Mesopotamia, situated roughly where Iraq is today, was one of the greatest ancient civilizations. It was here that the very first cities were created and where the familiar sights of modern urban life - public buildings and gardens, places of worship, even streets and pavements - were originally invented.

A comprehensive survey of a whole range of ancient Near Eastern architecture showing the development of the principal styles within their geographical and historical context.

The Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology covers sources from Mesopotamia, Syro-Palestine and Anatolia, from around 2800 to 300 BC. It contains entries on gods and goddesses, giving evidence of their worship in temples, describing their 'character', as documented by the texts, and defining their roles within the body of mythological narratives; synoptic entries on myths, giving the place of origin of main texts and a brief history of their transmission through the ages; and entries explaining the use of specialist terminology, for such things as categories of Sumerian texts or...

What do we know of the real Nebuchadnezzar? Was there an historical precedent for the mythical Gilgamesh? Who were the Hittites? When did Isaiah preach? How did Jezebel get her reputation? These and many more questions are answered in this survey of the people who inhabited the Near East between the 25th and the second centuries BC. From Palestine to Iran and from Alexander the Great to Zechariah, the text presents a comprehensive reference guide for all those with an interest in the ancient history of the area. A comprehesive glossary, chronological charts, maps and bibliographical...

This reference work covers the peoples of Mesopotamia and the surrounding areas from the earliest historic documents in the first Dynasty of Kish up to the end of the Seleucid period.

Since the discovery of Nineveh 150 years ago, countless excavators have been searching for the lost civilizations of the ancient Near East. We now know the names of thousands of gods and goddesses, the words of hymns and litanies, the daily procedures of the Babylonian cult, as well as a growing number of mythological tales. A substantial number of the texts discussed in this volume originate from the archives of such ancient cities as Nineveh, Ur, Babylon and Hattusa. Through a collection of entries, which should provide sufficient detail and cross-referencing to be of use to the more...

For centuries, Babylon has been a symbol of the decadent city par excellence, signifying a deep mistrust of urbanization in general. In the Bible, the city has only negative connotations; and while later classical writers admired the city's size and splendour, they deplored some of its more unusual customs. Whatever the perspective taken, it was usual to take Babylon as standing for the whole of Mesopotamian civilization. The history of the Babylonians spans some 1800 years, from the time of Hammurabi, famous for his Law-Code, to the time when Alexander's heirs ruled the Near East....

For centuries, Babylon has been a symbol of the decadent city par excellence, signifying a deep mistrust of urbanization in general. In the Bible, the city has only negative connotations; and while later classical writers admired the city's size and splendour, they deplored some of its more unusual customs. Whatever the perspective taken, it was usual to take Babylon as standing for the whole of Mesopotamian civilization. The history of the Babylonians spans some 1800 years, from the time of Hammurabi, famous for his Law-Code, to the time when Alexander's heirs ruled the Near East....

A glimpse of a world with a sexual culture and erotic values very different from our own, through exploration of the earliest preserved written evidence on the subject - the Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform sources of the 21st to 5th centuries BC. Drawing on sophisticated literary texts - courtly love poems and bridal songs, myths, narratives and incantations - this book uncovers a range of perspectives on the subject of passion and pleasure. The reader is treated to eloquent and freely-expressed views on topics from prostitution, love magic and deviant sexual practice to gender, fertility and...

The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia defines concepts, customs, and notions peculiar to the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia, from adult adoption to ziggurats. This is accomplished through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, appendixes, and hundreds of cross-reference dictionary entries on religion, economy, society, geography, and important kings and rulers.