In Nation and Empire as Two Trends of Political Organization in the Iron Age Levant MEI Hualong offers an analysis of national and imperial ideologies--two political principles that influenced the establishment, consolidation and expansion of trans-local/trans-tribal polities in the Iron Age Levant. By examining key terminologies, historical accounts and literary sources, MEI argues that the elites of ancient nations may attempt to reshape their political and cultural identity in imperial terms (vice versa, but to a lesser extent). The conceptual transformation from the one to the other is closely related to the political entity’s consciousness and understanding of limits and boundaries: political and cultural, real and imagined.

Empires of the Sea brings together studies of maritime empires from the Bronze Age to the Eighteenth Century. The volume aims to establish maritime empires as a category for the (comparative) study of premodern empires, and from a partly ‘non-western’ perspective. The book includes contributions on Mycenaean sea power, Classical Athens, the ancient Thebans, Ptolemaic Egypt, The Genoese Empire, power networks of the Vikings, the medieval Danish Empire, the Baltic empire of Ancien Régime Sweden, the early modern Indian Ocean, the Melaka Empire, the (non-European aspects of the) Portuguese Empire and Dutch East India Company, and the Pirates of Caribbean.

This atlas aims to provide the reader with key pointers for a spatial analysis of the social, economic and political dynamics at work in Jordan, an exemplary country of the Middle East complexities. Being a product of seven years of scientific cooperation between Ifpo, the Royal Jordanian Geographic Center and the University of Jordan, it includes the contributions of 48 European, Jordanian and International researchers. A long historical part followed by sections on demography, economy, social disparities, urban challenges and major town and country planning, sheds light on the formation of Jordanian territories over time. Jordan has always been looked on as an exception in the Middle East due to the political stability that has prevailed since the country’s Independence in 1946, despite the challenge of integrating several waves of Palestinian, Iraqi and - more recently - Syrian refugees. Thanks to this stability and the peace accord signed with Israel in 1994, Jordan is one of the first countries in the world for development aid per capita.

Hieroglyphic Luwian belongs to the Anatolian group of ancient languages and was inscribed primarily on stone, using an indigenous Anatolian pictorial writing system. These Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions were written over a period of centuries in the region of Anatolia and northern Syria. Their authors were primarily the rulers of the so-called Neo-Hittite states, contemporaries and neighbors of early Israel. This volume collects some of the most important and representative of the inscriptions in transliteration and translation, organized by genre. Each text is accompanied by relevant information on provenance, dating, and other points of interest that will engage specialist and nonspecialist alike.

An up-to-date, systematic depiction of Bronze Age societies of the Levant, their evolution, and their interactions and entanglements with neighboring regions.

This edition of Global Trends revolves around a core argument about how the changing nature of power is increasing stress both within countries and between countries, and bearing on vexing transnational issues. The main section lays out the key trends, explores their implications, and offers up three scenarios to help readers imagine how different choices and developments could play out in very different ways over the next several decades. Two annexes lay out more detail. The first lays out five-year forecasts for each region of the world. The second provides more context on the key global trends in train.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, this collection of erudite essays concentrates on the archaeology of ancient Israel, Canaan, and neighboring nations.