Product Description

This beautifully illustrated guide to the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, is the perfect companion for travelers and armchair travelers alike. It provides a concise survey of three ancient cultures that have often been misunderstood, both because of Biblical and neoclassical traditions, and because of twentieth- and twenty-first-century events. Lavishly illustrated in full color on every page, the book is arranged topically to cover the broad areas of life, such as people, politics, religion, the world of the dead, and important places and monuments. The text emphasizes the archaeological and literary evidence pertaining to Mesopotamia during the period before the arrival of Alexander the Great, beginning with the written sources, including the list of Sumerian kings and the epic of Gilgamesh, and continuing with the major personages, such as the Akkadian monarchy from Sargon through Nabonedo. The book also brings together the principal Mesopotamian works of art that have been dispersed in museums worldwide - notably the materials from the Baghdad Museum that were damaged or lost in the present war. Packed with information, images, maps, diagrams, and reconstructions, Mesopotamia is the perfect companion to an important ancient civilization.
Copub: Mondadori Electa

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #130173 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Review
"These are visual, broadly oriented guides."--Choice

"A fascinating collection. . . . All you have ever wanted to know about ancient Mesopotamian civilization is here and so well done!"--European Legacy

About the Author
Enrico Ascalone is an archaeologist specializing in Oriental studies. He has taken part in Italian archaeological missions to Ebla (Syria) and Tell Tuqan (Syria) since 1993 and has been a member of the Italo-Palestinian Archaeological Mission to Jericho/Tell es-Sultan (PNA) since 1998. He lectures in archaeology and art history at Rome University and at the University IULM (Istituto Universitario Lingue Moderne) in Milan.

Customer Reviews

A Great Layman's Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamia
This book is an introduction to ancient Mesopotamia with heavy emphasis on the art of the region. It is aimed for the armchair archaeologist and is not written for a professional in the field.

The book contains a variety of short (one or two page) topics with one or more relevent photographs on each page. The topics are to the point and give the reader the most important facts in a clear and highly readable manner. The photographs are well captioned, in fact most of the photos have several captions with a line extending from the caption to a specific detail in the picture that is being explained.

For example, the entry for Hammurabi is three pages long and has three color photos. One of the pictures has five captions which point out specific details about the crown, hair and beard styles and the finding of the statue in the picture. The text for this entry is one page long and tells the reader when Hammurabi ruled, what his major accomplishments were and what major ancient texts survive from his reign. Other entries in the book include brief biographies of other important kings, information about the major gods, and discussions about the legal system, religious festivals, jewelry, and art.

The photos in this book are in full color and are of high quality. There is also a collection of useful maps in the rear of the book and floor plans of the major buildings mentioned in the text.

My only complaint about the book is the fact that the binding does not allow the book to be opened flat. However, this book is still a very good survey of ancient Mesopotamia and is very reasoably priced.

A Basic Text for Bible and Archeology Study, Well Illustrated
This edition offers a well printed and well illustrated review (with a substantial bibliography) of the three great (yes!) civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia. Of special interest for Bible studies are the many reproductions of Assyrian and late Babylonian reliefs, statues, and paintings--some of them eerily redolant of contemporary Middle Eastern types ( a reminder of the shameful falsifications promulgated by Hollywood's biblical forays). Well translated from the Italian text with good color and full legend for each illustration (tho, alas, attribution for the superb Sumerian statue adorning the cover is tucked away in the text). Humbling in its reminder of the great achievements of these ancient civilizations (while Europe was doing what?...) that have so profoundly influenced Western culture, beliefs, science (flood stories and dear ol' Gilgamesh; astronomy; divisions by 60 of minutes, seconds, etc., etc.). The reader should bring a rudimentary knowledge of the time sequence of these civilizations. Father Abraham's splendid Ur of the Chaldeans receives a nicely illustrated discussion. A basic and valuable text, a labor of love and scholarship. By the way, a poignant entry describes the National Museum of Irag, in Baghdad, as "the leading museum in the Near East. Before it was damaged and sacked...."

Delightfullllllllll...Excellent......Beautifulllll
I loved every page of it.
Beautifully illustrated.
Tons of information.
Great chronological and social presentation of multiple civilizations.
Exciting and educational.
Informative and entertainming.
Simply perfect!