The Medinet Habu Records of the Foreign Wars of Ramesses III

Download The Medinet Habu Records of the Foreign Wars of Ramesses III PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004354182
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (43 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Medinet Habu Records of the Foreign Wars of Ramesses III by : Donald Bruce Redford

Download or read book The Medinet Habu Records of the Foreign Wars of Ramesses III written by Donald Bruce Redford and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2018-02-22 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Medinet Habu Records of the Foreign Wars of Ramesses III is a new translation and commentary of the Textual record of Ramesses III’s military activity. As such it dwells heavily upon the inscriptions dealing with Libyans and Sea Peoples. Since the format is oral formulaic, the texts are scanned and rendered as lyric. The new insights into the period covered by the inscriptions leads to a new appraisal of the identity of Egypt’s enemies, as well as events surrounding the activity of the Sea Peoples. The exercise is not intended to dismiss, but rather to complement the archaeological evidence. "The Sea Peoples ... still remain an everexpanding topic of scholarly research swimming in a sea of disputation.... Redford’s book will help all of us to understand better the phenomenon of the end of the Bronze Age." -Anthony Spalinger, University of Auckland, Journal of the American Oriental Society 139.4 (2019)

The Books behind the Masks

Download The Books behind the Masks PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004466118
Total Pages : 458 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (44 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Books behind the Masks by : Anthony Spalinger

Download or read book The Books behind the Masks written by Anthony Spalinger and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-08-30 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Books behind the Masks Anthony Spalinger continues his work on the warrior kings of pharaonic Egypt. Here is covered their actual war records from the perspective of literature and the contemporary court-based society, especially with the eulogies.

Ancient Records of Egypt; Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest

Download Ancient Records of Egypt; Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Alpha Edition
ISBN 13 : 9789353953690
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (536 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ancient Records of Egypt; Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest by : James Henry Breasted

Download or read book Ancient Records of Egypt; Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest written by James Henry Breasted and published by Alpha Edition. This book was released on 2019-12-16 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean

Download Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Culture and History of the Anc
ISBN 13 : 9789004430778
Total Pages : 518 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (37 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean by : Jeffrey P. Emanuel

Download or read book Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean written by Jeffrey P. Emanuel and published by Culture and History of the Anc. This book was released on 2020-11-05 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 'Naval Warfare and Maritime Conflict in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Mediterranean', Jeffrey P. Emanuel examines the evidence for maritime violence in the Mediterranean region during both the Late Bronze Age and the tumultuous transition to the Early Iron Age in the years surrounding the turn of the 12th century BCE.0There has traditionally been little differentiation between the methods of armed conflict engaged in during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages, on both the coasts and the open seas, while polities have been alternately characterized as legitimate martial actors and as state sponsors of piracy. By utilizing material, documentary, and iconographic evidence and delineating between the many forms of armed conflict, Emanuel provides an up-to-date assessment not only of the nature and frequency of warfare, raiding, piracy, and other forms of maritime conflict in the Late Bronze Age and Late Bronze-Early Iron Age transition, but also of the extent to which modern views about this activity remain the product of inference and speculation.

Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh

Download Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Lockwood Press
ISBN 13 : 1957454962
Total Pages : 700 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (574 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh by : Peter J. Brand

Download or read book Ramesses II, Egypt's Ultimate Pharaoh written by Peter J. Brand and published by Lockwood Press. This book was released on 2023-03-01 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Warrior, mighty builder, and statesman, over the course of his 67-year-long reign (1279-1212 BCE), Ramesses II achieved more than any other pharaoh in the three millennia of ancient Egyptian civilization. Drawing on the latest research, Peter Brand reveals Ramesses the Great as a gifted politician, canny elder statesman, and tenacious warrior. With restless energy, he fully restored the office of Pharaoh to unquestioned levels of prestige and authority, thereby bringing stability to Egypt. He ended almost seven decades of warfare between Egypt and the Hittite Empire by signing the earliest international peace treaty in recorded history. In his later years, even as he outlived many of his own children and grandchildren, Ramesses II became a living god and finally, an immortal legend. With authoritative knowledge and colorful details Brand paints a compelling portrait of this legendary Pharaoh who ruled over Imperial Egypt during its Golden Age.

Routledge Handbook of the Global History of Warfare

Download Routledge Handbook of the Global History of Warfare PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 0429795467
Total Pages : 654 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (297 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Routledge Handbook of the Global History of Warfare by : Kaushik Roy

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of the Global History of Warfare written by Kaushik Roy and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-01-23 with total page 654 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook examines key aspects of the development of the global history of warfare and the changing patterns of warfare over time. Although scholarship has long eschewed a chronological narrative of the evolution of warfare that privileges the Western experience, global histories of warfare have had difficulty avoiding an overemphasis on the West. The present volume is a collection of themes rather than a history per se; it provides important perspectives on the emergence of warfare as a global historical experience from the ancient past to the present day. Drawing together numerous experts, it tells a broader, more inclusive story of the global, human experience with wars and warfare. The 35 cahtpers are organised in eight thematic parts: Part I: Origins of Warfare Part II: Polities and Armed Forces in the Pre-Modern Era Part III: Steppe Nomads of Eurasia Part IV: Naval Warfare and Piracy in the Pre-Industrial World Part V: The Impact of Gunpowder Part VI: Transition from Industrial to Total War Part VII: Wars of Decolonisation and Cold War Part VIII: Postmodern/New Wars These Parts offer an overview of the global experience of warfare to help readers understand how the wars and the militaries we see today have been shaped by historical developments across the globe. This handbook will be of great interest to students of military history, naval history, strategic studies and world history in general.

Chicago on the Nile

Download Chicago on the Nile PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
ISBN 13 : 1614911177
Total Pages : 490 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (149 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Chicago on the Nile by : Emily Teeter

Download or read book Chicago on the Nile written by Emily Teeter and published by Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures. This book was released on 2024-09-10 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chicago on the Nile relates the colorful story of the University of Chicago's Epigraphic Survey expedition to Egypt, from its conception in 1924 by the first American Egyptologist, James Henry Breasted, through its development over the course of a century to become the major scientific and social presence it is today–not just in Egypt but throughout the world. Initially envisioned as a small group of scientists devoted to documenting the ancient historical inscriptions and reliefs on the walls of the temple of Medinet Habu in Luxor, the Epigraphic Survey's work grew to encompass many of the most important sites in Egypt, including Karnak, Luxor Temple, the tomb of Kheruef, Saqqara, Abydos, and the Beit el-Wali temple in Nubia. The story places this work within the larger contexts of Egyptian and international politics, the vicissitudes of the world financial situation, and academic policies. Drawing on hundreds of letters and photos, most of them previously unpublished, the book explores why the Epigraphic Survey chose specific sites for its work, the often grand expectations for its projects and publication program, and the ultimate results. The history of Chicago House, the Survey's headquarters and residence, is described in detail and offers many amusing anecdotes of social life there over the past century. As such, Chicago on the Nile provides a who's who of Egyptologists and archaeologists who worked for and interacted with the Survey to save the endangered texts and reliefs on the ancient monuments of the Nile Valley.

The Iconography of Humiliation in New Kingdom Egypt

Download The Iconography of Humiliation in New Kingdom Egypt PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1040252508
Total Pages : 325 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Iconography of Humiliation in New Kingdom Egypt by : Mark D. Janzen

Download or read book The Iconography of Humiliation in New Kingdom Egypt written by Mark D. Janzen and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-11-26 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume analyzes the iconography of bound foreigners on New Kingdom monuments and artifacts to better understand Egyptian perspectives on foreigners and their treatment of prisoners of war. Depictions of foreign captives in humiliating or torturous poses are ubiquitous in Egyptian iconography and reflect the celebratory nature of royal ideology, in this case by degrading enemies. Egyptologists have scrutinized these scenes for details regarding various military matters, but existing scholarly literature offers few studies focused on enemy captives and the sheer physical brutality of the depictions of their bindings. Janzen examines the bound foreigner motif in New Kingdom sources, demonstrating that these prisoners of war played vital roles in Egyptian ideology and religion. Their depictions in bizarre or torturous poses served to reinforce ideological underpinnings of pharaoh’s right to rule, perpetually ritualizing their defeat and/or punishment through the presence of this iconography on ceremonial objects used primarily by the king and on temple walls and monuments. The subjugation of foreigners also constituted an important economic function, as incorporating prisoners of war into the Egyptian workforce was crucial for economic prosperity and growth in New Kingdom Egypt. The volume also explores cross-cultural and anthropological parallels, placing Egyptian treatment of foreign prisoners in its ancient context. The book provides a fascinating study of the subject suitable for scholars and students of Egyptology and ancient history, particularly that of New Kingdom Egypt, as well as those working on power, warfare, and violence in the ancient world more broadly.

Rameses III, King of Egypt

Download Rameses III, King of Egypt PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : American University in Cairo Press
ISBN 13 : 164903167X
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (49 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Rameses III, King of Egypt by : Aidan Dodson

Download or read book Rameses III, King of Egypt written by Aidan Dodson and published by American University in Cairo Press. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master story-teller and renowned Egyptologist, Aiden Dodson, reveals the secrets of Rameses III, in this fully-illustrated, accessible history, the first to exclusively cover this last great pharaoh, by the author of the bestselling, Sethy I Rameses III—often dubbed the “last great pharaoh”—lived and ruled during the first half of the twelfth century bc, a tumultuous time that saw the almost complete overthrow of established order in the eastern Mediterranean, and among Rameses’s achievements was the preservation of Egypt as a nation-state in the face of external assault. However, his reign also saw economic challenges, and increasing dissatisfaction, which culminated in the king’s own assassination. This richly illustrated book is the latest in a series that aims to provide accounts of key figures in ancient Egyptian history that covers not only their life-stories but also their rediscovery and reception in modern times. Accordingly, it follows the king from his birth to his resurrection through modern research, describing the key events of the reign, his major monuments, and the people and events that led to these becoming once again known to the world.

Ancient Israel's Neighbors

Download Ancient Israel's Neighbors PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190690623
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ancient Israel's Neighbors by : Brian R. Doak

Download or read book Ancient Israel's Neighbors written by Brian R. Doak and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether on a national or a personal level, everyone has a complex relationship with their closest neighbors. Where are the borders? How much interaction should there be? How are conflicts solved? Ancient Israel was one of several small nations clustered in the eastern Mediterranean region between the large empires of Egypt and Mesopotamia in antiquity. Frequently mentioned in the Bible, these other small nations are seldom the focus of the narrative unless they interact with Israel. The ancient Israelites who produced the Hebrew Bible lived within a rich context of multiple neighbors, and this context profoundly shaped Israel. Indeed, it was through the influence of the neighboring people that Israel defined its own identity-in terms of geography, language, politics, religion, and culture. Ancient Israel's Neighbors explores both the biblical portrayal of the neighboring groups directly surrounding Israel-the Canaanites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Arameans-and examines what we can know about these groups through their own literature, archaeology, and other sources. Through its analysis of these surrounding groups, this book will demonstrate in a direct and accessible manner the extent to which ancient Israelite identity was forged both within and against the identities of its close neighbors. Animated by the latest and best research, yet written for students, this book will invite readers into journey of scholarly discovery to explore the world of Israel's identity within its most immediate ancient Near Eastern context.

Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 50

Download Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 50 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Helmut Buske Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3967691128
Total Pages : 378 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (676 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 50 by : Jochem Kahl

Download or read book Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 50 written by Jochem Kahl and published by Helmut Buske Verlag. This book was released on 2022-02-18 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Inhalt Niv Allon: Finding a Voice in a Hymn to Ramesses IX (MMA 59.51a, b) Islam Amer: Three Blocks of the King Ramesses III from Tell Atrib (Benha) Daniel Arpagaus: «In Summe 27 Millionen Aruren». Die Größe Ägyptens gemäß dem Tempel von Edfu und dem Tebtunis-Onomastikon Romane Betbeze: Survival of the grandest (tomb)? Addressing the passer-by in Seshemnefer's (IV) complex at Giza Salvador Costa-Llerda: A new iconographic interpretation of a scene of Osorkon II at Bubastis Eva-Maria Engel: The Early Dynastic Neith Adam Fagbore: Defining Selective Archaism in Royal Funerary Architecture: The Cenotaph of Ahmose I at South Abydos Martin Fitzenreiter: Ehrenwerte Töpfe und ihre Potenzen. Zu QrH.t Sps in den Choiak-Inschriften und anderswo Judith Jurjens: Corrections on Ostraca: A Look into an Ancient Egyptian Scribal Practice Jochem Kahl / Mahmoud El-Hamrawi / Ursula Verhoeven / Anja Buhlke / Judit Garzón Rodríguez / Eva Gervers / Andrea Kilian / Monika Zöller-Engelhardt: The Asyut Project: Fourteenth and Fifteenth Season of Fieldwork (2018–2019) Anne Landborg: Holy C**p: On the Origin of Faeces in the Egyptian Afterlife Ludwig Morenz: "Meißeliger" als spezifisches Epitheton eines staatsmännischen Handwerkers/ Künstlers? Spezifische Königsideologie im Namen des Horus(-Königs) Nar-meher Sameh Shafik: Baqet I and the earliest Middle Kingdom offering list at Beni Hassan Julie Stauder-Porchet: Werre: a Royal Inscription of the Early Fifth Dynasty Filip Taterka: The Flight of King Ptolemy X Alexander I to the Land of Punt

Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt

Download Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1538157500
Total Pages : 519 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (381 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by : Morris L. Bierbrier

Download or read book Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt written by Morris L. Bierbrier and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-11-30 with total page 519 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, Third Edition covers the whole range of the history of ancient Egypt from the Prehistoric Period until the end of Roman rule in Egypt based on the latest information provided by academic scholars and archaeologists. This is done through a revised introduction on the history of ancient Egypt, the dictionary section has over 1,000 dictionary entries on historical figures, geographical locations, important institutions and other facets of ancient Egyptian civilization. This is followed by two appendices one of which is a chronological table of Egyptian rulers and governors and the other a list of all known museums which contain ancient Egyptian objects. The volume ends with a detailed bibliography of Egyptian historical periods, archaeological sites, general topics such as pyramids, languages and arts and crafts and the publications of Egyptian material in museums throughout the world.

The Philistines and Other Sea Peoples in Text and Archaeology

Download The Philistines and Other Sea Peoples in Text and Archaeology PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Society of Biblical Lit
ISBN 13 : 1589837215
Total Pages : 773 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (898 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Philistines and Other Sea Peoples in Text and Archaeology by : Ann E. Killebrew

Download or read book The Philistines and Other Sea Peoples in Text and Archaeology written by Ann E. Killebrew and published by Society of Biblical Lit. This book was released on 2013-04-21 with total page 773 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The search for the biblical Philistines, one of ancient Israel’s most storied enemies, has long intrigued both scholars and the public. Archaeological and textual evidence examined in its broader eastern Mediterranean context reveals that the Philistines, well-known from biblical and extrabiblical texts, together with other related groups of “Sea Peoples,” played a transformative role in the development of new ethnic groups and polities that emerged from the ruins of the Late Bronze Age empires. The essays in this book, representing recent research in the fields of archaeology, Bible, and history, reassess the origins, identity, material culture, and impact of the Philistines and other Sea Peoples on the Iron Age cultures and peoples of the eastern Mediterranean. The contributors are Matthew J. Adams, Michal Artzy, Tristan J. Barako, David Ben-Shlomo, Mario Benzi, Margaret E. Cohen, Anat Cohen-Weinberger, Trude Dothan, Elizabeth French, Marie-Henriette Gates, Hermann Genz, Ayelet Gilboa, Maria Iacovou, Ann E. Killebrew, Sabine Laemmel, Gunnar Lehmann, Aren M. Maeir, Amihai Mazar, Linda Meiberg, Penelope A. Mountjoy, Hermann Michael Niemann, Jeremy B. Rutter, Ilan Sharon, Susan Sherratt, Neil Asher Silberman, and Itamar Singer.

Understanding Collapse

Download Understanding Collapse PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 110715149X
Total Pages : 463 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Understanding Collapse by : Guy D. Middleton

Download or read book Understanding Collapse written by Guy D. Middleton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-06-26 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse - how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses - showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted.

The End of Empires

Download The End of Empires PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3658368764
Total Pages : 737 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (583 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The End of Empires by : Michael Gehler

Download or read book The End of Empires written by Michael Gehler and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-11-21 with total page 737 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The articles of this comprehensive edited volume offer a multidisciplinary, global and comparative approach to the history of empires. They analyze their ends over a long spectrum of humankind’s history, ranging from Ancient History through Modern Times. As the main guiding question, every author of this volume scrutinizes the reasons for the decline, the erosion, and the implosion of individual empires. All contributions locate and highlight different factors that triggered or at least supported the ending or the implosion of empires. This overall question makes all the contributions to this volume comparable and allows to detect similarities, differences as well as inconsistencies of historical processes.

Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean

Download Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 900441374X
Total Pages : 371 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (44 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean by : Jeremy Armstrong

Download or read book Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean written by Jeremy Armstrong and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brill’s Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean is a wide-ranging exploration of sieges and siege warfare as practiced and experienced by the cultures which lived around the ancient Mediterranean basin. From Pharaonic Egypt to Renaissance Italy, and from the Neo-Assyrian Empire to Hellenistic Greece and Roman Gaul, case studies by leading experts probe areas of both synergy and divergence within this distinctive form of warfare amongst the cultures in this broadly shared environment. Winner of the 2020 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award

The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East

Download The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190687622
Total Pages : 1001 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East by : Karen Radner

Download or read book The Oxford History of the Ancient Near East written by Karen Radner and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-05-13 with total page 1001 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This groundbreaking, five-volume series offers a comprehensive, fully illustrated history of Egypt and Western Asia (the Levant, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Iran), from the emergence of complex states to the conquest of Alexander the Great. Written by a diverse, international team of leading scholars whose expertise brings to life the people, places, and times of the remote past, the volumes in this series focus firmly on the political and social histories of the states and communities of the ancient Near East. Individual chapters present the key textual and material sources underpinning the historical reconstruction, paying particular attention to the most recent archaeological finds and their impact on our historical understanding of the periods surveyed. The third volume examines the period from 1600 to 1100 BC or in archaeological terms, the Late Bronze Age. Twelve chapters survey the history of the Near East and discuss the Hyksos state of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, and the Nubian kingdom of Kerma prior to the unification that resulted in the creation of the New Kingdom, the geo-political super power of the period. Contemporary imperial powers-the Hittites in Central Anatolia and Mittani in Upper Mesopotamia-are discussed, as are the appearance and growth of Assyria, the kingdom of Kassite Babylonia, the Elamites of southwestern Iran, and the Mycenaeans in the Aegean. Beyond the narrative history of each region considered, the volume treats a wide range of critical topics, including the absolute chronology; state formation and disintegration; the role of kingship, cult practice, and material culture in the creation and maintenance of social hierarchies; and long-distance trade-both terrestrial and maritime-as a vital factor in the creation of social, political, and economic networks that bridged deserts, oceans, and mountain ranges, binding together the extraordinarily diverse peoples and polities of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East, and Central Asia.