The Ancient Near Eastern World

by Podany, Amanda H.; McGee, Marni

• ISBN13: 9780195161595
• ISBN10: 0195161599
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-24
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What do the wheel, the law, and belief in a single god have in common? Allof these ideas first came to people who lived in the ancient Near East. As ifthese revolutionary developments weren't enough to make a mark on world history,these ancient innovators also came up with the most fantastic invention ofall-writing. The Ancient Near Eastern World is filled with the scribes, potters,sculptors, architects, schoolchildren, lawmakers, kings, queens, farmers, andpriests who designed and created that world.The World in Ancient Times dusts off ancient artifacts and texts and assemblesthem anew as pieces of the never-ending puzzle we call ancient history. Readersbecome part of the process of historical investigation as they explore theseprimary sources, learning not just what we know but how we know it. Accomplishedhistorical novelists collaborate with leading historians and archaeologists toweave the most up-to-date scholarship into stories that are vivid, suspenseful,and fun.Grades 6-8

Author Biography

Amanda H. Podany is Professor of history and director of the honors program at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is the author ofThe Land of Hana: Kings, Chronology, and Scribal Tradition (CDL Press, 2002).
Marni McGee is the author ofThe Ancient Roman World (OUP, 2003), Forest Child (Green Tiger, 1995),The Quiet Farmer (Atheneum, 1991), andDiego Columbus: Adventures on the High Seas (Revell, 1992).

Table of Contents

Cast of Characters	9	(3)
Map of the Ancient Near Eastern World	12	(2)
Introduction: The Shape of Things to Come	14	(2)
Ancient Trash and Buried Treasure: Archaeologists at Work	16	(7)
A Syrian tell
Royal tombs
Rivers and Ditches, Temples and Farms: Irrigation and the Growth of Towns	23	(6)
``The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Akkad''
A Mesopotamian town
Of Potters and Pots, Plowmen and Plows: Technology and the First Cities	29	(7)
Two pots from Iraq
How Words Changed the World: The Invention of Writing	36	(7)
A messenger tablet
A personal letter
A World Full of Gods and Goddesses: Religion in Mesopotamia	43	(6)
Hymns to the gods Shamash and Enlil
``Incantation Against Thunder''
``Myth of Atrahasis''
The Death of a Sumerian Lady: Queens, Kings, and Religion in Early Cities	49	(6)
Royal tombs in Iraq
The Sumerian King List
A stone bowl from Iraq
A Sumerian king's inscription
The First Superhero: The Story of Gilgamesh	55	(4)
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The World's First Empire Builder: Sargon, King of Akkad	59	(6)
An Akkadian legend
Sargon's inscriptions
Syrian letter
``The Curse of Agade''
The Care and Feeding of Ancient Gods: Priestesses and Priests in Mesopotamia	65	(5)
A high priestess's hymn
A list of omens
A poem
Laying Down the Law: Hammurabi and the First Lawmakers	70	(6)
A king's hymn to himself
``The Wedding of Amurru''
Hammurabi's laws
Order in the Court! The Justice System in Mesopotamia	76	(4)
Adoption contracts
An inheritance claim
Farmers and Doctors, Barbers and Builders: Mesopotamian Workers, Slave and Free	80	(5)
Scribal records
Laws
Ur-Utu's Story: The Mesopotamian Family	85	(6)
A dowry list
A marriage contract
A personal letter
Laws
Scribes, School, and Schoolboys: Education in Ancient Mesopotamia	91	(4)
Sumerian stories
A contract
A riddle
Lovers, Sisters, and Cooks: Scenes from a Mesopotamian Palace	95	(6)
Letters
A palace in Syria
The Surprise Ending of the Babylonian Empire: Hittite Victories and Indo-European Languages	101	(6)
A Babylonian chronicle
A proclamation
Hittite annals
Brides and Brother Kings: Diplomacy and the Great Powers	107	(7)
Egyptian, Babylonian, and Hittite letters
King David and His Family: The Settlements and Movements of the Israelites	114	(6)
A Phoenician king's inscription
The Moabite Stone
The Books of Ruth, First Samuel, First Kings and Proverbs
One God, Many Stories: The Beliefs of the Israelites	120	(5)
The Book of Genesis
A Mesopotamian poem
The Lost Laws of the Israelites: The Exodus and the Ten Commandments	125	(8)
The Book of Second Kings, Exodus, and Deuteronomy
Assyria's Fighter Kings: Warriors Build an Empire	133	(6)
Sculptures and inscriptions from a palace in Iraq
The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser
An Assyrian king's inscription
The Second Book of Kings
A Bright Star Shines---Briefly: Babylon Rises, Judah Falls	139	(6)
A Babylonian chronicle
A ration list from Babylon
The Second Book of Kings
The Book of Psalms
A Mother's Love and a Ruler's Tears: The Last Mesopotamian King	145	(5)
An autobiography
A New Year's festival program
Two kings' inscriptions
Of Camels, Kings, and Conquerors: The Persian Empire	150	(7)
A Greek history
A Persian king's inscription
The Book of Isaiah
Epilogue: A World Not Truly Lost	157	(3)
Timeline	160	(3)
Further Reading	163	(3)
Websites	166	(2)
Index	168	(4)
Text Credits	172