Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians (Volume 1)

Dictionaries of Civilization

by Enrico Ascalone, Simona Schultz (Primary Contributor)

This beautifully illustrated guide to the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is the perfect companion for travelers and armchair travelers alike. It provides a concise survey of three ancient cultures that have often been misunderstood, both because of Biblical and neoclassical traditions, and because of twentieth- and twenty-first-century events. Lavishly illustrated in full color on every page, the book is arranged topically to cover the broad areas of life, such as people, politics, religion, the world of the dead, and important places and monuments. The text emphasizes the archaeological and literary evidence pertaining to Mesopotamia during the period before the arrival of Alexander the Great, beginning with the written sources, including the list of Sumerian kings and the epic of Gilgamesh, and continuing with the major personages, such as the Akkadian monarchy from Sargon through Nabonedo. The book also brings together the principal Mesopotamian works of art that have been dispersed in museums worldwide - notably the materials from the Baghdad Museum that were damaged or lost in the present war. Packed with information, images, maps, diagrams, and reconstructions, Mesopotamia is the perfect companion to an important ancient civilization.

Mondadori Electa

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, World History, Art, Middle East

368 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

Reviews

[Dasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo que he tardado en leer este libro. Dios.

Primero quiero hacer una observación y es que creo que le vendría bien un glosario. Sería útil. Sobre todo para los no iniciados en el tema. Éste, desde luego, es un libro para usar como complemento. Por ejemplo: No tenía muy claro lo que era un cilindrosello, a ver, me lo imaginaba pero no me he encontrado con una explicación de su función y características hasta la página 208-209 de 367 páginas. Lo peor de todo es que desde el principio he estado leyendo interpretaciones de cilindrosellos para ilustrar los diferentes puntos que desarrollaba el autor.

Otro problema que le encuentro es lo mal editado que está. Lo difícil que es interpretar algunas de las imágenes, lo caótico de su estructura a la hora de leerlo, etc. Para mí ha sido un cabreo constante y una desesperación que ha hecho que no pudiera leer más que unas pocas páginas cuando me ponía a ello.

No voy a entrar mucho en detalle pero tampoco ha sido un libro demasiado completo. En serio, me ha dejado prácticamente igual que estaba antes de leerlo. Seguramente, en otras ediciones será más legible aunque seguiría siendo más bien un complemento. Que esté incluido en una colección llamada "Los Diccionarios de las Civilizaciones" me parece poco acertado.

[Nura Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben organizzato

[Qubitng · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small size book with full colored pictures on nearly every page. Lots of details about artistic depictions and symbols and architecture. The biggest flaw in this book is the almost complete lack of information concerning their writing system and the two dominant languages of Mesopotamia: Sumerian and Akkadian; and one of the most beautiful-looking writing system: cuneiform which the Sumerians and Akkadians embed into their works of art like the Chinese and Egyptians. Also lacking is any thing about Hammurabi's code except for a photo of a stele from which you can barely see any of the code itself. Also lacking is a graphical timeline of history so you can see an overview.

[Frank Taranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustrations and artwor accompanied by wxplanations. Definitely a learning experience.

[Lugdag Severino · Rating 5 out of 5]

me encanto ese libro