Mark’s Reviews > The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction > Status Update

It’s intriguing though not surprising that Mesopotamian letters would be brief and impersonal. No doubt having to write on clay tablets had a part to play in it, although Podany doesn’t mention this. Instead, she claims it’s because letters were only sent for important matters and that senders and recipients might be illiterate, meaning their private letters would be read by scribes or interpreters

I find it fascinating how complex the tax scheme in the Third Dynasty of Ur was. It’s interesting that one province every month would pay tax to the king, and wealthier provinces would do so more than once a year. I also think it’s interesting that the king would pay back the provinces in livestock for their services to the state

Again, Mesopotamia provides insights into how our modern institutions were formed. Podany discuses the theories to how Sumerian city-states got their first kings. Either they were military leaders who remained in power after war or they were selected by elders to balance out the power of the priests. In either case, it seems his subjects respected his power because he provided for them

The first real chapter dives into Uruk culture in the late 4th millennium BC. Uruk was a city in Sumer. What’s interesting about Uruk is that it provides insights into how our earliest cultural and political institutions were formed. For example, Uruk didn’t have kings to begin with, only priests ruled (we think). Also, language began as was to record transactions and the number of goods owned

The introductory chapter feels a bit disjointed. It’s divided into three parts: a brief blurb on archeology, an overview of near east geography, and a short outline of the rest of the book. Everything is treated very superficially but that’s to be expected of a book of this kind. Podany’s writing is clear and concise. To me, the lack of information helps me to see the bigger picture