Weavers, Scribes, and Kings: A New History of the Ancient Near East
Amanda H. Podany
Mar 2023 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Amanda H. Podany
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18 hr 26 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
In this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes listeners on a gripping journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to brickmakers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that people faced over time are explored through their own written words and the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived. Weavers, Scribes, and Kings creates a tapestry of life stories through which listeners will come to know individuals from many walks of life, and to understand their places within the broad history of events and institutions in the ancient Near East. These stories are preserved on ancient clay tablets, which allow us to trace, for example, the career of a weaver as she advanced to become a supervisor of a workshop, listen to a king trying to persuade his generals to prepare for a siege, and feel the pain of a starving couple and their four young children as they suffered through a time of famine. What might seem at first glance to be a remote and inaccessible ancient culture proves to be a comprehensible world, one that bequeathed to the modern world many of our institutions and beliefs, a fascinating place to visit.
Ratings and reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Patrick Abel
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January 15, 2025
Having a deep interest in the subject of ancient writing and the ancient near east I found this book to be outstanding. The recording quality is also impeccable and begin read by the author herself gives it even more depth given the professor knows where to place the emphasis. Very well done and thank you for this deep dive into a fascinating period in history.
About the author
Amanda H. Podany is professor emeritus of history at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and the author of Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East and The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction.
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