Geschichte Mesopotamiens: Von den Sumerern bis zu Alexander dem Grossen.

AuthorChavalas, Mark W.
PositionBook review

Geschichte Mesopotamiens: Von den Sumerern bis zu Alexander dem Grossen. By DIETZ OTTO EDZARD. Munich: C. H. BECK, 2004. Pp. 288. [euro]27.70.

Dietz Otto Edzard has been one of the most prolific and distinguished Assyriologists of the past fifty years. Because of his untimely passing in 2004, his Geschichte Mesopotamiens will remain the final summation of his lifelong preoccupation with Mesopotamia. Edzard had long been known for his meticulous precision to detail as well as his ability to synthesize major periods and concepts in Mesopotamian history for general audiences. His productivity over the past few years was impressive, as he published the monumental Gudea and His Dynasty (Univ. of Toronto Press, 1997); Sumerian Grammar (Leiden: Brill, 2003), a tour de force on the Sumerian language; and Mesopotamien: Die altbabylonische Zeit (Freiburg: Academic Press, 2004, co-authored by D. Charpin and M. Stol), a brilliant treatment of the various literary genres (including omens and legal texts) and religion of the Old Babylonian period. Edzard also found time to continue as editor of the prestigious Reallexikon der Assyriologie and Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archaologie.

Edzard used his vast experience to write this excellent survey of Mesopotamian history. The work is divided into ten chapters: 1, Die Anfange; 2, Mesopotamien im III. Jahrtausend v. Chr. vorm Entstehen des Reiches von Akkade; 3, Das Reich von Akkade; 4, Utu-Hegal, Gudea, die III. Dynastie von Ur und ihre unmittelbaren Nachfolger; 5, "Assyrien," Nordmesopotamien, Nordsyrien am Anfang des II. Jahrtausends v. Chr., 6, Babylonien im 19.-17. Jahrhundert: Politik, Recht, Wirtschaft und soziale Verhaltnisse, Literatur, Religion und Kult, Ausblick; 7, Die mittelbabylonische Zeit; 8, Jahrhunderte grosser Konstellationen: Assyrien, Babylonien, die Golfregion, Elam, Urartu, Kleinasien und der "Westen," Syrien-Palastina, Agypten; 9, Die Weltmacht Babylon: Ihr Fall und der Aufsteig der Achameniden in Mesopotamien; and 10, Alexander der Grosse und seine Nachfolger. Each chapter is further divided into an average of five sections, making the work easier to manage for the beginning student.

Edzard was well known as one of the best scholars in the world on civilizations of the Sumero-Akkadian and Old Babylonian periods. This is clearly borne out in the book, as over half of the volume covers these periods. Edzard was also primarily concerned with documents, and thus he...

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