Babylonian World, The

Description:
'The Babylonian World' presents an extensive, up-to-date and lavishly illustrated history of the ancient state Babylonia and its 'holy city', Babylon. Historicized by the New Testament as a centre of decadence and corruption, Babylon and its surrounding region was in fact a rich and complex civilization, responsible for the invention of the dictionary and laying the foundations of modern science. This book explores all key aspects of the development of this ancient culture, including the ecology of the region and its famously productive agriculture, its political and economic standing, its religious practices, and the achievements of its intelligentsia. Comprehensive and accessible, this book will be an indispensable resource for anyone studying the period.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction Gwendolyn Leick Part 1: Land and Land Use 2. Babylonian Countrysides Seth Richardson 3. Land and Land Use: The Middle Euphrates Valley Lucia Mori 4. Agricultural Techniques Blahoslav Hruska 5. Urban Form in the First Millennium Heather Baker Part 2: Material Culture 6. Architecture in the Old Babylonian Period Harriet Crawford 7. Babylonian Seals Dominique Collon 8. Babylonian Sources of Exotic Raw Materials Daniel Potts 9. Cloth in the Babylonian World Irene Good 10. The Babylonian Visual Image Zainab Bahrani 11. Food and Drink in Babylonia Frances Reynolds Part 3: Economic Life 12. Economy of Ancient Mesopotamia: A General Outline Johannes Renger 13. The Old Babylonian Economy Anne Goodderies 14. Aspects of Society and Economy in the later Old Babylonian Period Franz van Koppen 15. The Babylonian Economy in the First Millennium BC Michael Jursa 16. The Egibi Family Cornelia Wunsch Part 4: Society and Politics 17. Social Configurations in Early Dynastic Babylonia (c. 2500--2334 B.C.) Petr Charvat 18. Palace and the Temple in Babylonia Walther Sallaberger 19. Power, Economy and Social Organization in Babylonia Gebhard Selz 20. Arameans and Chaldeans: Environment and Society Frederick M. Fales 21. Women and Gender in Babylonia Laura Steele Part 5: Religion 22. The Role and Function of Goddesses in Mesopotamia Brigitte Groneberg 23. Inanna and Ishtar in the Babylonian World Joan Goodnick Westenholz 24. The Babylonian god Marduk Takayoshi Oshima 25. Divination Culture and Handling of the Future Stefan Maul 26. Witchcraft Literature in Mesopotamia Tzvi Abush Part 6: Intellectual Life: Cuneiform Writing and Learning 27. Incantations within Akkadian Medical Texts Mark Geller 28. Writing, Sending, and Reading Letters in the Amorite World Dominique Charpin 29. Mathematics, Metrology, and Professional Numeracy Eleanor Robson 30. Babylonian Lexical Lists John Taylor 31. Gilgamesh and the Literary Traditions of Ancient Mesopotamia Andrew George 32. Babylonian Astral Science David Brown 33. Omens Concerned with Human Behaviour Ann Guinan 34. Late Babylonian Intellectual Life Paul-Alain Beaulieu Part 7: International Relations: Babylonia and the Ancient Near Eastern World 35. Egypt and Babylon David Warburton 36. A View from Hattusa Trevor Bryce 37. Babylonian Relations with the Levant during the Kassite Period Petrus van Vermaak 38. Looking down the Tigris: The Interrelations between Assyria and Babylonia Hannes D. Galter 39. The View from Jerusalem: Biblical Responses to the Babylonian Presence Baruch Levine 40. Babylonia and Persia Amelie Kuhrt

Author Biography:
Gwendolyn Leick is presently senior lecturer at Chelsea College of Art and Design. A specialist in the Ancient Near East, she has published extensively on the topic, including The Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Architecture and Who's Who in the Ancient Near East.