Daniel C. Snell - Ancient Near East: The Basics

ANCIENT NEAR EAST

THE BASICS

Ancient Near East: The Basics surveys the history of the ancient Middle East from the invention of writing to Alexander the Great's conquest. The book introduces both the physical and the intellectual environment of those times, the struggles of state-building and empire construction, and the dissent from those efforts. Topics covered include:

• What do we mean when we talk about the Ancient Near East?
• The rise and fall of powerful states and monarchs
• Daily life both in the cities and out in the fields
• The legacy of the Ancient Near East: religion, science, and writing systems.

Featuring a glossary, timeline, and suggestions for further reading, this book has all the tools the reader needs to understand the history and study of the Ancient Near East.

Daniel C. Snell is the L. J. Semrod Presidential Professor of History at the University of Oklahoma.

ACTING
BELLA MERLIN

AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY
NANCY STANLICK

ANTHROPOLOGY
PETER METCALF

ARCHAEOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
CLIVE GAMBLE

ART HISTORY
GRANT POOKE AND DIANA NEWALL

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
KEVIN WARWICK

THE BIBLE
JOHN BARTON

BUDDHISM
CATHY CANTWELL

THE CITY
KEVIN ARCHER

CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
SUMAN GUPTA

CRIMINAL LAW
JONATHAN HERRING

CRIMINOLOGY (SECOND EDITION)
SANDRA WALKLATE

DANCE STUDIES
JO BUTTERWORTH

EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
VICTORIA S. HARRISON

ECONOMICS (SECOND EDITION)
TONY CLEAVER

EDUCATION
KAY WOOD

EVOLUTION
SHERRIE LYONS

EUROPEAN UNION (SECOND EDITION)
ALEX WARLEIGH-LACK

FILM STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)
AMY VILLAREJO

FINANCE (SECOND EDITION)
ERIK BANKS

FREE WILL
MEGHAN GRIFFITH

HUMAN GENETICS
RICKI LEWIS

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
ANDREW JONES

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
PETER SUTCH AND JUANITA ELIAS

ISLAM (SECOND EDITION)
COLIN TURNER

JOURNALISM STUDIES
MARTIN CONBOY

JUDAISM
JACOB NEUSNER

LANGUAGE (SECOND EDITION)
R.L. TRASK

LAW
GARY SLAPPER AND DAVID KELLY

LITERARY THEORY (SECOND EDITION)
HANS BERTENS

LOGIC
J.C. BEALL

MANAGEMENT
MORGEN WITZEL

MARKETING (SECOND EDITION)
KARL MOORE AND NIKETH PAREEK

MEDIA STUDIES
JULIAN MCDOUGALL

THE OLYMPICS
ANDY MIAH AND BEATRIZ GARCIA

PHILOSOPHY (FIFTH EDITION)
NIGEL WARBURTON

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
JOSEPH HOLDEN

POETRY (SECOND EDITION)
JEFFREY WAINWRIGHT

POLITICS (FOURTH EDITION)
STEPHEN TANSEY AND NIGEL JACKSON

THE QUR'AN
MASSIMO CAMPANINI

RACE AND ETHNICITY
PETER KIVISTO AND PAUL R. CROLL

RELIGION (SECOND EDITION)
MALORY NYE

RELIGION AND SCIENCE
PHILIP CLAYTON

RESEARCH METHODS
NICHOLAS WALLIMAN

ROMAN CATHOLICISM
MICHAEL WALSH

SEMIOTICS (SECOND EDITION)
DANIEL CHANDLER

SHAKESPEARE (THIRD EDITION)
SEAN MCEVOY

SOCIAL WORK
MARK DOEL

SOCIOLOGY
KEN PLUMMER

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS
JANICE WEARMOUTH

TELEVISION STUDIES
TOBY MILLER

TERRORISM
JAMES LUTZ AND BRENDA LUTZ

THEATRE STUDIES (SECOND EDITION)
ROBERT LEACH

WOMEN'S STUDIES
BONNIE SMITH

WORLD HISTORY
PETER N. STEARNS

ANCIENT NEAR EAST

THE BASICS

Daniel C. Snell

First published 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2014 Daniel C. Snell

The right of Daniel C. Snell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Snell, Daniel C.
Ancient Near East: the basics / Daniel C. Snell.
pages cm. -- (The basics)
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada--Title page verso.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Middle East--History--To 622. 2. Middle East--Civilization--To 622. I. Title.
DS62.2.S57 2013
939.4--dc23
2013004790

ISBN: 978-0-415-65697-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-65698-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-79832-4 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo
by Taylor & Francis Books

For Marjorie Anctil and her Dennis,
Proving daily that there is never any reason to be bored
Because there is so much more to learn

All figures reproduced with kind permission of Adrienne Day.

In the preparation of this work I again must express my appreciation to my wife, Dr. Katie Barwick-Snell, who reviewed every aspect of it as it was being revised, to our colleague and friend Adrienne Day, MfA, who created the original artwork, and to the staff at Routledge who saw it into final form. My long-suffering brother, David Snell, read a draft of the work and had valuable suggestions. As ever I am indebted to the stimulating environment of the University of Oklahoma's Department of History under the leadership of Dr. Robert Griswold for encouragement, and to the libraries of the University for the acquisition and borrowing of obscure tomes for my edification and amusement. None of the people or institutions mentioned is responsible for my errors.

I want to dedicate this work to my sister and her husband; Marjorie Snell Zack Anctil taught professionally for much of her life, and she exemplifies the dedication to the life of the mind.

DCS
Norman, Oklahoma, October 2012

Anyone who has studied even a little bit about the Middle East today has had the following conversation: Someone: Wow, the wars in the Middle East are constant. They are always fighting each other, and it seems as though it's been going on forever. You: Well, not exactly forever, and not with the same sides. Someone: But I mean, it goes back to the Bible, doesn't it, and long before? You: Not exactly.