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A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC, by Marc Van De Mieroop. Blackwell History of the Ancient World 1. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. xix + 313 pp., 28 figures, 3 charts, 16 maps. Paper. $27.95.
Marc Van De Mieroop's most recent book, A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC, is the first in a series of new textbooks on ancient history to be published by Blackwell Publishing; another nine are in preparation. The "textbook approach" taken by Van De Mieroop is evident in the book's grand chronological scope and its highly structured framework. Within this structure, however, the author takes advantage of the opportunity to provide new perspectives on the longue durée of Near Eastern history. While it will leave the specialist searching in vain for detailed footnotes and bibliographic references, the book is certain to offer students and enthusiasts a window into the personalities and events that shaped the course of this early but vital phase of world history.
The structural and chronological division of Van De Mieroop's book into 15 chapters of approximately 20 pages each fits neatly into a typical 15-week college semester. At the same time, not all of the chapters treat a different period; several overlap in time and even space (see, for instance, chapters 5 and 6, both on the early second millennium, but treating different political forms distinguished by degree of centralization). This may create confusion over the distinctions between them and potential challenges for an instructor or student attempting to sort out the chronology. Each chapter, in addition, contains a map, a timeline, one (or more) translated text(s), one box with detailed information on a particular research topic (such as "Hittite historiography" in chapter 8), and one or two images. For undergraduate students, this imposed structure may provide a comforting framework for the new information provided, and it may also add a subconscious impression of overall continuity in ancient Near Eastern history. At the same time, one wonders about providing the same amount of...