Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History

Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History discusses how the abundant Mesopotamian cuneiform text sources can be used for the study of various aspects of history: political, social, economic and gender. Marc Van De Mieroop provides a student-friendly introduction to the subject and:

* criticises disciplinary methodologies which are often informed by a desire to write a history of events

* scrutinises the intellectual background of historical writings

* examines how Mesopotamia's position as the 'other' in Classical and Biblical writings has influenced scholarship

* illustrates approaches with examples taken from the entirety of Mesopotamian history.

Review: "Van de Mieroop has written a stimulating book that historians will find as interesting as Assyriologists, ancient historians, and archaeologists do. His reflections are always worth pondering, and he continues to grow in depth as one of our most important scholars of ancient Mesopotamia."

-D.T. Potts, University of Sydney, American Historical Review, October 2002

"Van de Mieroop has afforded the undergraduate student an excellent opportunity for understanding the difficulties of reconstructing Mesopotamian history from the cuneiform sources.

Thus, this work is not only for the introductory student but also for the classical scholar (or general historian), who will no longer think that history began with the Greeks. It will no doubt be a most indispensable volume for any course on ancient Near Eastern history or civilization, or, for that matter, on historiography."

-Religious Studies Review