Wonderful concise and entertaining survey of the entirety of Mesopotamian history and more through a look at ten forgotten ancient cities, from their founding, flourishing, struggling, and often revivals to then their ultimate demise. From prominent ancient personalities both men and woman, to ancient text, religion, society, culture, military and political conquest, religion , art, architecture, trade, migrations, to invention and agriculture Ms. Leick is able to capture it all in a very readable book that will spurn you on to wanting to know more.
The map and chronology at the beginning of the book are useful tools in helping you through. Having had some minor exposure to the once lost era will make the read more enjoyable. Perhaps Leonard Woolley's "The Sumerian's" or Samuel Noah Kramer's "The Sumerian's, Their History Culture and Character" will help as both authoritarians are still quite relevant, most readable and are hardly a waste of your time. Now if you need a good flavoring and first place to start I'd highly recommend "Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth" by Diane Wokstein and Samuel Noah Kramer as well as "Inanna, Lady of the Largest Heart (Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna {first known author in the history of the world-2,300 BC}) by Betty De Shong Meador. Neither book covers the same literature and both will leave you wondering if these stories can be true while through your further readings you will find them to be just that
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Top reviews from other countries
Zazai
Read waaaay better history books. Didnt like how this one was written.
Reviewed in the Netherlands on September 26, 2023Angela Sung
Mesopotamia in 10 cities
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2023
Angela Sung
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 5, 2023
I feel that if you are not very familiar with the topic, or if this is your first book on the matter, you will get quite confused about the timeline and the events. Especially with these geographically and politically related entities, you have to understand they were not isolated from one another in their courses of history. It is somehow like the Greek city states. While they were developing individually, they also interacted with each other. Thus their history were inseparable. One thing about dividing chapters by cities is that the timeline got messed up. One may think that the first city rose and declined before the second flourished. But this is absolutely not the case. They happened at the same time. Readers have to bear it in mind when reading the book.
Besides, all chapters started with an archaeological record with names and years. It increased the difficulty of understanding. It is very easy to get lost in the archaeological accounts and forgot what you are looking for. If this is your first book on Mesopotamia, I suggest you to go through it once quickly to get a brief knowledge and then go for another book that explains everything following the timeline. After that, if you come back to this book you will find it much clearer and easier to digest the information.
Lastly, the font is a bit too small. If will be better if they are slightly larger. Plus the descriptions do not match some of the pictures. They were put in wrong order if you examine carefully.
Overall, I quite enjoy the book though it seems I am not recommending it with my comments above. As I have a solid understanding on the subject, I have no difficulty finishing it and found the details very interesting and informative. It is up to you whether it is something for you.
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CatsAndBooks
Visiting ancient cities
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2017Djilly L.
Lonely Planet 2000 BC .. lots to soak up
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2019
Djilly L.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2019
In a remarkable manner Leick choses to discuss the history of the Mesopotamian cities through a detailed, vibrant overview of its various cities and their stages of development. This suited me well. However I must say that I’ve read quite a few books on the topic and from this background I found this approach highly interesting and refreshing.
It begins with almost mythical Eridu from there you’ll be taken on a journey to Ur, undiscovered enigmatic Akkad, Nineveh ect to eventually conclude with Babylon the cosmopolitan metropolis. One city is covered per chapter and each chapter starts off with the site’s archaeological backdrop. For each city you’ll learn about culture, specific local customs, known leaders and preeminent inhabitants Each section concludes with the religion and gods worshipped in the city.
In general the book covers a myriad of Mesopotamian everyday life aspects. Poets, traders, priests and business-women all get proper attention. The author also discussed the subsequent immigration waves that the region saw, like the Elamites, Medes, Aramaeans and Semitic tribes. Needless to say I learned a lot from this work, I was just constantly soaking up the information.
It’s a book from 15 years ago and despite the tragic destruction in the region, knowledge and insights must have progressed. So I’m very curious for an update.
Next this I would point to the lack of illustrations. The centrefold photos are a helpful visual aid, but it was disappointing that they weren't in colour and it remains pretty minimal. Books like these would massively benefit from timeline graphs, dress examples and schematics of cities, buildings and art - just to bring the imagination to life even more. After all pictures and graphs often say more than a 1000 words. Yet, this appears to remain a taboo in academic circles even in this digital age where digital books defy costly and complex printing restrictions.
Nevertheless a highly fascinating, enlightening book.
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