Museums and the Ancient Middle East is the first book to focus on contemporary exhibit practice in museums that present the ancient Middle East. Bringing together the latest thinking from a diverse and international group of leading curators, the book presents the views of those working in one particular community of practice: the art, archaeology, and history of the ancient Middle East. Drawing upon a remarkable group of case studies from many of the world’s leading museums, including the British Museum, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, this volume describes the tangible actions curators have taken to present a previously unseen side of the Middle East region and its history. Highlighting overlaps and distinctions between the practices of national, art, and university museums around the globe, the contributors to the volume are also able to offer a unique insight into the types of challenges and opportunities facing the twenty-first century curator. Museums and the Ancient Middle East should be of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of museums and heritage, archaeology, the ancient Near East, Middle Eastern studies, and ancient history. The unique insights provided by curators active in the field ensure that the book should also be of great interest to museum practitioners around the globe.

"Today, the politically volatile Middle East sits above two-thirds of the planet's oil reserves and holds our attention as never before. However, the ancient Middle East was just as important to the world of its day, for it was here that permanent settlement first took root, and the first complex societies emerged onto the world stage. These cultures produced the earliest agriculture, metalworking and writing systems, as well as the earliest centralized governments and legal systems, priesthoods and kings, and large-scale organized warfare." "The Middle East: The Cradle of Civilization Revealed synthesizes the latest research and information from a range of disciplines to tell the compelling story, from the Neolithic period through the Arab conquest, of how a group of linguistically disparate, nomadic tribes responded to specific social, economic and environmental factors to form the world's first complex societies."--BOOK JACKET.

The purpose of this book is to give a connected account of what happened in the ancient Middle East, primarily on the basis of the records and monuments that have been recovered through the work of modem archaeology. The Middle East is defined as extending from the western border of Egypt (20 degrees E) to the eastern border of Iran (60 degrees E),

With more than 1,100 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of conflict in the Middle East, this definitive scholarly reference provides readers with a substantial foundation for understanding contemporary history in the most volatile region in the world. This authoritative and comprehensive encyclopedia covers all the key wars, insurgencies, and battles that have occurred in the Middle East roughly between 3100 BCE and the early decades of the twenty-first century. It also discusses the evolution of military technology and the development and transformation of military tactics and strategy from the ancient world to the present. In addition to the hundreds of entries on major conflicts, military engagements, and diplomatic developments, the book also features entries on key military, political, and religious leaders. Essays on the major empires and nations of the region are included, as are overview essays on the major periods under consideration. The book additionally covers such non-military subjects as diplomacy, national and international politics, religion and sectarian conflict, cultural phenomena, genocide, international peacekeeping missions, social movements, and the rise to prominence of international terrorism. The reference entries are augmented by a carefully curated documents volume that offers primary sources on such diverse topics as the Greco-Persian Wars, the Crusades, and the Arab-Israeli Wars.

This unique exhibit is the result of collaborative efforts of more than twenty authors and loans from five museums. It focuses on the independent invention of writing in at least four different places in the Old world and Mesoamerica with the earliest texts of Uruk, Mesopotamia (5,300 BC) shown in the United States for the first time. Visitors to the exhibit and readers of this catalog can see and compare the parallel pathways by which writing came into being and was used by the earliest kingdoms of Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and the Maya world.

If you want to discover the captivating history of the ancient Middle East, then keep reading... Two captivating manuscripts in one book: Ancient Near East: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East, Including Regions Such as Mesopotamia, Ancient Iran, Egypt, Anatolia, and the Levant Ancient Anatolia: A Captivating Guide to Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor, Including the Hittite Empire, Arameans, Luwians, Neo-Assyrian Empire, Cimmerians, Scythians, Persians, Romans, and More Where did the first signs of civilization appear in the ancient world? When did people start to transition from the nomadic life of hunters and gatherers to living in the first urbanized settlements? Who was the first emperor in history? Which empire was the strongest and mightiest, and for how long? Where did the title "King of the Universe" come from, and who was the "True King?" All these answers are hidden in the ancient history of the Fertile Crescent, and now, they are unveiled to you in our comprehensive and captivating guide to the ancient civilizations of the Near East. Take a journey back in time and meet the first emperor and the mysterious legend that surrounds his origins. Find out who was the first pharaoh to unite the kingdom of Egypt, and discover the time when a woman ruled ancient Mesopotamia. You will also find out about the first people to inhabit the Levant and Anatolia, as well as how Persia lost their hegemony in the Levant. Join us as we discover the power of agriculture, trading, writing, and commerce, to the rise and fall of the first major empires in the world. Here are just some of the topics covered in part 1 of this book: Mesopotamia: The Birth of the First Civilization Egypt: The Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and the Birth of the Pharaohs Ancient Iran: From Early Urban Settlements to the Rise of the Elamites Anatolia: The Bridge Between Asia and Europe and the Rise of the Hittite Old Kingdom The Levant: The Kingdom of Ebla and the Cultures of the Ancient Levant The Rise of the Assyrian Empire and Babylon from the Ashes of Akkad The Old and New Kingdom of Egypt: Dynastic Egypt and the Rise of Power in the Banks of Nile The Middle and New Kingdoms of the Hittite: The Dark Ages and the Glory of the Hittite Empire Beyond the Wars and Thrones: The Everyday Life of Common People in the Ancient Near East The Birth of Religions in the Ancient Near East: The Cradle of Civilization and the Gods Politics and International Relations in the Fertile Crescent And much, much more! Here are just some of the topics covered in part 2 of this book: The Hittite Empire The Aramean Confederation The Luwians The Neo-Assyrian Empire The Cimmerians The Scythians The Persians The Seleucid Empire and Romans in Anatolia And much, much more! So if you want to learn more about the ancient Middle East, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!