The Near East ― A Cultural History

This is an ambitious and wide-ranging popular history, the first narrative account of the entire Near East (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the Gulf States and Arabia), from the genesis of civilisation in the fourth millennium bce until 1947. It provides an historical outline of the civilizations and cultures that dominated the region, one that has had an immense impact on the development of humankind, ever since the ancient Sumerians inaugurated urban life around 3200 bce and then invented writing, a critical means of extending the human intellect and allowing societies to flourish.

Later the Babylonians and the Assyrians built upon the Sumerian legacy. They were in fact the earliest great powers whose actions influenced Judaism and, eventually, Christianity and Islam; indeed one of the key innovations of the Near East has been as the cradle of the monotheistic religions. The long eras of Arab, Persian and Ottoman rule are all discussed, as is the destabilizing intervention of the western colonial powers.

Cotterell's book is a timely reminder of how historical events shaped the outlooks of various peoples just as political turbulence in the Near East is challenging neighboring countries but also the wider world.

A prolific historian and author, Arthur Cotterell's previous books include the Penguin Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, the Penguin Encyclopedia of Classical Civilizations and Chariot: The Astounding Rise and Fall of the World's First War Machine.