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Ancient Middle East PDF Library – Mesopotamia Books PDF

Ancient Middle East PDF Library - Mesopotamia Books PDF

Mesopotamia Civilization PDF. Ancient Near East. Ancient Middle East PDF library. Free books online on ancient History.

Whether you’re an enthusiast of the ancient Near East or looking to brush up on your knowledge, there are plenty of free online books to get you started. Explore the rise of empires from Mesopotamia and Assyria to Babylon and the Persian Empire. Learn about their customs, culture, and politics with these easy-to-access resources.

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Book Collections on Ancient Near East and Mesopotamia Civilization

Ancient Mesopotamia Books Collection

Free online pdf books about the region of ancient Mesopotamia. Some books: Ancient Mesopotamia, Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, The buildings of Ancient Mesopotamia, Life and Worship in Ancient Mesopotamia, Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Mesopotamia: the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians, Mesopotamia: Iraq in Ancient Times, Writing in Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Mesopotamia: portrait of a dead civilization, The Ancient Worlds of Asia: from Mesopotamia to the Yellow River.

Ancient Middle East Books Collection – Ancient Middle East PDF Library

Free pdf online books on ancient Middle East history. Some books: SBL Handbook of Style, for ancient Near Eastern, Biblical and early Christian Studies, Ancient Iraq, Prophecy in its Ancient Near Eastern Context, Cambridge Ancient History: The Middle East and the Aegean Region, Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East, The Ancient Way: Life and Landmarks of the Holy Land, Atlas of the Ancient World, Systems of Marriage and the Family in the pre-industrial Societies of Eurasia, Sumer and the Sumerians, The Origins of Civilization.

More Collections of Free Books on Ancient Middle East and Mesopotamia Topics

Suggested Books on Ancient Near East and Mesopotamia Civilization

Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millenium B.C.

Aruz, Joan, ed.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 2008

This volume was published in conjunction with the major art exhibition entitled ‘Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millenium B.C.’, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Nov. 18, 2008-Mar. 15, 2009. Each chapter of this catalogue begins with an introduction by an art historian or archaeologist. This is followed by photos of art objects in the exhibit, each accompanied by expert background explanations and interpretations.

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Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Bertman, Stephen
Facts on File 2003

“For almost three thousand years, a succession of glorious communities flourished in ancient Mesopotamia. This book explores the culture of these great civilisations, which gave rise to literature, art, government, and urban life. It examines the daily lives of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, breathing life into the facts that modern-day archaeologists have unearthed about Iraq’s past. Each chapter includes an extensive bibliography, as well as original line drawings, photographs, and maps.

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Bottacro, Jean
John Hopkins University 2001

Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, based on articles originally published in L’Histoire by Jean Bottéro, André Finet, Bertrand Lafont, and Georges Roux, presents new discoveries about this amazing Mesopotamian culture made during the past ten years. Features of everyday Meopotamian life highlight the new sections of this book.

Empires of Ancient Persia – Ancient Middle East PDF Library

Burgan, Michael
Chelsea House 2009

“For almost 1,200 years, the Persians ruled a territory that stretched from the Black Sea into Central Asia, from India to Egypt and into the fringes of southern Europe. “Empires of Ancient Persia” looks at the rise and fall of the Persian empires, the daily life of the people, and their influence on subsequent civilizations.” -Publisher.

Voices from the Clay: the Development of Assyro-Babylonian Literature

Fiore, Silvestro
University of Oklahoma 1965

“The Orient harbors the oldest civilizations of the world, and it was there, in the valleys of the great rivers, that human speech first became poetry and inspiration was perpetuated into written word. The Assyro-Babylonian literature instilled its ideas into Greek mythology, and thus succeeded in surviving, although incognito, until European culture began to flourish.

The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient

Frankfort, Henri
Yale University 1996

Traces the development of Mesopotamian art from Sumerian times to the late Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods. This text also covers the art and architecture of Asia Minor and the Hittites, of the Levant in the second millennium BC, of the Aramaeans and Phoenicians in Syria, and of Ancient Persia.

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The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man: An Essay on Speculative Thought in the Ancient Near East

Frankfort, Henri
University of Chicago 1977

The authors describe and analyze the spiritual life of three ancient civilizations: the Egyptians, whose thinking was profoundly influenced by the daily rebirth of the sun and the annual rebirth of the Nile; the Mesopotamians, who believed the stars, moon, and stones were all citizens of a cosmic state; and the Hebrews, who transcended prevailing mythopoeic thought with their cosmogony of the will of God. In the concluding chapter the Frankforts show that the Greeks, with their intellectual courage, were the first culture to discover a realm of speculative thought in which myth was overcome.” -Publisher.

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History of Ancient Iran

Frye, Richard N.
Beck’sche 1983

Contents: Geographical survey – Demography – Pre-Iranian history of the Plateau and Central Asia – Medes, Scythians and eastern rulers – Achaemenids – Alexander the Great and the Seleucids – Greco-Bactrians, Sakas and Parthians – The Parthians on the Plateau – The Kushans – Minor dynasties on the Plateau – The Sasanians – Eastern Iran and Central Asia – Appendices.

History Begins at Sumer: Twenty-seven “Firsts” in Man’s Recorded History – Ancient Middle East PDF Library

Kramer, Samuel N.
DoubleDay 1973

“Unearthed about a century ago from the mounds in Mesopotamia where they had lain for more than three thousand years, and deciphered only after decades of painstaking work, the tablets [of Sumer] tell the story of a civilization long forgotten, where culture as we know it was born. In this book, Dr. Samuel Noah Kramer describes twenty-seven “firsts” in human history and in this way constructs an intimate and vivid picture of everyday public and private life five thousand years ago. Ancient man’s schools, his hymns and epics, the earliest social reforms, the first recorded political, religious, and ethical ideas are here recounted, side by side with less important but equally entertaining beginnings, such as the world’s first recorded tax reduction and the earliest experiment with shade-tree gardening in history. In this colorful account of life in one of the world’s oldest societies, modern man can read of the origins of his culture and the beginning of all civilization.” -Book cover.

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The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character

Kramer, Samuel N.
University of Chicago 1963

“The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums B.C. This book is a compendium of what is known about them. The author outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.” -Publisher.

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Cities and Planning in the Ancient Near East

Lampl, Paul
Braziller 1968

The lands lying in a huge semicircle called the Fertile Crescent, around the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, were the home of some of the earliest known peoples and their cities. [In this volume] Paul Lampl presents a comprehensive survey of the legendary cities of Mesopotamia pdf, Egypt and the Levant, of Anatolia, Armenia and Persia.

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Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia

Nemet-Nejat and Karen Rhea
Greenwood 1998

“The ancient world of Mesopotamia (from Sumer to the subsequent division into Babylonia and Assyria) vividly comes alive in this portrayal of the time period from 3100 bce to the fall of Assyria (612 bce) and Babylon (539 bce). Readers will discover fascinating details about the lives of these people from the society where writing began–taken from the ancients’ own quotations and descriptions. A wealth of information is provided on such varied topics as: education; literature; mathematics and science; city vs. country life; family life; and religion. Similarities between daily life in ancient Mesopotamia and modern-day Iraq are also discussed. Beautifully illustrated.

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Babylon

Oates, Joan
Thames and Hudson 1986

“Dr. Oates describes the rise of Babylon from Sargon of Agade to Hammurapi, the great law-giver under whom in the 18th century BC the city first attained pre-eminence. She charts its progress under his successors, its greatest period of empire during the reigns of Nebuchadrezzar and Nabonidus in the 6th century BC, and its decay and final abandonment as Persians and Greeks turned Mesopotamia into a battleground.” -Publisher.

Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History – Ancient Middle East PDF Library

Postgate, J.N.
Routledge 1994

“The roots of our modern world lie in the civilization of Mesopotamia, which saw the development of the first urban society and the invention of writing. The cuneiform texts reveal the technological and social innovations of Sumer and Babylonia as surprisingly modern, and the influence of this fascinating culture was felt throughout the Near East. ‘Early Mesopotamia’ gives an entirely new account, integrating the archaeology with historical data which until now have been largely scattered in specialist literature.” -Publisher.

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The Greatness that was Babylon: A Sketch of the Ancient Civilization of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley

Saggs, H.W.F.
Hawthorn 1962

“Each aspect of the great civilization of Babylon and Assyria — religion, economics, politics, art, literature, social mores — is carefully examined and vividly described. Beginning with a basic cultural history of Mesopotamia before 2,000 B.C., the author traces the developments of the people to their peak of cultural achievement, and then follows their rapid and tragic decline.” -Book jacket.

The World of Babylon; Nineveh and Assyria

Seignobos, Charles
Leon Amiel 1975

A popular general history, heavily illustrated.

Life in the Ancient Near East, 3100-332 B.C.E.

Snell, Daniel C.
Yale University 1997

“In this sweeping overview of life in the ancient Near East, Daniel Snell surveys the history of the region from the invention of writing five thousand years ago to Alexander the Great’s conquest in 332 B.C.E… He sets forth a detailed picture of what is known about the demography, social groups, family, women, labor, land and animal management, crafts, trade, money, and government of the ancient Near East. This book offers a fascinating tour of life in ancient Western Asia.”–Jacket.

Persians: Masters of Empire

Time-Life Books 1995

Readers assume the role of archaeologists, uncovering secrets of ancient civilizations. Stunning photographs and illustrations, plus detailed cutaways, maps and diagrams.

Ancient Persia From 550 BC to 650 AD

Wiesehofer, Josef
Tauris 2001

“Josef Wiesehöfer, one of the most respected scholars of the ancient world, provides here a comprehensive survey of the Persian Empire under Achaeminids, the Parthians and the Sassanians. Part of the freshness of this book comes from presenting a historical discussion of Persia from a Near Eastern perspective. A comprehensive social, political and cultural history of ancient Persia, Wiesehöfer’s book provides important new material for specialists while being fully accessible and appealing to general readers interested in the ancient world.” -Publisher.

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