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Title: Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization by A. Leo Oppenheim, Erica Reiner ISBN: 0226631877 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: September, 1977 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5
Rating: 5
Summary: Classic Introduction
Comment: Georges Roux's outstanding book on ancient Iraq - which opens my eyes - seems amateurish compared to this one - probably the single best introduction to ancient Mesopotamia written in the English language.
Iraq's civilization is interesting for two reasons. From a purely archaeological/anthropological point of view, ancient Mesopotamia is by far the oldest civilization on this planet - even older than Egypt. The reasons why there's much less attention to it than to Egypt are the fact that there are so few monumental structures remaining there and the fact that Egypt is closer to the Graeoco-Roman civilization.
The other reason why Iraq's civilization is interesting is its potential importance IN THE FUTURE. With the war's outcome almost certain (truly it's like an Iron Age army crushing a Stone Age one), Iraq's long term prospects are quite good. Sitting on the second largest proven crude oil reserves in the world, Iraq has the potential to wield much influence, like Saudi Arabia.
Useful (but rather short) bibilography and glossary.
Oppenheim regrets not being able to make this book "twice the size of the present one." (p.334) I only regret that this book ISN'T three times as long. If this book isn't flying off the shelves, it should be. Get it before it's too late.
(Warning: This book does not include the Sumerian civilization, as the author makes explicit. For this subject you must turn to Sam N. Kramer.)
Rating: 5
Summary: Lively, Insightful and Wide-Ranging
Comment: A. Leo Oppenheim's "Ancient Mesopotamia:Portrait of a Dead Civilization" is one lively read. It is not a chronologically arranged history, (you'll have to go to Georges Roux's "Ancient Iraq" for that), but it is an unusually comprehensive series of essays on aspects of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. After introducing Assyriology as a discipline, Oppenheim situates Mesopotamia geographically and culturally within the ancient world, and discusses its relations with and influence on its neighbors. From there he goes on to analyze the root forms of almost everything we know of as civilization: urbanism, political and social organization, religion, writing, literature, and scientific thought. Particularly interesting are the discussions on the care and feeding of the gods, ancient psychology, and the scribal subculture. Throughout the book, Oppenheim refers to historical and literary data of every sort in an even-handed way. A helpful chronology, glossary, notes, and index fill the final 100+ pages of the book. Illustrations and maps could be a little better, but that's small change in a book of this scope. Come visit the impossibly exotic, yet oddly accessible, past
Rating: 5
Summary: A revolutionary view from a revolutionary scholar
Comment: Without any doubt, this book is one of the most comprehensive works on ancient Near Eastern cultures with its distinguished structure and unique style. Mr Oppenheim, a well-known Assyrologist of the sixties, provides us a brief but deep and highly detailed portrait of Ancient Mesopotamia, as the subtitle of the book suggests ("Portrait Of A Dead Civilization".) First, I have to inform the enthusiastic reader that this is not a book for "beginners" - it requires a background on ancient history and an acquaintance with Mesopotamian civilizations. But you don't have to be a specialist or a scholar to enjoy the unique taste of the book.
While Samuel Noah Kramer's works feed us with the Sumerian part of Mesopotamian culture, Oppenheim focuses the main axis on Babylonia and Assyria. The book is not a plain history textbook in a chronological order. Oppenheim presents the "portrait" under well-designed chapters with essential concepts: The first chapter of the book is an overview on Mesopotamia. Then in the second chapter, Oppenheim leads us to the depths of urbanism, social texture and economical facts of the region in ancient times. Chapter 3 deals with the difference of "historical sources" and "literature" in Mesopotamia, and presents two essays on Assyrian and Babylonian history. The next chapter is, about ancient Mesopotamians' relations with their "gods": Oppenheim discusses why a "Mesopotamian Religion" should not be written. (According to my opinion, this is one of the most important parts of the book which underlines the "revolutionary" nature of the work.) The last two chapters deal with "the writing" and "science" in Mesopotamia, respectively. J. A. Brinkman's "Mesopotamian Chronology of the Historical Period" is presented as an appendix at the end of the book.
Leo Oppenheim's "Ancient Mesopotamia" is definitely one of the most important sources for intellectuals interested with the subject. Note that it is not just a "reference work" but a "book with a soul".
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Title: Ancient Iraq (Penguin History) by Georges Roux ISBN: 014012523X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: March, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia : An Illustrated Dictionary by Jeremy Black, Anthony Green ISBN: 0292707940 Publisher: Univ of Texas Press Pub. Date: August, 1992 List Price(USD): $18.34 |
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Title: History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine "Firsts" in Recorded History by Samuel Noah Kramer, Hiroshi Tanaka ISBN: 0812212762 Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Pub. Date: December, 1989 List Price(USD): $20.95 |
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Title: Babylon (Ancient Peoples and Places) by Joan Oates ISBN: 0500273847 Publisher: Thames & Hudson Pub. Date: June, 1986 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character by Samuel Noah Kramer ISBN: 0226452387 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: June, 1971 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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