Ancient Mesopotamia: An Enthralling Overview of Mesopotamian History, Starting from Eridu through the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Hittites, and ... Alexander the Great (History of Mesopotamia)
Product ID: 442781679
Buy anything from 5,000+ international stores. One checkout price. No surprise fees. Join 2M+ shoppers on Desertcart.
Desertcart purchases this item on your behalf and handles shipping, customs, and support to Colombia.
How much do you know about the “cradle of civilization?” Come explore the legacy of the brilliant ancient Mesopotamians who transformed the world. Ancient Mesopotamia’s legacy was truly revolutionary. Childlike pictures scratched into wet clay evolved into the first written language. The Mesopotamians wrote the first epic poems, the first hymns, the first histories, and the first law codes. They developed the first wheel for transportation; simple carts that hauled bricks or produce morphed into chariots racing along at thirty-five miles per hour. They gazed at the sky and mapped it, observing the planets’ retrograde motions and predicting lunar and solar eclipses. They developed the concept of time, measurements, basic counting, higher math, and hydraulic engineering. Mesopotamia gave birth to the world’s first great empires—the Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Achaemenids—which stretched over three continents. A glimpse at the questions this overview unpacks includes: How old is the world’s first city? How did the Eridu Genesis compare to Noah and the ark? How fast was the world’s first postal system? How many times did Babylon’s patron god Marduk get stolen? How did Hammurabi’s law code compare to the Law of Moses? Who calculated pi (π) to the value of 3.125 and understood the Pythagorean theorem twelve centuries before Pythagoras was born? Did Xerxes really have a million men in his army? Which empire encompassed 44 percent of the world’s population? What eunuch poisoned most of the Persian royal family? And much, much more! Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to learn the stories of incredible ancient Mesopotamia! Review: Excellent overview of Mesopotamian civilizations. - I really enjoyed reading this overview about some of the first civilizations and empires in history. The writing style managed to keep everything interesting while also being detailed and informative. There’s a lot of information here to learn and I believe this covers some of the most important aspects of the most influential ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. Covers topics such as mythology/beliefs, culture, innovations, law, and much more. Great book and looking forward to buying more from Enthralling History. Review: Good overview of Mesopotamia but some serious confusing flaws - Overall, I liked this book. It was a good overview. Most of the time it read quite well. A lot of the information got repeated a lot ensuring the book would be a longer read than required. I had trouble with the dates and the "author" used too many date formats ranging from the concept of centuries to millennia and switching back to years BCE. One standard date format would have worked. I found what appeared to be date conflicts that got confusing due to the use of the 3 date formats and the jumping around when making comparative illustrations. This was particularly bad in Chapter 10-Innovations and Inventions. The introduce the wheel, first used for pottery. The then state that the Sumerians invented the transportation wheel in the 4th century BCE. So like 400 to 301 BCE. A few pages late we learn the Sumerians succeeded in basic cart technology and quick developed chariots. The 4 wheeled versions dating to 2600 BCE. Confused? 400-301 BCE is thousands of years AFTER 2600 BCE. Confused? Well a page or so later horses were domesticated in Turkey around that same 4th Century BCE but the Mesopotamians didn't start using them until about 2400 BCE. Again, the 4th Century is 400-301 BCE. Perhaps they mean 4th millennia? So, it gets confusing which could have been avoided by using consistent dates as years BCE. They also got compass directions wrong, in the Chapter on Alexander the Great. The talk about the Levant and WEST to Mesopotamia. Of course it is EAST. I found these stupid inconsistencies if not blatant errors annoying.
| Best Sellers Rank | #237,795 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #26 in Ancient Mesopotamia History #45 in Assyria, Babylonia & Sumer History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 293 Reviews |
J**T
Excellent overview of Mesopotamian civilizations.
I really enjoyed reading this overview about some of the first civilizations and empires in history. The writing style managed to keep everything interesting while also being detailed and informative. There’s a lot of information here to learn and I believe this covers some of the most important aspects of the most influential ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. Covers topics such as mythology/beliefs, culture, innovations, law, and much more. Great book and looking forward to buying more from Enthralling History.
E**N
Good overview of Mesopotamia but some serious confusing flaws
Overall, I liked this book. It was a good overview. Most of the time it read quite well. A lot of the information got repeated a lot ensuring the book would be a longer read than required. I had trouble with the dates and the "author" used too many date formats ranging from the concept of centuries to millennia and switching back to years BCE. One standard date format would have worked. I found what appeared to be date conflicts that got confusing due to the use of the 3 date formats and the jumping around when making comparative illustrations. This was particularly bad in Chapter 10-Innovations and Inventions. The introduce the wheel, first used for pottery. The then state that the Sumerians invented the transportation wheel in the 4th century BCE. So like 400 to 301 BCE. A few pages late we learn the Sumerians succeeded in basic cart technology and quick developed chariots. The 4 wheeled versions dating to 2600 BCE. Confused? 400-301 BCE is thousands of years AFTER 2600 BCE. Confused? Well a page or so later horses were domesticated in Turkey around that same 4th Century BCE but the Mesopotamians didn't start using them until about 2400 BCE. Again, the 4th Century is 400-301 BCE. Perhaps they mean 4th millennia? So, it gets confusing which could have been avoided by using consistent dates as years BCE. They also got compass directions wrong, in the Chapter on Alexander the Great. The talk about the Levant and WEST to Mesopotamia. Of course it is EAST. I found these stupid inconsistencies if not blatant errors annoying.
K**S
Only quality books sold.
Excellent transaction. Fast shipping. Well packaged. Highly recommended seller. AAA+++
A**N
Mesmerizing!
The engaging narrative navigates through thousands of years of fascinating history and several of the world's earliest empires: all the way from the Neolithic Age to Alexander the Great! Meticulously researched yet written in a story-telling mode that kept me turning the pages, I was awed by all the "firsts" of the "cradle of civilizations:" first writing, first wheel, first counting system and higher math, hydraulic engineering and so much more. And yet, it's not just a catalog of facts, but the intriguing stories of real people, flawed yet astounding achievers. This book will draw you in!
J**Y
Interesting subject, but needs a good editor
As an avid reader of Archaeology and Biblical Archaeology Review, I wanted to get a more in-depth look at the history and development of these ancient civilizations. This book is a good introduction. What bothers me is the number of errors and a tendency to use overeducated language instead of plain speech. For example, on page 266 in the section on the Phoenicians, the author speaks of the merchant class operating under the “auspiciousness” of the kings and nobility instead of saying the operated under the “auspices” of the kings and nobles. There are enough of these errors to be distracting.
J**G
A very nice overlook
A very nice and readable overlook of the origins of civilization. A history of the thousand of years before Rome!
N**A
Adequate elementary history
No footnotes,index,bibliography. Uncritically accepts ancient texts as reliable. Even has a few passages wondering if unicorns really existed. Nice synopsis of Gilgamesh though. Oddly seems best at the more ancient periods.
S**R
Good history
Very enlightening. All Pastors need to read this
P**L
überaus informativ und lesbar
Ein sehr informatives und gut geschriebenes Buch. Es bleibt bei dieser Serie unklar wer das geschrieben hat aber das mindert nicht die hohe Qualität.
B**R
A very good introduction to ancient Mesopotamia.
An excellent book by an accomplished historian in the field of ancient civilisations
J**P
Good reading
Good book and history learning.
J**S
ancient History
It covers the ancient Mesopotanian life and history.
O**G
Sujet intéressant, écriture assez fade
C'est un livre Amazon. Oui, vous avez bien lu, car le livre n'a pas d'auteur, mais il a une bibliographie. C'est assez bien écrit, mais il lui manque l'âme. C'est à dire qu'il lui manque ce qui nous fait aimer les livres d'histoires: la perspective de l'historien, ces tournures de phrases qui rendent le texte intéressant. Il ne parait pas écrit par l'intelligence artificielle, mais il n'est pas loin.
Trustpilot
3 weeks ago
1 month ago