Dawn of Empire

by H.A. Culley

"In Bronze Age Mesopotamia Hammurabi fights to preserve his kingdom against the threat of invasion from Elam, Assyria and Sumeria. For ten years he gradually overcomes his enemies, despite betrayal from within the ranks of his own captains. Such is his personality that some of his enemies become his staunchest supporters.

Supported by his indomitable queen, Adiar, he gradually conquers the surrounding kingdoms but suffers tragic loss in the process. Eventually he defeats Assyria, Sumeria and Elam to become the first ruler of a united Mesopotamia. However, one enemy remains and eventually Hammurabi faces him for one final battle in the mountains between Babylonia and Assyria.

This is the second of two novels by H A Culley about the enthralling life of Hammurabi, the first Emperor of Babylonia, who was also the creator of the first written code of laws in the ancient world, several hundred years before the Ten Commandments."

242 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 15, 2014

About the author

H.A. Culley served in the Army for twenty four years during which time he had a variety of unusual jobs. These included commanding an Arab unit in the desert for three years and a tour as the military attaché in Beirut in the late seventies.
After leaving the Army he became the business manager of a large independent school for twenty years before moving into marketing and fundraising. He has also been involved in two major historical projects and now works for an educational charity.
He has given talks on historical subjects for several years and the research involved provided his inspiration for writing historical fiction.
He has three adult children and lives near Holy Island in Northumberland with his wife and two Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Reviews

[Mary Rocco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book completes the Hammurabi story. Poor editing/proofreading, but interesting story.

[linda kleiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action packed story of Hannibal's life.

An action packed story of Hannibal's life.

This book is an account of his many campaigns including intrigue and lots of battles. His family also holds a prominent role with his wife as his close advisor and his sons and nephews advancing in the army.

[Suryabrata Banerjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially the second part of 'Babylon - The Concubine's Son'. It follows the same theme, that is Hammurabi's life, but the later part of it. It is an easy read and again describe an interesting time of the human history. The story telling is not top quality but good enough to hold my attention.

[P McL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice Read

Very nice read. interesting characters and plenty of adventure and intrigue. More of a vacation book or an airplane book than a serious lock the door, phone off the hook read.

[Cristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly edited/proof-read.

Merged review:

The poor editing and proof reading ruined what could have been an interesting tale of Hammurabi.