Marc Van De Mieroop. 2004 (1st ed.) 2007 (2nd ed.). A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 B.C. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Malden, Massachusetts. pp 342, 40 pages of kings lists, references, and indices.
Part of Blackwell's History of the Ancient World series, A History of the Ancient Near East is intended as an introductory textbook on the ancient Near East. It should be of interest to many because it is in the ancient Near East that we have the first written records of how humans lived.
Van de Mieroop, who uses the dating system called "Middle Chronology", divides his study of the ancient Near East into three chronologically sequential, ever-widening geographical sections:
- City-States, beginning with the Uruk revolution and ending in c. 1600
- Territorial States, and
- Empires, ending with Alexander the Great's defeat of Persia in 331.
Treatment of the different areas and times is inconsistent because some areas and times are better recorded than others. Mesopotamia tends to dominate.
Each chapter begins with a timeline showing dates and major names or events. At the end of each chapter, Van de Mieroop provides only limited notes. Further reading is at the end of the book
A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 B.C. is one of those dense histories that require slow, careful reading, especially for those unfamiliar with the names. Certain themes are repeated and should be looked for -- like language/writing and the dominant god(s). Economic themes are especially strong at the beginning, when social order was first formed. There are also highlighted items that allow readers to delve deeper and enough maps to illustrate the chapters.
Although A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 B.C. is intended to offer the interested lay person a self-guided introduction to the ancient Near East, a teacher would be useful for at least the first two sections.
