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The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East
This book represents the first comprehensive, interdisciplinary presentation of ancient Near Eastern civilization. Concentrating on Mesopotamia and North Syria and focusing particularly on the cultures of Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria, von Soden covers the earliest times to Hellenization. His study of ancient "humanity in its wholeness" includes treatments of the history of language and systems of writing, the state and society, nutrition and agriculture, artisanry, economics, law, science, religion and magic, art, music, and more. A valuable background work for students of the Bible. Includes 18 black-and-white photographs.
283 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 1994
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About the author
Wolfram von Soden
28 books1 followerWolfram Freiherr von Soden was the most notable German Assyriologist of the post-World-War II era, in a discipline long dominated by German scholars and German scholarship.
Born in Berlin, Wolfram von Soden was a gifted student of the ancient Semitic languages who studied under the noted Jewish Assyriologist, Benno Landsberger, at Leipzig and received his doctorate in 1931, at age 23, with his thesis Der hymnisch-epische Dialekt des Akkadischen (The Hymnic-Epic Dialect of Akkadian). In 1936, he was appointed a professor of Assyriology and Arabic studies, a new position, at the University of Göttingen. While his mentor, Landsberger, was obliged to leave Germany due to National-Socialist racial policy, von Soden joined the Sturmabteilung (the SA, the so-called Brownshirts) in 1934. An ardent German nationalist, he never joined the NSDAP--the Nazi Party, but in 1944 the SA and its members were compulsorily integrated into the NSDAP, a fact that has led to certain American detractors portraying von Soden as a Nazi and anti-Semite, despite his personal ties to Landsberger.
From 1939 to 1945, von Soden served in the military, primarily as a translator, and in 1940 this work prevented him accepting the offer of a chair in Ancient Near Eastern studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. Von Soden published significant works that implicitly supported Nazi cultural and racial policy.
Following the Second World War, von Soden’s former activities as an involuntary member of the Nazi Party initially barred his reentry to the teaching profession. Because of his extraordinary abilities, however, and thanks to his Doktorvater, Benno Landsberger, who wrote in his support, von Soden was appointed to an academic position at the University of Vienna in 1954. In 1961, he accepted the offer of a professorship at Münster, where he served as director of the Oriental Seminar until his retirement in 1976. At his death in 1996, he left his scholarly library to the newly revived Institute for Near Eastern Studies at the University of Leipzig, where he had earned his doctorate.
After World War II, von Soden became the pre-eminent scholar in the world in ancient Semitic languages, and his scholarship dominated the post World War II era. He was an integral member of the "history of religions" (Religionsgeschichte) school at Goettingen, and disproved the long-standing claim that the Babylonians had believed in a "dying, rising god". His philological works, particularly the Akkadisches Handwoerterbuch (AHW), in which the Dutch scholar Rykle Borger assisted, laid the basis for the detailed philological contributions that later appeared in the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. His Grundriss Akkadischer Grammatik (GAG) and the AHW remain the definitive foundational works of Assyriology today and establish von Soden as the dean of ancient Near Eastern Studies in the world.
No other single scholar has made a contribution to the modern understanding of ancient Semitic languages that comes even close to von Soden's in the areas of philology and lexicography, the foundational elements of any historical discipline. Charges that his work evidenced a Nazi outlook primarily by denigrating Semitic cultural influences in the ancient Near East in favor of Indo-European or “Indo-Germanic” cultures, are refuted by his detailed work on the history and languages of the ancient Semitic peoples in his Einfuehrung in die Altorientalistik, translated into English by Dr. Donald G. Schley and published by Eerdmans in 1994 as The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East. So far was von Soden from a Nazi outlook that he made substantial contributions to Old Testament philology and history. Earlier works included Der Aufstieg des Assyrerreichs als geschichtliches Problem (1937, The Rise of the Assyrian Empire as an Historical Problem) and Arabische wehrsprachliche Ausdrücke (1942, Arabic Military Terminology and Expressions).
Born in Berlin, Wolfram von Soden was a gifted student of the ancient Semitic languages who studied under the noted Jewish Assyriologist, Benno Landsberger, at Leipzig and received his doctorate in 1931, at age 23, with his thesis Der hymnisch-epische Dialekt des Akkadischen (The Hymnic-Epic Dialect of Akkadian). In 1936, he was appointed a professor of Assyriology and Arabic studies, a new position, at the University of Göttingen. While his mentor, Landsberger, was obliged to leave Germany due to National-Socialist racial policy, von Soden joined the Sturmabteilung (the SA, the so-called Brownshirts) in 1934. An ardent German nationalist, he never joined the NSDAP--the Nazi Party, but in 1944 the SA and its members were compulsorily integrated into the NSDAP, a fact that has led to certain American detractors portraying von Soden as a Nazi and anti-Semite, despite his personal ties to Landsberger.
From 1939 to 1945, von Soden served in the military, primarily as a translator, and in 1940 this work prevented him accepting the offer of a chair in Ancient Near Eastern studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. Von Soden published significant works that implicitly supported Nazi cultural and racial policy.
Following the Second World War, von Soden’s former activities as an involuntary member of the Nazi Party initially barred his reentry to the teaching profession. Because of his extraordinary abilities, however, and thanks to his Doktorvater, Benno Landsberger, who wrote in his support, von Soden was appointed to an academic position at the University of Vienna in 1954. In 1961, he accepted the offer of a professorship at Münster, where he served as director of the Oriental Seminar until his retirement in 1976. At his death in 1996, he left his scholarly library to the newly revived Institute for Near Eastern Studies at the University of Leipzig, where he had earned his doctorate.
After World War II, von Soden became the pre-eminent scholar in the world in ancient Semitic languages, and his scholarship dominated the post World War II era. He was an integral member of the "history of religions" (Religionsgeschichte) school at Goettingen, and disproved the long-standing claim that the Babylonians had believed in a "dying, rising god". His philological works, particularly the Akkadisches Handwoerterbuch (AHW), in which the Dutch scholar Rykle Borger assisted, laid the basis for the detailed philological contributions that later appeared in the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. His Grundriss Akkadischer Grammatik (GAG) and the AHW remain the definitive foundational works of Assyriology today and establish von Soden as the dean of ancient Near Eastern Studies in the world.
No other single scholar has made a contribution to the modern understanding of ancient Semitic languages that comes even close to von Soden's in the areas of philology and lexicography, the foundational elements of any historical discipline. Charges that his work evidenced a Nazi outlook primarily by denigrating Semitic cultural influences in the ancient Near East in favor of Indo-European or “Indo-Germanic” cultures, are refuted by his detailed work on the history and languages of the ancient Semitic peoples in his Einfuehrung in die Altorientalistik, translated into English by Dr. Donald G. Schley and published by Eerdmans in 1994 as The Ancient Orient: An Introduction to the Study of the Ancient Near East. So far was von Soden from a Nazi outlook that he made substantial contributions to Old Testament philology and history. Earlier works included Der Aufstieg des Assyrerreichs als geschichtliches Problem (1937, The Rise of the Assyrian Empire as an Historical Problem) and Arabische wehrsprachliche Ausdrücke (1942, Arabic Military Terminology and Expressions).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 6, 2013
Introduction to ancient near eastern culture, based primarily on analysis of texts. Unfortunately does not include translations of texts (particularly in the chapter on literature) & most of the footnotes are to German sources. There are many caveats about how much is unknown or uncertain or hasn't been subject to detailed study, so I would have liked a little more detail about why Assyriologists believe the things that are discussed are correct.
January 6, 2018
Wolfram von Soden was one of the great Assyriologists, a leader in his field in Germany (a country that itself leads the field - it is said that the most important ancient near eastern language for a student to learn is German) and this book is described as "The summing up of a lifelong career in Assyriology" - a swansong, so to speak.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfram...
Naturally I had fairly high expectations.
In the final analysis, though, I was a little let down. This book is touted as an introductory text book and it aims to survey Mesopotamian culture as the root of western culture, rather than to provide a (much more useful, IMO) survey of society and thought of the period. It does a reasonable job of presenting its subject matter, though I found that it was written as if the reader already had some knowledge of the period - which to me seems to defeat the purpose of writing an introductory book.
Furthermore, it felt to me like it didn't really know what it wanted to be. The translator's preface speaks quite a bit about biblical studies and how the book will be of use to students of biblical history - and yet the text itself barely touches on biblical history at all. And the author takes some pains in the beginning of the book to define the 'ancient orient' (as a region encompassing Egypt, Canaan, Syria, Anatolia, Urartu, Elam, and Persia) so that one feels like one is about to get a comparative treatment in which all of these cultures are addressed - which would have been interesting and challenging. But that doesn't happen, either. About 90% of the book is devoted to Sumer/Akkad/Babylon/Assyria, another 7% to Syria, and the remaining 3% to all the rest combined.
And lastly, it's beginning to show its age. Von Soden (like Samuel Noah Kramer, who might be more familiar to the English speaking world) was one of the greats, but the study has moved on since they were last able to contribute - the landscape has changed. This is not to diminish their work, but it does make it harder to recommend.
So in the end I don't find much here for new people to the subject, and not much for seasoned people like myself, either. And since I can't really find an appropriate audience for the book, I'm not going to recommend it. Other, more current books, will do the job better for you.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfram...
Naturally I had fairly high expectations.
In the final analysis, though, I was a little let down. This book is touted as an introductory text book and it aims to survey Mesopotamian culture as the root of western culture, rather than to provide a (much more useful, IMO) survey of society and thought of the period. It does a reasonable job of presenting its subject matter, though I found that it was written as if the reader already had some knowledge of the period - which to me seems to defeat the purpose of writing an introductory book.
Furthermore, it felt to me like it didn't really know what it wanted to be. The translator's preface speaks quite a bit about biblical studies and how the book will be of use to students of biblical history - and yet the text itself barely touches on biblical history at all. And the author takes some pains in the beginning of the book to define the 'ancient orient' (as a region encompassing Egypt, Canaan, Syria, Anatolia, Urartu, Elam, and Persia) so that one feels like one is about to get a comparative treatment in which all of these cultures are addressed - which would have been interesting and challenging. But that doesn't happen, either. About 90% of the book is devoted to Sumer/Akkad/Babylon/Assyria, another 7% to Syria, and the remaining 3% to all the rest combined.
And lastly, it's beginning to show its age. Von Soden (like Samuel Noah Kramer, who might be more familiar to the English speaking world) was one of the greats, but the study has moved on since they were last able to contribute - the landscape has changed. This is not to diminish their work, but it does make it harder to recommend.
So in the end I don't find much here for new people to the subject, and not much for seasoned people like myself, either. And since I can't really find an appropriate audience for the book, I'm not going to recommend it. Other, more current books, will do the job better for you.
January 24, 2018
This work serves as a comprehensive overview of the Ancient Orient. Von Soden relies on primary texts to explore different facets of the people who lived in the region. This work is beneficial for readers who have a basic understanding of the period or at the very least know a few of the names. As many of the other reviewers have stated many of the footnotes are German sources which was difficult for a non-German speaker. Overall it was a interesting read on the period.
May 3, 2022
Probably somewhat date at this point, but there's not much in the way of competition. Still a useful introduction and survey, good for someone not specializing in the Ancient Near East but wanting some background for biblical studies.
September 25, 2017
It is just so hard to get a really good book on this topic. Like many others this is haphazard and is stuck on the islands of relative knowledge instead of trying to fill in the gaps.
August 5, 2013
Von Soden's work is an excellent introduction to the Ancient Near East, comprehensive in its coverage of a wide range of topics, time periods, and geographic settings. A feminist historiography you will not find, as women's daily lives and roles in society are not a focal point. King lists and men's roles in society are much more prominent, as are traditional views on history (i.e. that history does not "begin" until the advent of writing). However, for anyone hoping to gain a broad understanding of what life was like in Mesopotamia or the Ancient Near East for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Millennia BCE, this book is a great survey.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews