reader on a tour of various ancient cities across the Mediterranean and Near East. I found some of the focus on architecture a little dry, but Gates nicely salts his narrative with excerpts of political and social history, which helps bring the cities a little more alive.

It's real strength is just how comprehensive this book is - I don't know of anything similar in scope, which makes it fantastic as a reference for anyone interested in any aspect of ancient history/archaeology.

The one complaint is that some of the images weren't optimized for viewing on Fire tablets which left some of the labels blurred, and some of the Turkish names were malformatted in early chapters.

Overall, though, a fantastic resource.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wide ranging and easy to follow. This book is an excellent introduction to the archaeology and architecture of ancient cities and prehistoric sites. It begins coverage in the Neolithic and continues into the reign of Constantine the Great, the end of antiquity, and does not spend too much time on any one place or structure. Important sites are emphasized and when detail is lacking the author is sure to mention why. Overall, a great introductory text.

[High Wycombe Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Focussing on city plans and architecture, Ancient Cities looks at the cities of the Ancient Near East, Egypt and the ancient Greek and Roman Worlds.

Ancient Cities is written in such a way as to require no background in archaeology and is packed with beautiful photographs and illustrations. ^GE

If you liked Ancient Cities why not try:
Secrets Of Lost Empires: Reconstructing The Glories Of Ages Past by Michael Barnes
The Story Of Archaeology: An Illustrated History Of 50 Great Discoveries by Justin Pollard

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure I've read the first edition when it first came out, some of the photos and drawings are familiar. A fun read on the physical aspects of ancient civilizations, some of which I skipped or skimmed, I've read some of this in other works. Fantasy writers can gain insight on the non-cultural aspects of ancient life and you can use some of the maps if you still play old-school RPGs with paper and not computers. People who are not architectural nerds may find it a bit dry.

[Atakan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as a person who recently interested with archaeology. So i didn't study or anything.

The book has details about the ancient cities yet it's not going too deep in to the deep waters of academic studies. So I was happy to understand most of the chapters.

[Tom Menke · Rating 3 out of 5]

fantastic book to leave around people are drawn to it

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another read from my History of Archaeology class. This book is much drier and a lot hard and less enjoyable to read.

[Matthew Giesbrecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written.