Chronicles the life of nineteenth-century archaeologist and explorer Henry Rawlinson, describing his ascent of western Iran mountains, where he deciphered ancient carvings that were key to understanding cuneiform scripts and languages.

How 19th-century soldier, adventurer and scholar Henry Rawlinson deciphered cuneiform, the world’s earliest writing, and rediscovered Iraq's ancient civilisations.

Tells the story of archaeological travel and excavation in Iraq -- then Mesopotamia -- from the time of the great Arab geographers to the 2003 devastation of the Iraq National Museum. Fagan tells of Henry Rawlinson, Jules Oppert, and Edward Hincks, decipherers of cuneiform; Claudius and Mary Rich, observers of Nineveh and Babylon; and Émile Botta and Austen Henry Layard, who revealed the Assyrian civilisation to an astonished world. Here, also, are men like Hormuzd Rassam, whose illegal digging and plundering horrified local officials, and Wallis Budge, consummate smuggler of cuneiform tablets. Fagan also recounts the careers of the multi-talented administrator Gertrude Bell, a primary influence in the creation of the nation of Iraq, and of Leonard Woolley, renowned for his excavation of Sumerian civilisation at Ur. Bringing this remarkable history up to date, Fagan chronicles the development of scientific archaeology in Mesopotamia, the growing Iraqi involvement in archaeology, and the tragic events of recent years that led to the looting of the Iraq National Museum and many archaeological sites.

This is the second volume in the annual publication that showcases the work of the Getty Research Institute. This annual publication showcases work by scholars and staff associated with the Getty Research Institute and the other programs of the prestigious J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Journal offers peer reviewed essays that focus on an object or aspect of the Getty's extensive archival, rare book, and artistic holdings or that relate to the annual research themes of the Research Institute and the Getty Villa. It also presents a selection of short, dynamic pieces about new acquisitions, scholarly activities, and ongoing projects at the Getty.

Out of a lifetime of study of the ancient Near East, Professor Olmstead has gathered previously unknown material into the story of the life, times, and thought of the Persians, told for the first time from the Persian rather than the traditional Greek point of view. "The fullest and most reliable presentation of the history of the Persian Empire in existence."—M. Rostovtzeff