The History of the Middle East from Early States to the Persian Conquest

This book carefully gathers the entire history of ancient Mesopotamia over two millennia. Briefly, yet thoroughly, without simplifications, it presents the events that took place in the lands of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and nearby territories. The author describes the emergence of early states and dynasties of Sumer and Egypt, events in Akkad, the Amorite kingdoms, Assyria, Syria, and Palestine. The reader witnesses the vigorous development of Babylon, its struggle with the Hurrian state of Mitanni, the Hittite kingdom, and Egypt, sees the movements of nomadic tribes—the Arameans, Chaldeans, and the 'Sea Peoples,' the rise of some kingdoms and the fall of others. Finally, they witness the transformation of Assyria into a world empire, followed by its catastrophe—the disintegration and incorporation of parts of its territory into the new hegemon—Media, which, in turn, succumbed to the Persians, who created the greatest empire in the Middle East, the Achaemenid Empire. Julia Zablotska is a Polish historian and archaeologist, Assyriologist, and professor of ancient history at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.