The Ancient Near Eastern World

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).

• Ancient trash and buried treasure : archaeologists at work ; Rivers and ditches, temples and farms : irrigation and the growth of towns ; Of potters and pots, plowmen and plows : technology and the first cities ; How words changed the world : the invention of writing ; A world full of gods and goddesses : religion in Mesopotamia ; The death of a Sumerian lady : queens, kings, and religion in early cities ; The first superhero : the story of Gilgamesh ; The world's first empire builder : Sargon, king of Akkad ; The care and feeding of ancient gods : priestesses and priests in Mesopotamia ; Laying down the law : Hammurabi and the first lawmakers ; Order in the court! : the justice system in Mesopotamia ; Farmers and doctors, barbers and builders : Mesopotamian workers, slave and free ; Ur-Utu's story : the Mesopotamian family ; Scribes, school, and schoolboys : education in ancient Mesopotamia ; Lovers, sisters, and cooks : scenes from a Mesopotamian palace ; The surprise ending of the Babylonian Empire : Hittite victories and Indo-European languages ; Brides and brother kings : diplomacy and the great powers ; King David and his family : the settlements and movements of the Israelites ; One God, many stories : the beliefs of the Israelites ; The lost laws of the Israelites : the Exodus and the Ten Commandments ; Assyria's fighter kings : warriors build an empire ; A bright star shines briefly : Babylon rises, Judah falls ; A mother's love and a ruler's tears : the last Mesopotamian king ; Of camels, kings, and conquerors : the Persian Empire ; Epilogue : a world not truly lost

This heavily illustrated volume focuses on artifacts uncovered by archaeologists and the human interest stories found in early writing.