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Blackwell History of the Ancient World
History of the Ancient Near East
This book presents a clear, concise history of the extraordinarily multicultural civilizations of the Ancient Near East. Beginning with the emergence of writing around 3000 BC, the narrative ranges from the origins of the first cities in Mesopotamia, through the growth of the Babylonian and Hittite kingdoms, to the Assyrian and Persian empires. It ends with the transformation of the Ancient Near East by the conquests of Alexander the Great.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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2613 people want to read
About the author
Marc Van de Mieroop
70 books48 followersis a professor of Ancient Near Eastern history at Columbia University.
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October 21, 2024Solid overview of the history of the Ancient Middle East, and specifically the region of Mesopotamia (in the broad sense), from the 4th millennium to the Persian Empire around 500 BCE. Egypt is not included, Van de Mieroop has reserved that for a separate book, and that is a pity, but otherwise it might have become even more voluminous. The author, originally Belgian (° 1956), is professor emeritus at Columbia University, NY, and one of the absolute specialists in this field. In this book he approaches the subject with the appropriate distance; only in a few specific issues (such as the value of the Bible as a historical source) does he dare to express personal views. This is a real standard work, in which political history is central, but that is compensated by 'boxes' in which other themes are discussed. I especially loved the attention he gives to uncertainties in the research and debates amongst specialist. And as a bonus there are very clear maps and chronological overviews. As an introduction to the history of the Ancient Middle East, you can't find anything better, I think.
March 19, 2013
This book is exactly what it advertises itself to be: a clear, concise, single-volume history of the ancient Near East. It covers prehistory, Sumer, Babylon, Assyria, the Hittites, the Elamites, Persia and more. It contains some nice illustrations and a very thorough guide for further reading.
This reads like a textbook (which it is, I assume), with text boxes and short, easily digestible sections. Any historian dealing with this period is confronted with a lack of written documentation, which necessarily makes the history a little thin. And the writing is nothing special (again, it reads like a textbook). But if you're looking for a relatively brief single-volume history of the ancient Near East, this will get the job done. 3 stars.
This reads like a textbook (which it is, I assume), with text boxes and short, easily digestible sections. Any historian dealing with this period is confronted with a lack of written documentation, which necessarily makes the history a little thin. And the writing is nothing special (again, it reads like a textbook). But if you're looking for a relatively brief single-volume history of the ancient Near East, this will get the job done. 3 stars.
November 6, 2020
This was the go-to book for the ancient Near East during my undergraduate days, and it’s pitched perfectly at that level – complex enough to inform and meet the demands of a first degree, simple enough to be easily readable for a student with that level of understanding. By all means, one can go looking and find a book that is even more in-depth and technical, but that’s not this book’s purpose. Conversely, the language is lucid enough that in my estimation a non-student could tackle it, although they might find the length and dryness takes them a little while to get through. Mieroop is well-respected in his field, and this book really encapsulates why. I’m not sure I’d ever do a cover-to-cover re-read, but I can definitely see myself consulting the book again.
8 out of 10
8 out of 10
November 28, 2020
Some historic places and periods are harder to study. Most obviously, because those based on archaelogical evidence depend heavily on luck and interpretation (what you find and how you understand it). But some eras are particularly complex because of a diversity of linguistic, ethnic, regional, and political groupings. To the study of the Ancient Near East must be added the difficulty relative obscurity of the names. Everytime I came across "Egypt" or "Babylonia" I breathed a sigh of relief--Something I recognized. Individual names are even tougher. Here's a random sampling from the dynastic tables at the back of the book: Mutakkil-Nusku, Shattiwara, Tudhaliya III, Ur-Namma, Damiq-ilishu (etc.). Van De Mieroop does an admirable job of giving the era clarity but there's a limit to what even a good historical writer can do. That is not to discourage you from reading the book. It is to warn you not to feel overwhelmed but to stick with it. If gave me a taste and a desire to read more deeply into individual groups (the Assyrians, etc.). This book gave me the ability to feel their places in a larger world and for that it worked commendably.
October 6, 2011
Yay for using textbooks to stack my GR challenge stats!
Anyhow, I feel mildly dishonest rating this because I didn't actually read everything. It's pretty dry, and I didn't have time for some of the middle chapters. I would say that I'll go back and read them, but... I won't. I'll take it to class for discussion tomorrow, then move my bookmark to our next book and leave it on the shelf until it's time to sell it.
But as far as the actual content goes, what I read of it at least - it's not terrible. For a book which is barely 300 pages, including diagrams and photos, and covering almost three thousand years of history in a fairly large and active area, it's pretty good, really. The problem is that the size and broadness of it meant that nothing really was explained thoroughly. A lot of paragraphs were long lists of who conquered what and when they did it. I kind of skimmed those. The interesting things, for me, were the tidbits of sociological information hidden away in between lists of battles. History that's just a list of 'and then x happened and then y' is not appealing to me; I like the human element, the information (or even just speculation) about how people lived. I understand that such information isn't always available in the study of the Near East, but to be honest I don't see the point of lists of battles and surely there's enough sociological information for a tad bit more elaboration.
In the end, well... it isn't leisure reading, but there are worse textbooks.
Anyhow, I feel mildly dishonest rating this because I didn't actually read everything. It's pretty dry, and I didn't have time for some of the middle chapters. I would say that I'll go back and read them, but... I won't. I'll take it to class for discussion tomorrow, then move my bookmark to our next book and leave it on the shelf until it's time to sell it.
But as far as the actual content goes, what I read of it at least - it's not terrible. For a book which is barely 300 pages, including diagrams and photos, and covering almost three thousand years of history in a fairly large and active area, it's pretty good, really. The problem is that the size and broadness of it meant that nothing really was explained thoroughly. A lot of paragraphs were long lists of who conquered what and when they did it. I kind of skimmed those. The interesting things, for me, were the tidbits of sociological information hidden away in between lists of battles. History that's just a list of 'and then x happened and then y' is not appealing to me; I like the human element, the information (or even just speculation) about how people lived. I understand that such information isn't always available in the study of the Near East, but to be honest I don't see the point of lists of battles and surely there's enough sociological information for a tad bit more elaboration.
In the end, well... it isn't leisure reading, but there are worse textbooks.
October 18, 2021
A perfectly serviceable introduction to, well, the history of the Ancient Near East. The author clearly has a few axes to grind (particularly when it comes to the various Indo-Europeans in and around the region) and is about as prone to overestimating the influence of the ANE on the world as the average historian of Classical Antiquity is to overestimating that of Greece (the ANE did not invent cities, or laws, or (if, like Van De Mieroop, you consider Egypt to be peripheral to the region) writing), but none of it gets in the way of this being a very solid and up-to-date survey of the field.
June 14, 2022
A tour of the ancient Near East from the first cities to Alexander the Great. Full of detours and primary sources, which are smartly placed in the middle of relevant chapters. There's a good number of photos too, usually of things like stelae or stone reliefs. Gives general overviews of the big names like Babylon, Sumer, Assyria, Persia, and the Hittites (among many other not-so-important polities and peoples). There's not a huge focus on Egypt because they're *technically* not part of the Near East, but they still pop up now and then. Overall a good intro to Near Eastern history.
June 20, 2019
Although written as a textbook, Marc Van De Mieroop’s history of the ancient near east is a good introduction for anyone with an interest in this subject. Civilization starts here, with the invention of writing and the development of the first city states around 3000 BC. After that it was a complicated whirl of cities and empires, kings and warlords, invasions and conquest, as one dynasty succeeded another every few generations. Cities were laid waste, populations massacred or enslaved, and rulers emerged, flourished for a time, and then died, usually violently, and were replaced by other petty tyrants. Yet through it all, despite the violence that runs like a red thread through the history of the region, life went on. Crops were planted, children and livestock raised, and gods by the bushelful came and went, with their priests always taking their share and more.
It was a long, slow process, but over time the dynasties started to learn from their predecessors, and slowly civilization advanced. The key to this, of course, was writing, and the cuneiform script developed by the Sumerians at the very beginning of the rise of cities was used for the records of many languages and cultures across the region for two thousand years. This allowed knowledge to accumulate, meaning rulers could manage more people across wider regions, and that span of control gradually increased from city states to regional powers to vast empires.
The book’s structure reflects this increase in power. It is divided into three sections: Part 1 covers the city states, Part 2 the territorial states, and Part 3 the empires.
Part 1 begins with a mention of what is known of ancient Mesopotamia before the rise of the first cities, then discusses the early dynasties. Even then the kingships were chaotic and transitory, reminding me of the comments in the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun, dating from 1377 of our era. He made the point that most dynasties last only three generations. The first rises from a lowly place, is accustomed to privation, and through alliances, ruthlessness, and cunning seizes power. The second generation is raised in the palace and becomes sedentary and pleasure loving, but there is still strength in the line, a legacy of having been tutored by their fathers. By the third generation the rulers become decadent and torpid, having never known hardships or the need to lead or show courage. Loyalty toward them dissipates and they are soon displaced by a tough new dynasty which starts the cycle over again.
And so it went in the ancient Near East. The ruling houses and cities come and go with such frequency that it is like reading the list of begats in the Book of Genesis.
Even at an early date commercial, diplomatic, and military contacts spread throughout the region, ranging from what is now western Iran to Egypt and the Mediterranean, Syria, Anatolia as far north as the Black Sea, and east to the Zagros mountains. And even then the populations were a complex mix of sedentary and migratory peoples. Occasionally, even the nomads would raise a powerful leader who would conquer the cities and his family would rule for a few generations before being replaced.
With Part II the book entered more familiar historical ground and discusses the rise and fall of large regional powers, such as the Hittites and the Elamites, the Mittani, the Kassites, and the Assyrians. The difference here was that the territory was more stable than in the previous era, although the actual ruling families were still frequently and bloodily replaced. War, however, was a constant, and just as one city state had conquered it neighbors, the great territorial powers were always on the alert for weaknesses they could exploit, and one by one they were merged, conquered, or displaced by new populations. The ones that remained survived long enough to be destroyed in the great civilizational collapse of around 1200BC, the one Egyptian sources attribute to the Sea Peoples, and which extinguished ancient civilizations in Crete, Greece, Syria, and Anatolia, and left Egypt so weakened it abandoned its imperial ambitions in the Levant for centuries.
Part III sees the rise of the great empires and brings the timeline up to the age of Alexander the Great. From the ashes of the Dark Ages that resulted from the previous destruction the Neo-Assyrians swept across the ancient lands and built a huge empire that conquered Egypt, most of eastern Anatolia, and all of Mesopotamia into western Iran, and included the great dynasties of Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal. But it too was destined to last only about a century and a half before its rulers descended into luxury and decadence, and were overthrown by the Medes, who ruled for a few generations before being replaced by the more vigorous Persians, who met their end at the hands of Alexander of Macedon. There has always been speculation about what Alexander might have accomplished if he had not died at age 32 in 323 BC, but a look at the broad sweep of history says that his empire too would never have outlived him.
The ancient Near East has much to teach us about history and civilization, the rise and fall of one great power after another, the strengths and frailties of rulers, the dogged persistence of the common people, and the power of the written word to unite and empower generation after generation. There were glorious artistic triumphs and terrible wars, brilliant statecraft and unbounded hubris. People, in short, have not changed at all since the first cities arose around the Tigris and Euphrates.
It was a long, slow process, but over time the dynasties started to learn from their predecessors, and slowly civilization advanced. The key to this, of course, was writing, and the cuneiform script developed by the Sumerians at the very beginning of the rise of cities was used for the records of many languages and cultures across the region for two thousand years. This allowed knowledge to accumulate, meaning rulers could manage more people across wider regions, and that span of control gradually increased from city states to regional powers to vast empires.
The book’s structure reflects this increase in power. It is divided into three sections: Part 1 covers the city states, Part 2 the territorial states, and Part 3 the empires.
Part 1 begins with a mention of what is known of ancient Mesopotamia before the rise of the first cities, then discusses the early dynasties. Even then the kingships were chaotic and transitory, reminding me of the comments in the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun, dating from 1377 of our era. He made the point that most dynasties last only three generations. The first rises from a lowly place, is accustomed to privation, and through alliances, ruthlessness, and cunning seizes power. The second generation is raised in the palace and becomes sedentary and pleasure loving, but there is still strength in the line, a legacy of having been tutored by their fathers. By the third generation the rulers become decadent and torpid, having never known hardships or the need to lead or show courage. Loyalty toward them dissipates and they are soon displaced by a tough new dynasty which starts the cycle over again.
And so it went in the ancient Near East. The ruling houses and cities come and go with such frequency that it is like reading the list of begats in the Book of Genesis.
Even at an early date commercial, diplomatic, and military contacts spread throughout the region, ranging from what is now western Iran to Egypt and the Mediterranean, Syria, Anatolia as far north as the Black Sea, and east to the Zagros mountains. And even then the populations were a complex mix of sedentary and migratory peoples. Occasionally, even the nomads would raise a powerful leader who would conquer the cities and his family would rule for a few generations before being replaced.
With Part II the book entered more familiar historical ground and discusses the rise and fall of large regional powers, such as the Hittites and the Elamites, the Mittani, the Kassites, and the Assyrians. The difference here was that the territory was more stable than in the previous era, although the actual ruling families were still frequently and bloodily replaced. War, however, was a constant, and just as one city state had conquered it neighbors, the great territorial powers were always on the alert for weaknesses they could exploit, and one by one they were merged, conquered, or displaced by new populations. The ones that remained survived long enough to be destroyed in the great civilizational collapse of around 1200BC, the one Egyptian sources attribute to the Sea Peoples, and which extinguished ancient civilizations in Crete, Greece, Syria, and Anatolia, and left Egypt so weakened it abandoned its imperial ambitions in the Levant for centuries.
Part III sees the rise of the great empires and brings the timeline up to the age of Alexander the Great. From the ashes of the Dark Ages that resulted from the previous destruction the Neo-Assyrians swept across the ancient lands and built a huge empire that conquered Egypt, most of eastern Anatolia, and all of Mesopotamia into western Iran, and included the great dynasties of Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal. But it too was destined to last only about a century and a half before its rulers descended into luxury and decadence, and were overthrown by the Medes, who ruled for a few generations before being replaced by the more vigorous Persians, who met their end at the hands of Alexander of Macedon. There has always been speculation about what Alexander might have accomplished if he had not died at age 32 in 323 BC, but a look at the broad sweep of history says that his empire too would never have outlived him.
The ancient Near East has much to teach us about history and civilization, the rise and fall of one great power after another, the strengths and frailties of rulers, the dogged persistence of the common people, and the power of the written word to unite and empower generation after generation. There were glorious artistic triumphs and terrible wars, brilliant statecraft and unbounded hubris. People, in short, have not changed at all since the first cities arose around the Tigris and Euphrates.
January 5, 2020
An excellent book, with the right amount of detail for a novice, written in a way that doesn't overwhelm you with facts. It talks about each great civilization that arose and died out in the ancient near east in a manner consistent with the timeline of events, rather than trying to do a deep-dive into each specific civilization. This helps in building a coherent narrative that is easy to follow. Highly recommended as an introductory read into the rich history of the ancient middle east.
I went about it the wrong way, and read this book only after I had finished books about each specific civilizations of the near east. In retrospect, I should've read this book first, since that gives you the overall picture of how each piece of the puzzle fits together. Once you paint the overall picture, it becomes easier to understand the timelines and motivations of each civilization as compared to one another.
I went about it the wrong way, and read this book only after I had finished books about each specific civilizations of the near east. In retrospect, I should've read this book first, since that gives you the overall picture of how each piece of the puzzle fits together. Once you paint the overall picture, it becomes easier to understand the timelines and motivations of each civilization as compared to one another.
September 12, 2016
A History of the Ancient Near East: 3000-323BC (Third Edition)
Marc Van De Mieroop
Read it in class paperback at 400 pages including maps, pics, dynasty lists, appendix, and bibliography.
Our first Historic Side Pot for 2016 saw as tread back to the beginning. Last year we covered up to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire after tackling a lot of the big players around the Mediterranean over the last two years but I felt we needed go back and cover some ground more thoroughly. This is one of the few books accessible and affordable that covers the entirety of this region in the time period we were shooting for.
Mieroop does a decent job and this is written with pretty broad strokes based off what leaders in the period actually think looking at what is available in the archeological record from excavations and analysis from the early 20th century and before. With the current situation in the Near East I wouldn’t expect more to come to light anytime soon but at least it has been well mined. The text itself isn't all that mysterious or intriguing and the reader should expect a text book approach which can be off putting to a lot of readers, especially if you only dip into history occasionally.
The book itself is split into three parts. Part 1, City States, which covers agriculture and the development of writing and cities with a focus on the earliest city states in the region and their slow expansion and solidification. Part 2, Territorial States, delves into city states with territorial ambitions and introduces readers to the 'Club of Great Powers' and their interactions (my favorite part of the text) in trade, warfare, correspondence, and lasting dynasties. Part 3, Empires, is exactly that in the conglomeration of these great powers into empires.
While the reader can surely find books on any of these histories/dynasties/empires individually this is the best I could find that tries to tie it all up nicely for the reader. The biggest downside though is that it's an academic tool so at the end of each chapter, and spliced in that chapter, you do have 'Document boxes' and 'Debate' boxes. The bibliography is not referenced as it applies within the text but instead listed at the end of each chapter which can be maddening to this reader.
Anyways, happily taking suggestions on better readings for this time period and subject matter. Happy Readings.
Marc Van De Mieroop
Read it in class paperback at 400 pages including maps, pics, dynasty lists, appendix, and bibliography.
Our first Historic Side Pot for 2016 saw as tread back to the beginning. Last year we covered up to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire after tackling a lot of the big players around the Mediterranean over the last two years but I felt we needed go back and cover some ground more thoroughly. This is one of the few books accessible and affordable that covers the entirety of this region in the time period we were shooting for.
Mieroop does a decent job and this is written with pretty broad strokes based off what leaders in the period actually think looking at what is available in the archeological record from excavations and analysis from the early 20th century and before. With the current situation in the Near East I wouldn’t expect more to come to light anytime soon but at least it has been well mined. The text itself isn't all that mysterious or intriguing and the reader should expect a text book approach which can be off putting to a lot of readers, especially if you only dip into history occasionally.
The book itself is split into three parts. Part 1, City States, which covers agriculture and the development of writing and cities with a focus on the earliest city states in the region and their slow expansion and solidification. Part 2, Territorial States, delves into city states with territorial ambitions and introduces readers to the 'Club of Great Powers' and their interactions (my favorite part of the text) in trade, warfare, correspondence, and lasting dynasties. Part 3, Empires, is exactly that in the conglomeration of these great powers into empires.
While the reader can surely find books on any of these histories/dynasties/empires individually this is the best I could find that tries to tie it all up nicely for the reader. The biggest downside though is that it's an academic tool so at the end of each chapter, and spliced in that chapter, you do have 'Document boxes' and 'Debate' boxes. The bibliography is not referenced as it applies within the text but instead listed at the end of each chapter which can be maddening to this reader.
Anyways, happily taking suggestions on better readings for this time period and subject matter. Happy Readings.
May 30, 2019
Dry and dull; short on zest;
Gives little understanding.
This boilerplate is its own witness
For its author’s reprimanding.
Gives little understanding.
This boilerplate is its own witness
For its author’s reprimanding.
September 17, 2024
For all the dryness of Marc van de Mieroop’s academic prose in A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC (2003), he is in fact writing an historical romance. Who cannot be fascinated with the story of civilization’s beginnings in Mesopotamia, over five thousand years ago? And not only that, the tale of how archaeologists managed to recover and decipher the ancient writings and to reconstruct the lost past is no less arresting, for one of a scholarly turn of mind. The present work, in its third edition the lead title in the attractive series published by John Wiley under the name Blackwell History of the Ancient World, constitutes a fine resource for the enthusiast who wants a survey of the field by an expert.
The intellectual level of van de Mierop’s contribution is consistently high, with all the usual apparatus of a scholarly book for the general public: list of illustrations, charts and maps; insets going into detail on questions such as the use of pottery in archaeological research for the pre-historic period or the eponym dating system for later periods; and reproduction of actual primary documents (in translation). Thus, one can satisfy one’s curiosity about dealing with the earliest sources in proto-cuneiform – how to establish meanings of the signs employed? What was the role of the various languages spoken in the ancient near East? Or, one learns that the development of the writing and metrological system was not quite as simple as sometimes portrayed, a lineal evolution from tokens to tablets to abstract symbols. Van de Mieroop discusses issues such as how to overcome the challenge that some words in early documents are known only from literature dating to hundreds of years later, even though meaning of the term may have changed in the interim. Another interesting issue is the apparent mix of fact and fiction in the sources. The first studies of the king lists, for example, tended to take them at face value but more recently historians have pointed to what are probably fictional elements – even though, oftentimes, they may represent the only evidence we have to go on for some periods!
Van de Mieroop’s exposition of the history, centering primarily on political events, is methodical, starting with the prehistory down to the Uruk period (circa 4000-3500). Much more is known on the basis of archaeology than this recensionist suspected. The general question circles around what urbanization was like and why it happened – for it is not so clear why semi-nomadic peoples would want to limit themselves by settling in one location, even after early agricultural practices got underway. For thousands of years one was content to supplement one’s diet with cereals that grew naturally in the region, without committing oneself to intensive cultivation and irrigation and so forth. Nevertheless, it happened and van de Mieroop sketches for the general reader about as much as can be known about the origins of cities and the development of writing and administration long before documentary evidence becomes widespread during the third millennium.
The early dynastic period, from the founding of Ur circa 2800 forward, is characterized by competing city-states. Only in the late third millennium did political centralization set in, a development covered in chapter four (accession of Sargon in 2288 down to the fall of Ur in 2003). By the early second millennium, the textual remains become rich enough that the history of politics and warfare can be fairly well reconstructed, in chapter five. A number of states in the Fertile Crescent vied for power in a system of shifting alliances, until Hammurabi’s conquests established the first empire. Van de Mieroop speaks of a ‘club of great powers’ during the second half of the second millennium (embracing Babylon, Elam, Assyria, Egypt and the lesser-known Mittani and Hatti and some others in Anatolia). Van de Mieroop’s account makes for exciting reading on the subject of his metier, as he takes one through the collapse of this regional system and its aftermath, the eventual rise of Assyria to world domination (all covered in exquisite detail made possible by the extensive sources that have been unearthed). As everyone knows, Assyria soon fell to the Medes under Cyrus, who founded the Persian empire that was to last until Alexander the Great. Again, van de Mieroop recounts these developments in minute detail.
The general points that emerge upon reviewing the whole period, from Uruk to the Hellenistic age, would be the instability of empires, the frequency of rebellion probably inspired by harshness of rule despite the brutal consequences of losing; and another theme, the interaction between settled agricultural people and semi-nomads. All of these themes are pursued by van de Mieroop in about as much depth as the sources permit (which is quite a lot). The picture he paints of the ancient near East is much more nuanced and inviting of reflection than this recensionist, at least, knew before reading the present work. So, it can be recommended to the amateur historian! This recensionist intends to say more on this score in his review of the next entry in the Blackwell series, to follow immediately.
While as a rule van de Mieroop hews to a matter-of-fact retelling of the history, he does once in a while offer his views on larger questions, such as in the following passage:
Until recently, scholars subscribed to the classical image of the Near East as tired and decadent by the fourth century, and that Alexander and his successors brought new life to it. This image of revitalization provided an example of, and justification for, nineteenth-century European colonial enterprise in regions that had known a glorious past but had not modernized. Although Hellenism was seen as the merging of European and Asian traditions, its vitality was thought to derive from Greek cultural and political practices (e.g., philosophy, literature, the city-state etc.), introduced into regions that had stagnated despite having huge resources. Today, closer examination of the documentary evidence from the Near East has started to change this opinion. The Persian system, itself an amalgam of earlier traditions, persisted in many respects….New political offices did indeed develop, new administrative languages replaced older ones such as Babylonian, Greek buildings appeared in old cities and new cities were founded that followed a Greek layout, but these changes were gradual. Alexander has been called ‘the last of the Achaemenids’, but his death in 323 did not present a clear end or a new beginning in the long history of the Near East. [p. 345]
Van de Mieroop illustrates his point very well in an interesting two-page epilogue, giving an account of the Seleucid king Antiochus III’s visit to Babylon in the year 187, as recorded in cuneiform by a Babylonian priest still engaged in a seven-century-long program of astronomical research!
Summary: van de Mieroop’s reconstruction of the political history of the ancient near East is excellent as far as relating the factual and chronological basis goes, but poor on analysis of what it all means, as a cultural phenomenon. For instance, he fails to discuss Mesopotamian religion in any depth (as a secular historian, he prefers to speak of ‘ideology’ when referring to religious matters and evidently has no interest in the theological significance of early paganism, even though the recovery of the dead literatures offers us such a splendid opportunity to enter into their mythological world of thought and to investigate parallels with scripture). For a pretty good treatment of Mesopotamian attitudes towards religion and the gods, see Tammi J. Schneider, An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion (Eerdmans, 2011). Perhaps a more topical than chronological organization would have prodded the author of the present work to step back a little from the minutiae and to ponder the cultural significance of the ancient societies about which he knows so much. If only van de Mieroop could have sketched a characteristic of ancient near Eastern civilization along the lines of Herder’s masterly Auch eine Philosophie der Geschichte zur Bildung der Menschheit (1774), but up to date on the plentiful scholarship of the past two centuries!
The intellectual level of van de Mierop’s contribution is consistently high, with all the usual apparatus of a scholarly book for the general public: list of illustrations, charts and maps; insets going into detail on questions such as the use of pottery in archaeological research for the pre-historic period or the eponym dating system for later periods; and reproduction of actual primary documents (in translation). Thus, one can satisfy one’s curiosity about dealing with the earliest sources in proto-cuneiform – how to establish meanings of the signs employed? What was the role of the various languages spoken in the ancient near East? Or, one learns that the development of the writing and metrological system was not quite as simple as sometimes portrayed, a lineal evolution from tokens to tablets to abstract symbols. Van de Mieroop discusses issues such as how to overcome the challenge that some words in early documents are known only from literature dating to hundreds of years later, even though meaning of the term may have changed in the interim. Another interesting issue is the apparent mix of fact and fiction in the sources. The first studies of the king lists, for example, tended to take them at face value but more recently historians have pointed to what are probably fictional elements – even though, oftentimes, they may represent the only evidence we have to go on for some periods!
Van de Mieroop’s exposition of the history, centering primarily on political events, is methodical, starting with the prehistory down to the Uruk period (circa 4000-3500). Much more is known on the basis of archaeology than this recensionist suspected. The general question circles around what urbanization was like and why it happened – for it is not so clear why semi-nomadic peoples would want to limit themselves by settling in one location, even after early agricultural practices got underway. For thousands of years one was content to supplement one’s diet with cereals that grew naturally in the region, without committing oneself to intensive cultivation and irrigation and so forth. Nevertheless, it happened and van de Mieroop sketches for the general reader about as much as can be known about the origins of cities and the development of writing and administration long before documentary evidence becomes widespread during the third millennium.
The early dynastic period, from the founding of Ur circa 2800 forward, is characterized by competing city-states. Only in the late third millennium did political centralization set in, a development covered in chapter four (accession of Sargon in 2288 down to the fall of Ur in 2003). By the early second millennium, the textual remains become rich enough that the history of politics and warfare can be fairly well reconstructed, in chapter five. A number of states in the Fertile Crescent vied for power in a system of shifting alliances, until Hammurabi’s conquests established the first empire. Van de Mieroop speaks of a ‘club of great powers’ during the second half of the second millennium (embracing Babylon, Elam, Assyria, Egypt and the lesser-known Mittani and Hatti and some others in Anatolia). Van de Mieroop’s account makes for exciting reading on the subject of his metier, as he takes one through the collapse of this regional system and its aftermath, the eventual rise of Assyria to world domination (all covered in exquisite detail made possible by the extensive sources that have been unearthed). As everyone knows, Assyria soon fell to the Medes under Cyrus, who founded the Persian empire that was to last until Alexander the Great. Again, van de Mieroop recounts these developments in minute detail.
The general points that emerge upon reviewing the whole period, from Uruk to the Hellenistic age, would be the instability of empires, the frequency of rebellion probably inspired by harshness of rule despite the brutal consequences of losing; and another theme, the interaction between settled agricultural people and semi-nomads. All of these themes are pursued by van de Mieroop in about as much depth as the sources permit (which is quite a lot). The picture he paints of the ancient near East is much more nuanced and inviting of reflection than this recensionist, at least, knew before reading the present work. So, it can be recommended to the amateur historian! This recensionist intends to say more on this score in his review of the next entry in the Blackwell series, to follow immediately.
While as a rule van de Mieroop hews to a matter-of-fact retelling of the history, he does once in a while offer his views on larger questions, such as in the following passage:
Until recently, scholars subscribed to the classical image of the Near East as tired and decadent by the fourth century, and that Alexander and his successors brought new life to it. This image of revitalization provided an example of, and justification for, nineteenth-century European colonial enterprise in regions that had known a glorious past but had not modernized. Although Hellenism was seen as the merging of European and Asian traditions, its vitality was thought to derive from Greek cultural and political practices (e.g., philosophy, literature, the city-state etc.), introduced into regions that had stagnated despite having huge resources. Today, closer examination of the documentary evidence from the Near East has started to change this opinion. The Persian system, itself an amalgam of earlier traditions, persisted in many respects….New political offices did indeed develop, new administrative languages replaced older ones such as Babylonian, Greek buildings appeared in old cities and new cities were founded that followed a Greek layout, but these changes were gradual. Alexander has been called ‘the last of the Achaemenids’, but his death in 323 did not present a clear end or a new beginning in the long history of the Near East. [p. 345]
Van de Mieroop illustrates his point very well in an interesting two-page epilogue, giving an account of the Seleucid king Antiochus III’s visit to Babylon in the year 187, as recorded in cuneiform by a Babylonian priest still engaged in a seven-century-long program of astronomical research!
Summary: van de Mieroop’s reconstruction of the political history of the ancient near East is excellent as far as relating the factual and chronological basis goes, but poor on analysis of what it all means, as a cultural phenomenon. For instance, he fails to discuss Mesopotamian religion in any depth (as a secular historian, he prefers to speak of ‘ideology’ when referring to religious matters and evidently has no interest in the theological significance of early paganism, even though the recovery of the dead literatures offers us such a splendid opportunity to enter into their mythological world of thought and to investigate parallels with scripture). For a pretty good treatment of Mesopotamian attitudes towards religion and the gods, see Tammi J. Schneider, An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion (Eerdmans, 2011). Perhaps a more topical than chronological organization would have prodded the author of the present work to step back a little from the minutiae and to ponder the cultural significance of the ancient societies about which he knows so much. If only van de Mieroop could have sketched a characteristic of ancient near Eastern civilization along the lines of Herder’s masterly Auch eine Philosophie der Geschichte zur Bildung der Menschheit (1774), but up to date on the plentiful scholarship of the past two centuries!
July 14, 2020
My low rating, is because of me, not the book. My idea was that while reading classics I should learn some of the background history. Reading textbooks is too involved and takes way too long for my casual interests.
Now that I got to the end of this book, I can read The Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the first book on my classics to read list.
If I read any history background for the rest of my classics to read list, it will have to be books written for a general audience and not textbooks.
Now that I got to the end of this book, I can read The Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the first book on my classics to read list.
If I read any history background for the rest of my classics to read list, it will have to be books written for a general audience and not textbooks.
July 7, 2024
It's really good and full of interesting "features", although lack of footnotes can be irritating. Also "bala" system wasn't that good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2025
Un libro muy completo la verdad, abarca muchas cosas y lo hace muy bien, la lectura del mismo es muy fácil, pone a debate muchas ideas y afirmaciones, el autor igualmente tiene tésis novedosas o que van de acuerdo a los últimos avances investigativos sobre este tema, poco más tengo que decir, un texto recomendado para entender el surgimiento de las primeras de civilización de oriente medio y el fin del imperio persa aquemenida.
En el primer capítulo, el autor nos explica qué es Oriente Medio, posterior a esto nos habla sobre el periodo histórico que va a estudiar que va desde el 3000 al 331. Las fuentes que se usan para el estudio de esta región son abundantes y son complementadas con la arqueología, No obstante el autor subraya que hay períodos históricos sin muchas fuentes, respecto a la geografía, el autor menciona que Oriente Medio tiene muchos biomas, ya existiendo algunas fronteras naturales como montañas, mares o desiertos.
En el próximo oriente es donde se desarrolla la agricultura por primera vez gracias a que los habitantes tenían una gran variedad de recursos alimenticios con lo que llegaron a cultivar cebada y trigo que tenga la ventaja de poder ser mejor almacenada, el deseo de vivir en comunidad crearon los primeros centros poblados, y con la modificación genética se pudo obtener mejores rendimientos de los cultivos, estos últimos complementados con ovejas y cabras domesticadas, sumado por último a la caza y recolección. Las personas ahora permanecían más tiempo en un mismo lugar y con ello se llevó a cabo la construcción de casas y cerámicas, con el tiempo también se controla el agua para los periodos de escasez con lo que surgen los sistemas de irrigación, estos primeros centros poblados ya comerciaban con lugares tan lejanos como anatolia central para obtener obsidiana o inclusive llevar a cabo expediciones comerciales en el Golfo Pérsico para conseguir pescado y perlas.
Las culturas empiezan a surgir y con ella el control de los recursos en los que unos pocos los controlan y con ellos surgen las jerarquías y la creación de los primeros estados. Con lo anterior, surgen las ciudades estados y la escritura surgiendo como tal la primera ciudad uruk, esta es primeras ciudades no existían de forma aislada sino que estaban alrededor de otros pequeños asentamientos y pueblos, estos aumentan de tamaño con el tiempo como se puede ver en el periodo de uruk tardío, con ello muchas personas llegan a esta región creando lugares de culto y un aspecto importante la especialización por lo que hay profesiones dedicadas para la pescadería, la agricultura y la artesanía. Todas esas actividades debían ser vigiladas y con ellos surge una autoridad y un administrador por lo que da como resultado una sociedad estratificada.
La escritura surge con el primer indicativo de la creación de sellos esto servirá para la recepción y entrega de unidades de cultivo como cebada, las tablillas se usaban también para llevar cuentas, estas tenían un sistema de peso y medidas estandarizadas por lo que las herramientas de la burocracia, como la escritura, sellos, medidas y pesos fueron fundamentales para Uruk.
La cultura del sur de Mesopotamia empieza a influir en otras regiones como Susa, los pobladores de la ciudad de uruk interactúan con otras poblaciones como lo pueden llegar a ser Egipto, la élite esta ciudad se encontraba viajando en lugares lejanos para conseguir artículos de lujo y así distinguirse respecto a las otras personas, con el tiempo la influencia del sur de Mesopotamia disminuyó y surge el período dinástico arcaico. En esta época eran muy comunes las tablillas de guerra entre el estado de Lagash y Umma, también en este periodo surge la lista real sumeria en la que se encuentran diferentes gobernantes de esta región. Un acontecimiento importante es el surgimiento de las ciudades estados las cuales contaban con un centro urbano que dominaba un área cercana de 15 km, estas ciudades se encontraban cerca de ríos y con el tiempo empezaron a aumentar de población y adorar a un Dios por ciudad, con el surgimiento de estas ciudades estado dan como resultado las primeras guerras, la estela de los buitres es la mayor representación de una victoria de un rey frente a otro estado, pese a los conflictivos del periodo también existieron relaciones diplomáticas y regalos.
Haciendo un barrido en esta época surge una gran variedad de culturas y empieza a aumentar el interés por el Golfo Pérsico a causa de sus minas de cobre, el comercio seguía expandiéndose como se puede ver en las cuentas de cornalina del Valle del indo y el lapislázuli de Afganistán que están en Babilonia, estos últimos se exportaban textiles, Babilonia también se caracterizó por tener una tierra más fértil en comparación con el norte de Mesopotamia, la sociedad también se empezó a organizar en lo que conocemos como casas y se lleva a cabo una repartición de comida y de tareas en el hogar como la mujer que creaba textiles y molía el grano, también se puede dar cuenta que es cierta élite accede a objetos de lujo al punto de sacrificar personas para llevárselas en el más allá. La escritura también empieza a mejorar creando la escritura con un informe en el que se plasman transacciones económicas, todo ello desarrollado por los primeros escribas, con lo que surge una tarea importante para estos.
Del anterior período resultan dos estados fuertes, Acad y Ur, Los Reyes de este primer reino llevaron a cabo varias campañas militares sistemáticas en la que surge sargón como rey y crea el primer Ejército permanente de la historia, con sus conquistas las ciudades estados subyugadas debían rendir cuentas a la metrópoli, con ellos se llevan a cabo políticas centralizadas como la recaudación de impuestos y se impone la lengua calla en el imperio de sargón, también se unificaron los sistemas de culto y las campañas militares tuvieron un gran alcance que nunca antes había tenido precedentes, dichas empresas iban a lugares lejanos para conseguir botín raro, el imperio tuvo tanta influencia que llegó a comerciar incluso con el Valle del indo. Bajo los acadios hubo una mejora en las artes decorativas, pero las rebeliones constantes empezaron a debilitar al imperio que siempre estaba a la defensiva, también debieron enfrentar enemigos externos por lo que al final quedó un vacío de poder que sería reemplazado por un nuevo poder.
El nuevo imperio importante en Oriente sería la tercera dinastía de ur, es con ella que empezamos a ver una gran tradición de escritura cuneiforme, era más pequeño que el imperio acadio pero más centralizado, dividió su territorio en provincias y creó todo un sistema de impuestos, al mando de este nuevo imperio aumentó la urbanización y la población en general, también se caracterizaron por imponer un gobierno militar en el que se explotaba la tierra, también usaron mucho la diplomacia para evitar la guerra, los pueblos sometidos pudieron sobrevivir en sus ámbitos económicos y jerárquicos pese al dominio de Ur, el declive de esta última no es muy caro pero parece que muchas ciudades locales empezaron a rebelarse y se llevó a cabo una hambruna, también surgió enemigos externos tal como había pasado con los acadios..
Con el fin del dominio de Ur, surgen varias estructuras políticas similares que se basaban en las guerras y alianzas constantes, en esta época los pueblos nómadas adquieren gran importancia para los pueblos sedentarios a causa de que se podían intercambiar bienes importantes con estos. El fin de Ur, resultó en una fragmentación política en la que algunas ciudades seguían realizando prácticas religiosas y nuevos actores como Isin y Larsa, dominan el sur de Mesopotamia, serían estos estados los que sentarán las bases de un estado centralizado, pese a la fragmentación ya mencionada siguió habiendo actividad económica y se privatizó más este sector económico en la que los privados empezaron a tener importancia. A Siria se situó como un importante pueblo comercial, que intercambiaban productos como estaño, textiles oro y plata, inclusive la importación de estaño podía venir desde China o Irán, lo más interesante son las tablillas asirias que se encuentran en anatolia y demuestran la gran actividad comercial de este pueblo. Mari, sería un pueblo intermediario entre Siria y Mesopotamia, que debe ser tenido muy en cuenta.
El sexto capítulo es sobre los surgimientos de estados más exitosos, en las que surgen 3 estados que unifica Mesopotamia, el primero es un rey, Shamshi-Adad, el cual lleva a cabo la unificación de la alta Mesopotamia expandiendo su influencia por toda la región y poniendo gobernantes locales como vasallos, pero con la muerte de éste su estado desaparece y en 1720 muchas ciudades serían abandonadas. Hammurabi en Babilonia, sería el gobernante más exitoso en cuanto a su imperio pero en sus primeros años tenía enemigos cercanos muy poderosos por lo que se centró su atención en mejorar su estado excavando canales y fortificando las ciudades, ya con esto, empezó a usar la diplomacia y la guerra rápida para tomar diferentes territorios los cuales tenían vacíos de poder a causa de la muerte de gobernantes poderosos, ahora el rey. Sería un Defensor del Pueblo. Que se vio plasmado en su código legal el cual servía para mostrar a un rey ejemplar. Con este rey Babilonia se convierte en una gran potencia pero sus hijos debieron enfrentar diferentes rebeliones, el sur de Babilonia sí colapsó, pero, el norte continuó con 5 sucesores. En esta época también los escribas empiezan a tener estudiantes y hacer patrocinados, los avances intelectuales en Babilonia se pueden dar cuenta en sus avances matemáticos como lo pueden ser los problemas matemáticos o ser pioneros en el teorema de pitágoras.
La gran dinastía de hammurabi vería a su fin con el saqueo por parte de los hititas, respecto a estos últimos el antiguo reino hitita no hay mucha información puesto que es escrita posterior a los acontecimientos de la creación del Estado lo cierto es que este se creó a manos de hattusili I, el cual conquista hattusa, y expande su poder por el norte de Siria destruyendo Alepo y Babilonia sin ser ocupadas, posterior a esto los hititas enfrentarían una época de gran inestabilidad. Hoy luego estos acontecimientos vemos desde 1590 varios estados aniquilados y todo un siglo sin mucho conocimiento a causa de la escasez de fuentes, los principales acontecimientos en esta época son la llegada de los kasitas y hurritas a la región, la importancia de estos últimos es que te trajeron el caballo y el carro de combate y en el Mediterráneo oriental aumentó mucho más el comercio con lugares como Creta.
Entre 1500 y 1200 se crea un sistema internacional en Oriente medio donde hay nuevas potencias, los estados de esta época se caracterizaba por un ciclo de creación, apogeo y declive, al principio del siglo 16 había muchos estados fragmentados sin unos ser dominante, con el tiempo surgen entidades regionales gobernadas desde un centro, el primero de estos es el estado mitanni. Hoy las potencias en esa época estaban en constante contacto que se puede ver en las múltiples cartas diplomáticas y que los Reyes se trataban como hermanos, en estas conversaciones se hablaba más de diplomacia que de cuestiones políticas, el uso de la diplomacia también se expresó en los matrimonios concertados, otra forma harán los regalos que debían ser devueltos con reciprocidad y que generalmente eran lujosos, en esta época el comercio en el Mediterráneo oriental era numeroso como se puede ver en un barco encontrado, el comercio inclusive llegaba hasta España y se intercambiaban diferentes metales, perfumes y bienes.
Pese a la diplomacia fueron constantes los conflictos militares entre las potencias, principalmente entre los egipcios e hititas por el control de la región de Siria Palestina, otra rivalidad sería la de asiria y Babilonia, hoy el gran resultado de las rivalidades de las dos potencias de Levante sería la guerra de Qdash, en las que fue muy común el uso de carros de combate. Las élites en aquella época acumulaban gran riqueza e incentivaron la actividad artística y arquitectónica como se puede dar cuenta en el emplazamiento de grandes Palacios, el arte aquella época es uno caracterizado por mezclar varias culturas entre sí y el babilonio sería el de idioma diplomático.
Pese a que se ha mostrado varios estados muy unidos cada uno tenía su propia historia, sobre Mitanni, es poco lo que se sabe a causa de sus no las fuentes, solo se sabe que dos familias reales lucharon por el trono buscando apoyo exterior y que sería finalmente los hititas y asirios los que desmembraron este imperio, sobre el imperio hitita hay que mencionar que este no tenía una lista de Reyes, muchos de los territorios conquistados por estos eran estados vasallos el fundador del nuevo reino hitita sería Suppiluliuma I, con los años diferentes gobernantes se expandirán más la influencia de este imperio, que vio un gran resultado con el acuerdo de paz con Egipto, los hititas también se relacionaron con los griegos micénicos. La estructura política de este imperio estaba basada en el backstage donde el rey era la cabeza de todo. Como se mencionó la región de Siria Palestina era una en la que se luchaba constantemente por las diferentes potencias a causa de la fragmentación política de este lugar por lo que era presa fácil de estados más poderosos, pese a que habían pocas ciudades en este lugar eran muy ricas a causa de que en sus Palacios habían grandes objetos valiosos como oro o Marfil, pero luego serían destruidas por los pueblos de mar.
Otras nuevas potencias en esta región fueron Babilonia y más tarde asiria, sobre Babilonia que mencionar que luego del saqueo hitita los casitas conquistaron esta región ante el vacío de poder, esto no impondría en su cultura sino que continuarán con el legado cultural babilónico, los casitas también reconstruyeron muchas ciudades y llevaron a cabo la construcción de diferentes zigurats, posteriormente los elamitas destruirían a los casitas de Babilonia. Los casitas también incentivaron mucho el arte y cultura babilónica. Asiria entre los siglos XIV y XI, adquieren importancia, siendo un estado centrado en el aspecto militar, fueron los primeros que llevaron a cabo prácticas de deportación y llevaron a cabo unas grandes campañas militares que luego se vieron frenadas por la llegada de los arameos, su gran prosperidad se debió al botín de guerra que obtenían, dentro de su sociedad había reglas muy estrictas y las mujeres eran muy relegadas. Los elamitas, luego de ser derrotados por hammurabi resurgieron, estos tenían su propia lengua y Dios e interfirieron mucho en la política babilónica, inclusive llegaron a robar la estatua de marduk.
En el siglo XII, en Oriente Medio se llevaron a cabo cambios radicales, pese a la imagen de crisis también hubo continuidades. Los Palacios micénicos desaparecieron y el vacío de poder económico sería llenado por los chipriotas. Los hititas verían su fin a causa de problemas internos políticos y hambrunas, no todas las ciudades hititas fueron destruidas, pero centros económicos importantes como ugarit serían destruidos, nuevamente no todos los puertos serían destruidos, los pueblos de mar llegaron a Egipto para ser finalmente defendidos pero esta región también se vería fragmentada. La región más interna de Mesopotamia como asiria, Babilonia y el la se encontraban con problemas internos y luchando entre sí, los asirios dejaron de hacer campañas militares, los casitas pierden el poder y sube una nueva dinastía los Isin, la mayoría de centros urbanos se ven reducidos, por lo que la mayoría de estados centralizados desaparecen y llegan nuevas poblaciones.
Respecto a las interpretaciones de esta crisis el autor afirma que las invasiones se hicieron en un periodo largo de tiempo y no en 1 corto, hay cambios ambientales pero no son generalizados a todo Oriente Medio, es importante mencionar que cada lugar tenía sus propias circunstancias y cada caída diferente estado se debía más según sus circunstancias, lo cierto es que muchas rutas comerciales se volvieron difíciles de transitar por lo que se redujo en gran parte del comercio y se dejó un gran vacío. Todo esto resultó en menos construcciones y menos fuentes para aquella época, se retornó mucho a prácticas muy locales y el gran cambio en esta época fue el reemplazo del bronce por el hierro como resultado de la dificultad de acceder al estaño y cobre que estaba en lugares más lejanos, finalmente se lleva a cabo la domesticación del camello y con ello los desiertos empiezan a ser usados por los posteriores imperios.
Luego del periodo de crisis surgen nuevas potencias en el este siendo Uratu, una nueva de estas, los babilonios Por su parte se encontraba en un constante desorden en los que los Reyes caldeos intentaban controlar la región, por lo que va vilonia se encontró por mucho tiempo en un gran vacío de poder, Elam, muchas veces ayudaba Babilonia como contra la expansión de asiria, aunque esta fue destruida por los asirios sobreviviría para ser absorbida por los persas, la gran importancia de este pueblo fue el control de sus rutas comerciales. Volviendo a Urato, estos controlaban el Cáucaso, contaban con grandes viñedos y acceso importantes rutas comerciales, los asirios siempre tratan de dominarla pero al final solo pudieron hacerlo por medio de la diplomacia, por otra cosa que son recordados este pueblo es por sus grandes trabajos con el metal y el control de importantes minas.
Hacia el oeste surgen los estados neohititas, los cuales también tenían grandes ciudades con Palacios y templos y gozaban de gran riqueza a causa de su control de rutas comerciales y marineras, los fenicios seguían prosperando gracias a su control de bienes de lujo y gran capacidad comercial marítima, su arte también fue muy importante para la época y su gran impacto se debió a la difusión del alfabeto, otros estados pequeños empezaron a hacer alianzas contra el naciente imperio asirio, lo más que caracteriza Levante en esta época fue una gran mezcla de culturas las cuales influyen posteriormente en Grecia.
El imperio asirio para el autor tiene dos periodos, el primero es la fase de expansión, donde a Siria se transforma en una sociedad militar donde el mismo rey dirige las campañas militares y debajo de este habían oficiales, este nuevo imperio contaba con un gran Ejército y usaba los pueblos conquistados para sus propósitos, contamos con una gran logística para dar de comer a un gran número de soldados y proporcionarles armamento y armadura, los habitantes conquistados de una ciudad eran duramente castigados y se usaba el terror psicológico para hacer rendir a otros pueblos. Gracias a esta expansión Asiria se consiguió un gran botín, se llevó a cabo también la práctica de deportación para conseguir mano de obra, esta mano de obra serviría para la construcción de grandes ciudades y Palacios. Las primeras conquistas asirias, se centrarán en recuperar el territorio perdido luego de la anterior crisis, para ello fue muy importante mejorar las vías terrestres para conseguir mejores suministros, dos gobernantes como Asurnasirpal II y Salmanasar III, serían los que sentarán las bases del imperio y su expansión, llegaron a conquistar partes de Siria y anatolia, pero aún eran un estado débil que debían proteger constantemente sus fronteras, la debilidad de asiria, se vivió luego de la muerte de salmanasar, por lo que muchos gobernantes locales empezaron a independizarse, la debilidad de esta primera fase se debió a que no era un estado muy centralizado, no había una gran integración, por lo que era necesario una gran reforma.
En el primer capítulo, el autor nos explica qué es Oriente Medio, posterior a esto nos habla sobre el periodo histórico que va a estudiar que va desde el 3000 al 331. Las fuentes que se usan para el estudio de esta región son abundantes y son complementadas con la arqueología, No obstante el autor subraya que hay períodos históricos sin muchas fuentes, respecto a la geografía, el autor menciona que Oriente Medio tiene muchos biomas, ya existiendo algunas fronteras naturales como montañas, mares o desiertos.
En el próximo oriente es donde se desarrolla la agricultura por primera vez gracias a que los habitantes tenían una gran variedad de recursos alimenticios con lo que llegaron a cultivar cebada y trigo que tenga la ventaja de poder ser mejor almacenada, el deseo de vivir en comunidad crearon los primeros centros poblados, y con la modificación genética se pudo obtener mejores rendimientos de los cultivos, estos últimos complementados con ovejas y cabras domesticadas, sumado por último a la caza y recolección. Las personas ahora permanecían más tiempo en un mismo lugar y con ello se llevó a cabo la construcción de casas y cerámicas, con el tiempo también se controla el agua para los periodos de escasez con lo que surgen los sistemas de irrigación, estos primeros centros poblados ya comerciaban con lugares tan lejanos como anatolia central para obtener obsidiana o inclusive llevar a cabo expediciones comerciales en el Golfo Pérsico para conseguir pescado y perlas.
Las culturas empiezan a surgir y con ella el control de los recursos en los que unos pocos los controlan y con ellos surgen las jerarquías y la creación de los primeros estados. Con lo anterior, surgen las ciudades estados y la escritura surgiendo como tal la primera ciudad uruk, esta es primeras ciudades no existían de forma aislada sino que estaban alrededor de otros pequeños asentamientos y pueblos, estos aumentan de tamaño con el tiempo como se puede ver en el periodo de uruk tardío, con ello muchas personas llegan a esta región creando lugares de culto y un aspecto importante la especialización por lo que hay profesiones dedicadas para la pescadería, la agricultura y la artesanía. Todas esas actividades debían ser vigiladas y con ellos surge una autoridad y un administrador por lo que da como resultado una sociedad estratificada.
La escritura surge con el primer indicativo de la creación de sellos esto servirá para la recepción y entrega de unidades de cultivo como cebada, las tablillas se usaban también para llevar cuentas, estas tenían un sistema de peso y medidas estandarizadas por lo que las herramientas de la burocracia, como la escritura, sellos, medidas y pesos fueron fundamentales para Uruk.
La cultura del sur de Mesopotamia empieza a influir en otras regiones como Susa, los pobladores de la ciudad de uruk interactúan con otras poblaciones como lo pueden llegar a ser Egipto, la élite esta ciudad se encontraba viajando en lugares lejanos para conseguir artículos de lujo y así distinguirse respecto a las otras personas, con el tiempo la influencia del sur de Mesopotamia disminuyó y surge el período dinástico arcaico. En esta época eran muy comunes las tablillas de guerra entre el estado de Lagash y Umma, también en este periodo surge la lista real sumeria en la que se encuentran diferentes gobernantes de esta región. Un acontecimiento importante es el surgimiento de las ciudades estados las cuales contaban con un centro urbano que dominaba un área cercana de 15 km, estas ciudades se encontraban cerca de ríos y con el tiempo empezaron a aumentar de población y adorar a un Dios por ciudad, con el surgimiento de estas ciudades estado dan como resultado las primeras guerras, la estela de los buitres es la mayor representación de una victoria de un rey frente a otro estado, pese a los conflictivos del periodo también existieron relaciones diplomáticas y regalos.
Haciendo un barrido en esta época surge una gran variedad de culturas y empieza a aumentar el interés por el Golfo Pérsico a causa de sus minas de cobre, el comercio seguía expandiéndose como se puede ver en las cuentas de cornalina del Valle del indo y el lapislázuli de Afganistán que están en Babilonia, estos últimos se exportaban textiles, Babilonia también se caracterizó por tener una tierra más fértil en comparación con el norte de Mesopotamia, la sociedad también se empezó a organizar en lo que conocemos como casas y se lleva a cabo una repartición de comida y de tareas en el hogar como la mujer que creaba textiles y molía el grano, también se puede dar cuenta que es cierta élite accede a objetos de lujo al punto de sacrificar personas para llevárselas en el más allá. La escritura también empieza a mejorar creando la escritura con un informe en el que se plasman transacciones económicas, todo ello desarrollado por los primeros escribas, con lo que surge una tarea importante para estos.
Del anterior período resultan dos estados fuertes, Acad y Ur, Los Reyes de este primer reino llevaron a cabo varias campañas militares sistemáticas en la que surge sargón como rey y crea el primer Ejército permanente de la historia, con sus conquistas las ciudades estados subyugadas debían rendir cuentas a la metrópoli, con ellos se llevan a cabo políticas centralizadas como la recaudación de impuestos y se impone la lengua calla en el imperio de sargón, también se unificaron los sistemas de culto y las campañas militares tuvieron un gran alcance que nunca antes había tenido precedentes, dichas empresas iban a lugares lejanos para conseguir botín raro, el imperio tuvo tanta influencia que llegó a comerciar incluso con el Valle del indo. Bajo los acadios hubo una mejora en las artes decorativas, pero las rebeliones constantes empezaron a debilitar al imperio que siempre estaba a la defensiva, también debieron enfrentar enemigos externos por lo que al final quedó un vacío de poder que sería reemplazado por un nuevo poder.
El nuevo imperio importante en Oriente sería la tercera dinastía de ur, es con ella que empezamos a ver una gran tradición de escritura cuneiforme, era más pequeño que el imperio acadio pero más centralizado, dividió su territorio en provincias y creó todo un sistema de impuestos, al mando de este nuevo imperio aumentó la urbanización y la población en general, también se caracterizaron por imponer un gobierno militar en el que se explotaba la tierra, también usaron mucho la diplomacia para evitar la guerra, los pueblos sometidos pudieron sobrevivir en sus ámbitos económicos y jerárquicos pese al dominio de Ur, el declive de esta última no es muy caro pero parece que muchas ciudades locales empezaron a rebelarse y se llevó a cabo una hambruna, también surgió enemigos externos tal como había pasado con los acadios..
Con el fin del dominio de Ur, surgen varias estructuras políticas similares que se basaban en las guerras y alianzas constantes, en esta época los pueblos nómadas adquieren gran importancia para los pueblos sedentarios a causa de que se podían intercambiar bienes importantes con estos. El fin de Ur, resultó en una fragmentación política en la que algunas ciudades seguían realizando prácticas religiosas y nuevos actores como Isin y Larsa, dominan el sur de Mesopotamia, serían estos estados los que sentarán las bases de un estado centralizado, pese a la fragmentación ya mencionada siguió habiendo actividad económica y se privatizó más este sector económico en la que los privados empezaron a tener importancia. A Siria se situó como un importante pueblo comercial, que intercambiaban productos como estaño, textiles oro y plata, inclusive la importación de estaño podía venir desde China o Irán, lo más interesante son las tablillas asirias que se encuentran en anatolia y demuestran la gran actividad comercial de este pueblo. Mari, sería un pueblo intermediario entre Siria y Mesopotamia, que debe ser tenido muy en cuenta.
El sexto capítulo es sobre los surgimientos de estados más exitosos, en las que surgen 3 estados que unifica Mesopotamia, el primero es un rey, Shamshi-Adad, el cual lleva a cabo la unificación de la alta Mesopotamia expandiendo su influencia por toda la región y poniendo gobernantes locales como vasallos, pero con la muerte de éste su estado desaparece y en 1720 muchas ciudades serían abandonadas. Hammurabi en Babilonia, sería el gobernante más exitoso en cuanto a su imperio pero en sus primeros años tenía enemigos cercanos muy poderosos por lo que se centró su atención en mejorar su estado excavando canales y fortificando las ciudades, ya con esto, empezó a usar la diplomacia y la guerra rápida para tomar diferentes territorios los cuales tenían vacíos de poder a causa de la muerte de gobernantes poderosos, ahora el rey. Sería un Defensor del Pueblo. Que se vio plasmado en su código legal el cual servía para mostrar a un rey ejemplar. Con este rey Babilonia se convierte en una gran potencia pero sus hijos debieron enfrentar diferentes rebeliones, el sur de Babilonia sí colapsó, pero, el norte continuó con 5 sucesores. En esta época también los escribas empiezan a tener estudiantes y hacer patrocinados, los avances intelectuales en Babilonia se pueden dar cuenta en sus avances matemáticos como lo pueden ser los problemas matemáticos o ser pioneros en el teorema de pitágoras.
La gran dinastía de hammurabi vería a su fin con el saqueo por parte de los hititas, respecto a estos últimos el antiguo reino hitita no hay mucha información puesto que es escrita posterior a los acontecimientos de la creación del Estado lo cierto es que este se creó a manos de hattusili I, el cual conquista hattusa, y expande su poder por el norte de Siria destruyendo Alepo y Babilonia sin ser ocupadas, posterior a esto los hititas enfrentarían una época de gran inestabilidad. Hoy luego estos acontecimientos vemos desde 1590 varios estados aniquilados y todo un siglo sin mucho conocimiento a causa de la escasez de fuentes, los principales acontecimientos en esta época son la llegada de los kasitas y hurritas a la región, la importancia de estos últimos es que te trajeron el caballo y el carro de combate y en el Mediterráneo oriental aumentó mucho más el comercio con lugares como Creta.
Entre 1500 y 1200 se crea un sistema internacional en Oriente medio donde hay nuevas potencias, los estados de esta época se caracterizaba por un ciclo de creación, apogeo y declive, al principio del siglo 16 había muchos estados fragmentados sin unos ser dominante, con el tiempo surgen entidades regionales gobernadas desde un centro, el primero de estos es el estado mitanni. Hoy las potencias en esa época estaban en constante contacto que se puede ver en las múltiples cartas diplomáticas y que los Reyes se trataban como hermanos, en estas conversaciones se hablaba más de diplomacia que de cuestiones políticas, el uso de la diplomacia también se expresó en los matrimonios concertados, otra forma harán los regalos que debían ser devueltos con reciprocidad y que generalmente eran lujosos, en esta época el comercio en el Mediterráneo oriental era numeroso como se puede ver en un barco encontrado, el comercio inclusive llegaba hasta España y se intercambiaban diferentes metales, perfumes y bienes.
Pese a la diplomacia fueron constantes los conflictos militares entre las potencias, principalmente entre los egipcios e hititas por el control de la región de Siria Palestina, otra rivalidad sería la de asiria y Babilonia, hoy el gran resultado de las rivalidades de las dos potencias de Levante sería la guerra de Qdash, en las que fue muy común el uso de carros de combate. Las élites en aquella época acumulaban gran riqueza e incentivaron la actividad artística y arquitectónica como se puede dar cuenta en el emplazamiento de grandes Palacios, el arte aquella época es uno caracterizado por mezclar varias culturas entre sí y el babilonio sería el de idioma diplomático.
Pese a que se ha mostrado varios estados muy unidos cada uno tenía su propia historia, sobre Mitanni, es poco lo que se sabe a causa de sus no las fuentes, solo se sabe que dos familias reales lucharon por el trono buscando apoyo exterior y que sería finalmente los hititas y asirios los que desmembraron este imperio, sobre el imperio hitita hay que mencionar que este no tenía una lista de Reyes, muchos de los territorios conquistados por estos eran estados vasallos el fundador del nuevo reino hitita sería Suppiluliuma I, con los años diferentes gobernantes se expandirán más la influencia de este imperio, que vio un gran resultado con el acuerdo de paz con Egipto, los hititas también se relacionaron con los griegos micénicos. La estructura política de este imperio estaba basada en el backstage donde el rey era la cabeza de todo. Como se mencionó la región de Siria Palestina era una en la que se luchaba constantemente por las diferentes potencias a causa de la fragmentación política de este lugar por lo que era presa fácil de estados más poderosos, pese a que habían pocas ciudades en este lugar eran muy ricas a causa de que en sus Palacios habían grandes objetos valiosos como oro o Marfil, pero luego serían destruidas por los pueblos de mar.
Otras nuevas potencias en esta región fueron Babilonia y más tarde asiria, sobre Babilonia que mencionar que luego del saqueo hitita los casitas conquistaron esta región ante el vacío de poder, esto no impondría en su cultura sino que continuarán con el legado cultural babilónico, los casitas también reconstruyeron muchas ciudades y llevaron a cabo la construcción de diferentes zigurats, posteriormente los elamitas destruirían a los casitas de Babilonia. Los casitas también incentivaron mucho el arte y cultura babilónica. Asiria entre los siglos XIV y XI, adquieren importancia, siendo un estado centrado en el aspecto militar, fueron los primeros que llevaron a cabo prácticas de deportación y llevaron a cabo unas grandes campañas militares que luego se vieron frenadas por la llegada de los arameos, su gran prosperidad se debió al botín de guerra que obtenían, dentro de su sociedad había reglas muy estrictas y las mujeres eran muy relegadas. Los elamitas, luego de ser derrotados por hammurabi resurgieron, estos tenían su propia lengua y Dios e interfirieron mucho en la política babilónica, inclusive llegaron a robar la estatua de marduk.
En el siglo XII, en Oriente Medio se llevaron a cabo cambios radicales, pese a la imagen de crisis también hubo continuidades. Los Palacios micénicos desaparecieron y el vacío de poder económico sería llenado por los chipriotas. Los hititas verían su fin a causa de problemas internos políticos y hambrunas, no todas las ciudades hititas fueron destruidas, pero centros económicos importantes como ugarit serían destruidos, nuevamente no todos los puertos serían destruidos, los pueblos de mar llegaron a Egipto para ser finalmente defendidos pero esta región también se vería fragmentada. La región más interna de Mesopotamia como asiria, Babilonia y el la se encontraban con problemas internos y luchando entre sí, los asirios dejaron de hacer campañas militares, los casitas pierden el poder y sube una nueva dinastía los Isin, la mayoría de centros urbanos se ven reducidos, por lo que la mayoría de estados centralizados desaparecen y llegan nuevas poblaciones.
Respecto a las interpretaciones de esta crisis el autor afirma que las invasiones se hicieron en un periodo largo de tiempo y no en 1 corto, hay cambios ambientales pero no son generalizados a todo Oriente Medio, es importante mencionar que cada lugar tenía sus propias circunstancias y cada caída diferente estado se debía más según sus circunstancias, lo cierto es que muchas rutas comerciales se volvieron difíciles de transitar por lo que se redujo en gran parte del comercio y se dejó un gran vacío. Todo esto resultó en menos construcciones y menos fuentes para aquella época, se retornó mucho a prácticas muy locales y el gran cambio en esta época fue el reemplazo del bronce por el hierro como resultado de la dificultad de acceder al estaño y cobre que estaba en lugares más lejanos, finalmente se lleva a cabo la domesticación del camello y con ello los desiertos empiezan a ser usados por los posteriores imperios.
Luego del periodo de crisis surgen nuevas potencias en el este siendo Uratu, una nueva de estas, los babilonios Por su parte se encontraba en un constante desorden en los que los Reyes caldeos intentaban controlar la región, por lo que va vilonia se encontró por mucho tiempo en un gran vacío de poder, Elam, muchas veces ayudaba Babilonia como contra la expansión de asiria, aunque esta fue destruida por los asirios sobreviviría para ser absorbida por los persas, la gran importancia de este pueblo fue el control de sus rutas comerciales. Volviendo a Urato, estos controlaban el Cáucaso, contaban con grandes viñedos y acceso importantes rutas comerciales, los asirios siempre tratan de dominarla pero al final solo pudieron hacerlo por medio de la diplomacia, por otra cosa que son recordados este pueblo es por sus grandes trabajos con el metal y el control de importantes minas.
Hacia el oeste surgen los estados neohititas, los cuales también tenían grandes ciudades con Palacios y templos y gozaban de gran riqueza a causa de su control de rutas comerciales y marineras, los fenicios seguían prosperando gracias a su control de bienes de lujo y gran capacidad comercial marítima, su arte también fue muy importante para la época y su gran impacto se debió a la difusión del alfabeto, otros estados pequeños empezaron a hacer alianzas contra el naciente imperio asirio, lo más que caracteriza Levante en esta época fue una gran mezcla de culturas las cuales influyen posteriormente en Grecia.
El imperio asirio para el autor tiene dos periodos, el primero es la fase de expansión, donde a Siria se transforma en una sociedad militar donde el mismo rey dirige las campañas militares y debajo de este habían oficiales, este nuevo imperio contaba con un gran Ejército y usaba los pueblos conquistados para sus propósitos, contamos con una gran logística para dar de comer a un gran número de soldados y proporcionarles armamento y armadura, los habitantes conquistados de una ciudad eran duramente castigados y se usaba el terror psicológico para hacer rendir a otros pueblos. Gracias a esta expansión Asiria se consiguió un gran botín, se llevó a cabo también la práctica de deportación para conseguir mano de obra, esta mano de obra serviría para la construcción de grandes ciudades y Palacios. Las primeras conquistas asirias, se centrarán en recuperar el territorio perdido luego de la anterior crisis, para ello fue muy importante mejorar las vías terrestres para conseguir mejores suministros, dos gobernantes como Asurnasirpal II y Salmanasar III, serían los que sentarán las bases del imperio y su expansión, llegaron a conquistar partes de Siria y anatolia, pero aún eran un estado débil que debían proteger constantemente sus fronteras, la debilidad de asiria, se vivió luego de la muerte de salmanasar, por lo que muchos gobernantes locales empezaron a independizarse, la debilidad de esta primera fase se debió a que no era un estado muy centralizado, no había una gran integración, por lo que era necesario una gran reforma.
May 24, 2021
This is a good thorough survey of the "fertile crescent" from the birth of civilization until Alexander the Great showed up. If you read this you'll come away with a good understanding of western ANCIENT history (excepting egypt). Some fun take-aways:
The Persions built a canal from the Nile river to the Red Sea
Yahweh had a wife, Asherahi, who was widely worshiped in Judea and Israel before the Babylonian captivity
Hammurabi's code probably wasnt an actual law code. also its in the Louvre in Paris and i either saw it and forgot or missed it :(
All the books in the library in Nineveh were stamped with "Belonging to the palace of Assurbanipal, king of the univers, king of Assyria."
The Persions built a canal from the Nile river to the Red Sea
Yahweh had a wife, Asherahi, who was widely worshiped in Judea and Israel before the Babylonian captivity
Hammurabi's code probably wasnt an actual law code. also its in the Louvre in Paris and i either saw it and forgot or missed it :(
All the books in the library in Nineveh were stamped with "Belonging to the palace of Assurbanipal, king of the univers, king of Assyria."
September 27, 2017
This is another book in my effort to get myself ready for a world history course I'm teaching this year. This time, I had a moderate familiarity with the topic already, so had something more of an advantage than my previous two books. I found Van De Mieroop's book a useful survey of the current state of the field.
Van De Mieroop begins with the emergence of a developed civilization starting in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC and works his way through the various Near Easter civilizations until the death of Alexander the Great. He blends literary and non-literary texts with archaeological evidence with great skill and gives an up-to-date idea of what we know or can reason out about the Near Eastern civilizations. Given their variety over the two and a bit millennia covered in this book, that is quite a feat. However, Van De Mieroop does it with great skills, writing an an accessibly academic style.
This is an excellent book to start one's study of this fascinating group of cultures over a long period.
Van De Mieroop begins with the emergence of a developed civilization starting in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC and works his way through the various Near Easter civilizations until the death of Alexander the Great. He blends literary and non-literary texts with archaeological evidence with great skill and gives an up-to-date idea of what we know or can reason out about the Near Eastern civilizations. Given their variety over the two and a bit millennia covered in this book, that is quite a feat. However, Van De Mieroop does it with great skills, writing an an accessibly academic style.
This is an excellent book to start one's study of this fascinating group of cultures over a long period.
September 20, 2017
Frankly I was disappointed in that this didn't manage to deliver a comprehensive history. I wanted an old style history of dates (best guess), people, events, rise and fall - but there was no real attempt to thread things together. Not sure why this is thought so highly of?
Read
July 30, 2025Having finished this book yesterday, I've thought about what I made of it for the last two days. To be honest nothing really stuck out. This isn't a great thing, but it also isn't particularily bad. Let's just say I've liked it fine. Compared to Stiebing's book on the Ancient Near East however it fell kind of flat. It seemed to be a lot less in-depth. What was nice however, is that Van de Mieroop chose to include a few chapters on the Persians (which as far as I remember Stiebing didn't or at least not to that extent) which was interesting. Overall the book's focus was much more on the "core" region of the Ancient Near East - i.e. Mesopotamia. One of the highlights of this book certainly were its many maps.
So even if I'd recommend you Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture over this one, it should serve you fine as well for a rough overview over the different cultures and their subsequent disappearances or transformations.
So even if I'd recommend you Ancient Near Eastern History and Culture over this one, it should serve you fine as well for a rough overview over the different cultures and their subsequent disappearances or transformations.
June 25, 2025
This book does an excellent job surveying ANE history, while providing bibliographies for further reading. There are also several excerpts from primary sources which introduce readers to the issues of scholarships. The images and maps are also helpful. Most of all, I enjoyed the boxes for scholarly debates at the end of each chapter. These sections introduce important issues the modern historian has to face. The footnotes also include opposing viewpoints which allow for a more diverse perspective for the reader. Overall, I would say this book accomplishes its goal very well.
June 11, 2022
Ea-Nasir knows what he did.
Want to read
August 22, 2023DS62.2 V34 2007 Memorial Library
January 16, 2024
Why was Sargon II kinda serving cunt?
I LOVED THIS I LOVE GONO I LOVE THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST!!!!
I LOVED THIS I LOVE GONO I LOVE THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST!!!!
July 13, 2022
I read this for a class on ancient Mesopotamia and found it readable and informative.
January 10, 2020
The year 2020 instantly begins with soaring tension between the United States and Iran. In some ways, it looks like history is repeating itself. In 1988, an Iranian passenger plane was mistakenly shot down by an American warship, killing all 290 people on board and now, in 2020, we have encountered a dynamic situation of similar gravity, where current intelligence suggests that an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 people on board.
As the Middle East continues to seize global attention, I thought it would be a good time to go back in history. Way back. Over 5000 years back. We go back to the Ancient Near East. Traditionally, the study of ancient history relies heavily on written sources, and the inception of writing by Sumerians in around 3000 BC is consequently viewed as the marked beginning of ancient history, and this is where Mark Van De Mieroop’s A History of the Ancient Near East begins its journey.
The book is divided into three key parts: The city-state, from ca. 3000 BC to 1600 BC; the territorial state, from 1600 BC to 1000 BC; and the empires, from 1000 BC to 323 BC. Considered as the cradle of civilization, the Near East represents an area of segmented power with generally fleeting periods of centralization under elected monarchs or Mesopotamian dynasties who relentlessly focussed on expanding their territories. Many historians typically consider the fall of the last Mesopotamian dynasty in 539 BC as the ultimate end of Near Eastern history; the year when Cyrus conquers Babylonia. However in this book, Mieroop decides to consider the defeat of Darius III of Persia by Alexander in year 331 BC to be the end of the Near Eastern history. He justifies this by stating how our access to historical data was radically transformed during Alexanders reign. The author additionally provides an excellent introduction, giving the readers an insight into the geography and prehistoric developments of the ancient Near East. Significant prehistoric developments, as described by the author, were technological development in agriculture, domestication and selective hunting of animals, and the spread of established cultures. Starting from the Uruk phenomenon- with the development of writing and administration, to the rise and fall of the Persian empire, A History of the Ancient Near East enlightens its readers by generously providing background information on everything a noob needs to know about the ancient Near East. The second edition contains 21 maps, 27 documents, and 34 illustrations, many of which are beyond intriguing.
Unfortunately, however, the general instability of the Middle East and the prolonged Iraq wars resulted in very limited access to potentially valuable sources that could uncover more of Mesopotamian and Near Eastern history. Carefully considering the political status quo of 2020, I think room for further field research in this subject is still sadly, limited. Nevertheless, I heartily enjoyed reading this book. It was super easy to digest. Sometimes boring, but that didn’t hinder me from immersing myself into the 27 centuries of ancient history that this book has to offer. I would recommend this to anyone interested in gathering basic and intermediate knowledge about the ancient Near East. 5 Stars.
As the Middle East continues to seize global attention, I thought it would be a good time to go back in history. Way back. Over 5000 years back. We go back to the Ancient Near East. Traditionally, the study of ancient history relies heavily on written sources, and the inception of writing by Sumerians in around 3000 BC is consequently viewed as the marked beginning of ancient history, and this is where Mark Van De Mieroop’s A History of the Ancient Near East begins its journey.
The book is divided into three key parts: The city-state, from ca. 3000 BC to 1600 BC; the territorial state, from 1600 BC to 1000 BC; and the empires, from 1000 BC to 323 BC. Considered as the cradle of civilization, the Near East represents an area of segmented power with generally fleeting periods of centralization under elected monarchs or Mesopotamian dynasties who relentlessly focussed on expanding their territories. Many historians typically consider the fall of the last Mesopotamian dynasty in 539 BC as the ultimate end of Near Eastern history; the year when Cyrus conquers Babylonia. However in this book, Mieroop decides to consider the defeat of Darius III of Persia by Alexander in year 331 BC to be the end of the Near Eastern history. He justifies this by stating how our access to historical data was radically transformed during Alexanders reign. The author additionally provides an excellent introduction, giving the readers an insight into the geography and prehistoric developments of the ancient Near East. Significant prehistoric developments, as described by the author, were technological development in agriculture, domestication and selective hunting of animals, and the spread of established cultures. Starting from the Uruk phenomenon- with the development of writing and administration, to the rise and fall of the Persian empire, A History of the Ancient Near East enlightens its readers by generously providing background information on everything a noob needs to know about the ancient Near East. The second edition contains 21 maps, 27 documents, and 34 illustrations, many of which are beyond intriguing.
Unfortunately, however, the general instability of the Middle East and the prolonged Iraq wars resulted in very limited access to potentially valuable sources that could uncover more of Mesopotamian and Near Eastern history. Carefully considering the political status quo of 2020, I think room for further field research in this subject is still sadly, limited. Nevertheless, I heartily enjoyed reading this book. It was super easy to digest. Sometimes boring, but that didn’t hinder me from immersing myself into the 27 centuries of ancient history that this book has to offer. I would recommend this to anyone interested in gathering basic and intermediate knowledge about the ancient Near East. 5 Stars.
May 26, 2020
I'm half way through this and wondering whether it's worth finishing. Basically, I'm finding it pretty boring; kind of like reading Deuteronomy....a succession of kings and kingdoms. Admittedly, Marc does try and peg things back to the evidence; documentary or hard evidence like pottery etc., Still there is a heck of a lot of sheer speculation. Take this for example "...this may merely show the spread of southern scribal practices. Widespread territorial control of the region seems unlikely. The old Akkadian kings probably established points through which they could channel their commercial interests , possibly backed by the threat of military action."....Here we have this collection of weasel words: "merely", "unlikely", "probably", "possibly"....I feel a bit like I'm reading "Holy Blood and Holy Grail" ....or Dan Brown's take on it. Obviously, there is a lot of guess work when you are writing about things that happened 4000 years ago ....and written records were limited (and usually only showed one side of the history).
Marc does try to draw out something of a big picture ....most obviously with his chapter headings: for example, "Political centralisation in the late third Millennium" or "The growth of territorial states in the early second Millennium" .
I guess, I am learning something ...but it is rather hard going. OK I will soldier on with reading it. But it is a chore.....Ok now about a week later and I've finally finished the book.
Yes, it was worth persevering but I still feel like I have been beaten over the head with endless genealogies. Yet there is a lot more.
One thing that does come through is that a dynastic monarchy is not really a great way to govern a country. When I look at the length of time that the various kings ruled...and there must have been thousands of them over the period covered in the book .......most of them ruled for less than 20 years. And the successions seemed generally to be very messy affairs with lots of murders and social disruption. And frequently, what had previously been a smoothly functioning machine fell into disarray and was susceptible to invasion and total collapse.
Another thing that shone through was the interconnectedness between the royal families throughout the region. Often rulers were keen to have their daughters intermarry with other kings in the area. There was also a custom of exchanging expensive gifts between the royal families ...and especially between the women. So there were interesting connections between the various royal families throughout the region ....though this did not stop family rivalry ..eg between brothers or cousins.
The power structure seems to have been based around particular gods....(managed by the priesthood) ....they bestowed their blessing on particular individuals who were the kings and they seemed to be encouraged to go out campaigning ....sacking other cities (and their gods) ...and bringing the booty and slaves back home.
Much of the great building projects (eg Persepolis) seemed to have been financed by the booty seized from the sacking of other cities (like Babylon).
But there was another arm to the power structure and this seemed to be the military....and often a military leader deposed a weak leader or a newly appointed leader who had little chance to establish themselves. So there was this common triumvirate of King/Priest/Military that ran the country.
At the bottom end of the social pyramid was the peasant who worked the fields. They really seemed to get screwed. The kings could make fairly arbitrary demands for tribute from them (ostensibly taxation or protection money) but when the demands were too great or season poor, the peasants went into debt thence into slavery....so not a great career path for them.
Seems that it wasn't until the Persians came along that governance got better with their Satrapy system working reasonably well...and clearly one of the smart things that they did was to leave the local religions (priests) in place. My impression also is that the tithe was the requisite taxation and this appeared to be sustainable.
One of the other groups that made an impression on me was the Assyrians...who seemed to be pretty much a military cult..with the obligation to go campaigning every summer. Great for a while...but after they had conquered everything within reach it became harder to find reasonable targets. They had developed something like their own Ponzi scheme ...requiring more and more sackable cities to sustain their operations. Also fascinating that the whole Assyrian machine....at it's peak in about 640BC collapsed within about 30 years. Not exactly clear what happened but seems there was political confusion in Assyria and poised on the borders was a powerful enemy (the Medes) ready to pounce.
Another thing that I found interesting was the value of trade routes and trading to the various empires. If your city was a trading centre that was a key to wealth and to survival. Trading centres are there because of geographic factors normally.....so hard to change this and they will always have that advantage...unless the demand for a certain item drops. So some of the port cities were valuable in that respect and Ecbatana benefitted by being on the Khorasan Road....the major trade route between Iran and Babylon.
I hadn't fully appreciated the vast time gaps between the initial establishment of Babylon and it's sacking by the Persians ...and, in fact, the ability of Baylon to spring back after being sacked. Also, it's incredible contribution to the culture of the region ....including the script that tended to be adopted and used everywhere.
Marc gives passing reference to the policy of deportations which must have been absolutely horrific for the affected communities. Samaritans transported to Iraq for example. He mentions, without further details, the incredible logistics involved in walking 12,000 captives thousands of km to new locations. (apparently, the archeological records have no details). The policy had twin objectives: remove a source of trouble permanently; and supply labour to the empire or city.
He also puts into a much better perspective (for me) the biblical accounts of Israel and Judah. The deportation policies were common and Israel and Judah were just two more troublesome vassel states that needed to be kept in line. Marc continually draws attention to the fact that one cannot accept the record on walls or in the bible at face value. They writer was always putting their own spin on things and the only way to really get somewhere near the truth is to have multiple accounts of the same event from different perspectives. Even then, they are not necessarily trustworthy because they may all draw on the same biased source material or be written hundreds of years later. A pity that the parchment and papyrus records have all (apparently) been lost for this period.
He has deliberately avoided bringing Egypt into the equation (as much as is possible) and I think that is a problem. Clearly, they were major players in the events governing the Near East and I do think we have missed a lot by not having more information about Egypt.
Would I recommend this to my 16 year old studying ancient history? No, I don't think so. I learned a lot from it. But bottom line is that it's hard going and a bit boring in style, though it might appeal to higher level students. I give it three stars.
Marc does try to draw out something of a big picture ....most obviously with his chapter headings: for example, "Political centralisation in the late third Millennium" or "The growth of territorial states in the early second Millennium" .
I guess, I am learning something ...but it is rather hard going. OK I will soldier on with reading it. But it is a chore.....Ok now about a week later and I've finally finished the book.
Yes, it was worth persevering but I still feel like I have been beaten over the head with endless genealogies. Yet there is a lot more.
One thing that does come through is that a dynastic monarchy is not really a great way to govern a country. When I look at the length of time that the various kings ruled...and there must have been thousands of them over the period covered in the book .......most of them ruled for less than 20 years. And the successions seemed generally to be very messy affairs with lots of murders and social disruption. And frequently, what had previously been a smoothly functioning machine fell into disarray and was susceptible to invasion and total collapse.
Another thing that shone through was the interconnectedness between the royal families throughout the region. Often rulers were keen to have their daughters intermarry with other kings in the area. There was also a custom of exchanging expensive gifts between the royal families ...and especially between the women. So there were interesting connections between the various royal families throughout the region ....though this did not stop family rivalry ..eg between brothers or cousins.
The power structure seems to have been based around particular gods....(managed by the priesthood) ....they bestowed their blessing on particular individuals who were the kings and they seemed to be encouraged to go out campaigning ....sacking other cities (and their gods) ...and bringing the booty and slaves back home.
Much of the great building projects (eg Persepolis) seemed to have been financed by the booty seized from the sacking of other cities (like Babylon).
But there was another arm to the power structure and this seemed to be the military....and often a military leader deposed a weak leader or a newly appointed leader who had little chance to establish themselves. So there was this common triumvirate of King/Priest/Military that ran the country.
At the bottom end of the social pyramid was the peasant who worked the fields. They really seemed to get screwed. The kings could make fairly arbitrary demands for tribute from them (ostensibly taxation or protection money) but when the demands were too great or season poor, the peasants went into debt thence into slavery....so not a great career path for them.
Seems that it wasn't until the Persians came along that governance got better with their Satrapy system working reasonably well...and clearly one of the smart things that they did was to leave the local religions (priests) in place. My impression also is that the tithe was the requisite taxation and this appeared to be sustainable.
One of the other groups that made an impression on me was the Assyrians...who seemed to be pretty much a military cult..with the obligation to go campaigning every summer. Great for a while...but after they had conquered everything within reach it became harder to find reasonable targets. They had developed something like their own Ponzi scheme ...requiring more and more sackable cities to sustain their operations. Also fascinating that the whole Assyrian machine....at it's peak in about 640BC collapsed within about 30 years. Not exactly clear what happened but seems there was political confusion in Assyria and poised on the borders was a powerful enemy (the Medes) ready to pounce.
Another thing that I found interesting was the value of trade routes and trading to the various empires. If your city was a trading centre that was a key to wealth and to survival. Trading centres are there because of geographic factors normally.....so hard to change this and they will always have that advantage...unless the demand for a certain item drops. So some of the port cities were valuable in that respect and Ecbatana benefitted by being on the Khorasan Road....the major trade route between Iran and Babylon.
I hadn't fully appreciated the vast time gaps between the initial establishment of Babylon and it's sacking by the Persians ...and, in fact, the ability of Baylon to spring back after being sacked. Also, it's incredible contribution to the culture of the region ....including the script that tended to be adopted and used everywhere.
Marc gives passing reference to the policy of deportations which must have been absolutely horrific for the affected communities. Samaritans transported to Iraq for example. He mentions, without further details, the incredible logistics involved in walking 12,000 captives thousands of km to new locations. (apparently, the archeological records have no details). The policy had twin objectives: remove a source of trouble permanently; and supply labour to the empire or city.
He also puts into a much better perspective (for me) the biblical accounts of Israel and Judah. The deportation policies were common and Israel and Judah were just two more troublesome vassel states that needed to be kept in line. Marc continually draws attention to the fact that one cannot accept the record on walls or in the bible at face value. They writer was always putting their own spin on things and the only way to really get somewhere near the truth is to have multiple accounts of the same event from different perspectives. Even then, they are not necessarily trustworthy because they may all draw on the same biased source material or be written hundreds of years later. A pity that the parchment and papyrus records have all (apparently) been lost for this period.
He has deliberately avoided bringing Egypt into the equation (as much as is possible) and I think that is a problem. Clearly, they were major players in the events governing the Near East and I do think we have missed a lot by not having more information about Egypt.
Would I recommend this to my 16 year old studying ancient history? No, I don't think so. I learned a lot from it. But bottom line is that it's hard going and a bit boring in style, though it might appeal to higher level students. I give it three stars.
July 1, 2014
Very prosaic account of an admittedly technical subject. I desperately needed filling on the earliest ancient civilizations and it certainly helped in that. I found it very interesting how similar the wording of the Behistun inscription was to much earlier royal proclamations from the New Assyrian Empire and even Hittite diplomatic letters. In many ways, the Persians coming at the very end of the period covered, were just the most successful empire builders in a long and coherent history of them, never resorting to extreme measures like deportation or torture and changing their royal behaviour to fit other cultures. Earlier, extremely unstable relations between the centre and the periphery, the subjects and the imperial city were the norm and it was only the Neo-Assyrian empire and its massive construction projects throughout the region that started to change this. I need to look into Gilgamesh, the Atrahasis, the Enuma Elish because that was ground not particularly well covered here but as these works are related to such short and such discrete parts of Mesopotamian history, Ur III, pre-Neo Assyrian Babylonia, Neo-Assyria/the library at Nineveh, perhaps this omission was warranted
October 24, 2013
The best survey of Near Eastern History I've found yet. Van De Mieroop is careful to stick to what is known from archaelogical evidence and where he touches on theories and speculations he identifies it clearly. There is no central thesis he is promoting with this book, it is a straight forward chronological summary of 3000 years of history bookended by brief sections on pre Sumerian neolithic peoples on one end and the closing of the period with the coming of the Persians on the other. In between find Sumer, Akkad, all the flavors of Babylon, Assyria, Mittani, Urartu, Hatti, and many other peoples presented in eminently readable fashion.
May 28, 2019
One of the better histories I've read; an excellent introduction to the region. The author does a good job of picking specific events, discussing them, and then turning to analysis of the culture of that time and place rather than quickly rushing off to simply list off other events. This makes the book more readable while also providing a better understanding of the events (knowing long lists of events in minimal detail is not very useful, much better to know a few key events and their contexts well).
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