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 taken from the ancients' own descriptions. Beautifully illustrated, this easy-to-use reference contains a timeline and a historical overview to aid student research.

Described by the editor as unpretentious roamings on the odd little byways of the history of ancient Mesopotamia, these 15 articles were originally published in the French journal L'Histoire and are designed to serve as an introductory sampling of the historical research on the lost civilization. Chapters explore cuisine, sexuality, women's rights, architecture, magic and medicine, myth, legend, and other aspects of Mesopotamian life. Originally published as Initiation a l'Orient ancien . Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Modern-day archaeological discoveries in the Near East continue to illuminate man's understanding of the ancient world. This illustrated handbook describes the culture, history, and people of Mesopotamia, as well as their struggle for survival and happiness.

In between the fertile banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what was called the cradle of civilization, the first known civilization on earth evolved. Life in Ancient Mesopotamia describes the lives of ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, and explores the gifts they brought to the world, including the wheel, plow, and sailboat. Great lawmakers such as Hammurabi, the architectural beauty of ziggurats and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, along with the invention of cuneiform writing are also featured.

Living in ancient Mesopotamia could sometimes be harsh and dangerous, yet it could also be comfortable and fulfilling because the early inhabitants invented cities, writing, and other key elements of civilized life. Farming, trade, the home, education, women¿s roles, religious beliefs, technology and transportation are only some of the topics discussed in this revealing social history.

"This splendid work of scholarship . . . sums up with economy and power all that the written record so far deciphered has to tell about the ancient and complementary civilizations of Babylon and Assyria."—Edward B. Garside, New York Times Book Review Ancient Mesopotamia—the area now called Iraq—has received less attention than ancient Egypt and other long-extinct and more spectacular civilizations. But numerous small clay tablets buried in the desert soil for thousands of years make it possible for us to know more about the people of ancient Mesopotamia than any other land in the early Near East. Professor Oppenheim, who studied these tablets for more than thirty years, used his intimate knowledge of long-dead languages to put together a distinctively personal picture of the Mesopotamians of some three thousand years ago. Following Oppenheim's death, Erica Reiner used the author's outline to complete the revisions he had begun. "To any serious student of Mesopotamian civilization, this is one of the most valuable books ever written."—Leonard Cottrell, Book Week "Leo Oppenheim has made a bold, brave, pioneering attempt to present a synthesis of the vast mass of philological and archaeological data that have accumulated over the past hundred years in the field of Assyriological research."—Samuel Noah Kramer, Archaeology A. Leo Oppenheim, one of the most distinguished Assyriologists of our time, was editor in charge of the Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute and John A. Wilson Professor of Oriental Studies at the University of Chicago.

Innovative study of the early state and urban societies in Mesopotamia, c. 5000 to 2100 BC.

University Museum Monograph, 19

From the subjects of adoption to Zoroastrianism, this encyclopedia treats readers to numerous entries on the life and times of ancient Mesopotamia. Readers will learn important terms, read biographies of central figures, and analyze brief narratives of pivotal events that transformed Mesopotamia.