The History and Culture of Ancient Western Asia and Egypt

by A. Bernard Knapp

Past human history is exceedingly difficult to reconstruct. The historian must possess the objectivity of a scientist and the subjectivity of a humanist. Some of the most dramatic cultural and technological developments in human history - agriculture and animal domestication, control and use of fire, metallurgy and the use of the wheel, urbanization - took place in a prehistoric setting. To understand these developments, historians must make the mute archaeological records speak.

This book offers an introduction to the ancient world, encompassing a broad spectrum: from prehistoric times to the death of Alexander the Great in Babylon; from Western Asia and Egypt through the eastern Mediterranean to the borders of Greece. It endeavors to discern how past cultural achievements - art, literature, religion, and science - arise from and reflect historical circumstances.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1988

Reviews

[Seph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The History and Culture of Ancient Western Asia and Egypt is an excellent introduction to the major cultures of the Ancient Near East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria-Palestine, with brief discourses on other important groups including: the Greek tribes, the Hebrews, the Hittites and Hurrians, and the Persians.

Knapp explores the agricultural, economic, militaristic, political, and religious particulars of each culture across roughly 5000 years of time, and ends the book with a brief discussion on how each culture's contributions to architecture, art, literature, medicine, science, and technology survive into the modern day.

Beginning during the prehistoric period, Knapp traces the rise of each culture from their nomadic origins, to settled city-states during the third millennium BC, he then explores the shifting domestic situation within each culture as they encounter each other on the world stage during the second millenniums BC, and finishes by proposing various theories on why each ultimately collapsed during the imperialistic period of the first millennium BC.

Whether you're interested in each culture as an independent unit, or the larger, interconnected frame within which they all fit, this book will be of great use to you.

PROS

• clear, concise writing
• an unbiased view of each culture
• textbook style definitions of relevant terminology
• subject matter is cross-referenced within the book
• suggested reading material at the end of each chapter
• full glossary and index for reference
• chronological table at the front for easy reference
• numerous maps, photographs, and illustrations

[Doyle Netzly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knapp's book is a concise, yet cogent, introduction to the culture of civilization from roughly the time of Çatal Höyük up until the time of the conquests of Alexander. It varies from the usual texts which deliver mostly only names and dates, and emphasizes, in addition to those, the literary and linguistic contexts present within that society.
Because of its tantalizing brevity, "The History and Culture of Ancient Western Asia and Egypt" would suit any reader interested in tracing the early cultural genealogy of civilization, the origin of writing, or even the universality of human thought throughout these dimmer annals of history.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading for my Ancient History class... Pretty interesting stuff.