Selected by Choice magazine in 2000 as an Outstanding Academic BookThe earliest farms; cities; governments; legal codes; and alphabets developed in the ancient Near East. Four major religions—Judaism; Zoroastrianism; Christianity; and Islam—began in the region. Ideas; inventions; and institutions spread to all parts of the globe from the urban centers of the ancient Egyptians; Syrians; Hittites; Assyrians; Babylonians; and other peoples of the biblical world. For good reason is the ancient Near East known as the cradle of civilization.The only single-volume dictionary to embrace the whole of the ancient Near East; this major reference work covers Anatolia; Mesopotamia; the Levant; and the Arabian peninsula from the earliest times; through the Old Testament period; until the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 B.C. From "Achaemenids" to "Ziwiye;" "administration" to "ziggurat;" in 500 concise; cross-referenced; and comprehensively indexed entries; the Dictionary of the Ancient Near East describes and explains the major ideas; institutions; places; peoples; and personalities that shaped the earliest development of Western civilization.Architecture; literature; economics; labor; religion; and society are all extensively treated; as are such subjects as crime; dreams; drunkenness; shipwrecks; and sexual behavior (and misbehavior). Each entry; written by a scholar of international standing; includes up-to-date bibliographic references. The book is richly illustrated with photographs; maps; and plans of major sites.Contributors: Douglas Baird (Lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology; University of Liverpool); Jeremy Black (University Lecturer in Akkadian; Oriental Institute; Oxford University); Paul T. Collins (freelance lecturer in the Ancient Near East; London); Stephanie Dalley (Shillito Fellow in Assyriology; Oriental Institute; Oxford University); Anthony Green (Lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology; Free University of Berlin); Gwendolyn Leick (Lecturer in Anthropology; the American International University; London); Michael Macdonald (Research Fellow; Oriental Institute; Oxford University); Roger Matthews (Director; British Institute for Archaeology; Ankara); Gerald L. Mattingly (Lecturer; Johnson Bible College; Knoxville; Tennessee); Graham Philip (Lecturer in Archaeology; University of Durham); Geoffrey Summers (Lecturer in Archaeology; Middle East Technical University; Ankara).
#2434885 in Books Stackpole Books 2004-06-18Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .49 x 6.00l; .64 #File Name: 081173143X176 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good Background infoBy HaggisinDEJust getting started in a local UGR coalition and this is great background. Easy to assimilate but clear; consise information.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Credit Where Credit Is DueBy Stephen C. HarveyThe Anna Maria Weems story has been told in various books and websites; but Professor Switala has made a mistake by giving Benjamin Hallowell credit for helping Weems to escape. This is an error that was in the original research by Tony Cohen of the Menare Foundation. Mr. Cohen caught his mistake; but it was; unfortunately published by a MD historical society that retrieved Cohen's earlier research and published the error themselves. The "Dr. H" that William Still refers to in his own book was actually Dr. Ellwood Harvey of The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania; the first college for training female doctors in the world. Dr. Harvey; who was the Still family physician; took Weems from in front of the White House to Still's house for Thanksgiving and then onto Brooklyn; NY the next day. He received $300 for saving her; from an abolitionist society; which he used to purchase a paper mache dissection mannequin for the women's college. Hallowell was from MD; not PA which is where Still said "Dr. H" came from. One of the two alias that Weems used was "Ellen Capron" (for when she changed back to girl's clothes once in PA). Capron was the name of Dr. Harvey's editor and runningmate; later in the 1870s; when he ran on the Populist ticket. Hopefully; Professor Switala will revise and reissue this book one day and fix this error.
