From Egypt to Babylon: The International Age 1550-500 BC

Description

For those who believe that globalization is a purely modern phenomenon, this book holds a startling and absorbing lesson. From Egypt to Babylon immerses readers in a world of exotic empires and states as they waxed and waned and interacted in a period of extraordinary internationalism—all before the rise of the Persian Empire. The ancient Egyptians, Minoans, Mycenaeans, Hittites, Canaanites, Hurrians, Aramaeans, Israelites, Urartians, Mannaeans, Assyrians, Phrygians, Kassites, Chaldaeans, Elamites, Scythians, Medes, and Persians: these are the societies who for a millennia peopled the world from the Aegean and Egypt in the west to what we know now as Iraq and Iran in the east. In a concise introduction, illustrated with objects drawn largely from the collections of the British Museum, this book takes the reader through the vast and varied landscape of this period, where a far-flung world was linked by military expansion, diplomatic relations, and movement of goods and peoples that brought about profound cultural exchanges and technological and social revolutions. The story brings the reader from the foundations of the Egyptian empire through the turmoil at the end of the second millennium bce to the unprecedented political unification of the whole region by kings of Persia. From Egypt to Babylon weaves together the political histories of the region’s diverse societies for the first time, tracing shifting fortunes and burgeoning colonies, trading connections and cultural pressures in what was truly the world’s first international age. Cover Contents Chronology Preface Introduction. A fractured world, 1600-1550 BC 1. The rise of the great powers, 1550-1500 BC 2. The birth of empires, 1500-1400 BC 3. Power and prestige, 1400-1300 BC 4. Empires collide, 1300-1200 BC 5. Collapse and transformation, 1200-1100 BC 6. The threat of chaos, 1100-1000 BC 7. Survival and revival, 1000-900 BC 8. Expanding horizons, 900-800 BC 9. Stability and change, 800-700 BC 10. From Babylon to Egypt, 700-600 BC 11. A world united, 600-500 BC Further reading Index