A Companion to the Ancient Near East

by Daniel C. Snell (Editor)

A Companion to the Ancient Near East offers students andgeneral readers a comprehensive overview of Near Easterncivilization from the Bronze Age to the conquests of Alexander theGreat.

Covers the civilizations of the Sumerians, Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians, Israelites and Persians


Places particular emphasis on social and cultural history


Covers the legacy of the Ancient Near East in the medieval andmodern worlds


Provides a useful bibliographical guide to this field ofstudy

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Archaeology

560 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2004

Reviews

[Doug Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As to be expected in such a collection, there was a range of interest and readability with the articles/chapters in the book. Much interesting and informative material which makes the book worth reading or, at least, referencing.

[lauren ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

y’all if u read ur textbook front to back for a class, just include it in ur goodreads challenge. i mean if u read the thing, why not? also for those looking at this review who aren’t my friends and are like, “what is she on about?”: it was actually quite interesting and i enjoyed reading it

[Rostislav Tkachenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good overview of the ANE's geographical, historical, religious, and cultural aspects. Not comprehensive of course but still, very informative

[Ummia Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a book that I have have been wanting to read for a long time. Some of the papers in it are better than others but it is definitely worth reading. As is mentioned in the book's description it is a collection of papers written about the ancient near east. The papers are arranged in five sections as follows:

Part I: The Shape of the Ancient Near East
Chapter 1
Historical Overview (pages 1–19)

Mario Liverani

Chapter 2
From Sedentism to States, 10,000-3000 BCE (pages 20–33)
Augusta Mcmahon

Chapter 3
The Age of Empires, 3100-900 BCE (pages 34–47)
Mark Chavalas

Chapter 4
World Hegemony, 900-300 BCE (pages 48–61)
Paul-Alain Beaulieu


Part II: Discourses on Methods
Chapter 5
Archaeology and the Ancient Near East: Methods and Limits (pages 63–78)
Marie-Henriette Gates

Chapter 6
The Languages of the Ancient Near East (pages 79–94)
Gonzalo Rubio

Chapter 7
The Historian's Task (pages 95–106)
Daniel C. Snell


Part III: Economy and Society
Chapter 8
The Degradation of the Ancient Near Eastern Environment (pages 107–125)
Carlos E. Cordova

Chapter 9
Nomadism Through the Ages (pages 126–140)
Jorge Silva Castillo

Chapter 10
Mesopotamian Cities and Countryside (pages 141–154)
Elizabeth C. Stone

Chapter 11
Money and Trade (pages 155–168)
Christopher M. Monroe

Chapter 12
Working (pages 169–182)
David A. Warburton

Chapter 13
Law and Practice (pages 183–195)
Bruce Wells

Chapter 14
Social Tensions in the Ancient Near East (pages 196–210)
John F. Robertson

Chapter 15
Gender Roles in Ancient Egypt (pages 211–218)
Ann Macy Roth

Chapter 16
Royal Women and the Exercise of Power in the Ancient Near East (pages 219–228)
Sarah C. Melville

Chapter 17
Warfare in Ancient Egypt (pages 229–241)
Anthony J. Spalinger


Part IV: Culture
Chapter 18
Transmission of Knowledge (pages 243–252)
Benjamin R. Foster

Chapter 19
Literature (pages 253–265)
Tawny L. Holm

Chapter 20
Ancient Near Eastern Architecture (pages 266–280)
Sally Dunham

Chapter 21
Mesopotamian Art (pages 281–301)
Marian H. Feldman

Chapter 22
Ancient Mesopotamian Medicine (pages 302–315)
JoAnn Scurlock

Chapter 23
Mesopotamian Cosmology (pages 316–329)
Francesca Rochberg

Chapter 24
Divine and Non-Divine Kingship (pages 330–342)
Philip Jones

Chapter 25
How Religion was Done (pages 343–353)
Gary Beckman



Part V: Heritage of the Ancient Near East
Chapter 26
The Invention of the Individual (pages 355–369)
Daniel C. Snell

Chapter 27
Ethnicity (pages 370–383)
Henri Limet

Chapter 28
Public Versus Private in the Ancient Near East (pages 384–396)
Steven J. Garfinkle

Chapter 29
Democracy and Freedom (pages 397–407)
Matthew Martin and Daniel C. Snell

Chapter 30
Monotheism and Ancient Israelite Religion (pages 408–420)
S. David Sperling

Chapter 31
The Decipherment of the Ancient Near East (pages 421–429)
Peter T. Daniels

Chapter 32
Legacies of the Ancient Near East (pages 430–433)
Daniel C. Snell

[Rob Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to the Ancient Near East, covering the basic aspects of all the major civilisations across the area and the times of power here. For anyone wanting nothing more than a general overview which is easy to read and understand, and yet written by experts, or for any wishing to start out on in depth studies of the Ancient Near East with good lists of further reading, this is THE introductory text to buy.

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent content, interesting approaches.