Here, archaeologically documented,is the story of the religion of the Goddess. Under her, women’s roles were far more prominent than in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures. Stone describes this ancient system and, with its disintegration, the decline in women’s status.

Amongst the civilizations to participate in the dynamic processes of contact and interchange that gave rise to complex societies in the ancient Near East, Elam has remained one of the most obscure, at times languishing in the background of scholarly inquiry. In recent years, however, an increasing body of academic publications have acknowledged its relevance and suggested that its legacy was more considerable and long-lasting than previously estimated. The Elamite World assembles a group of 40 international scholars to contribute their expertise to the production of a solid, lavishly illustrated, English language treatment of Elamite civilization. It covers topics such as its physical setting, historical development, languages and people, material culture, art, science, religion and society, as well as the legacy of Elam in the Persian empire and its presence in the modern world. This comprehensive and ambitious survey seeks for Elam, hardly a household name, a noteworthy place in our shared cultural heritage. It will be both a valuable introductory text for a general audience and a definitive reference source for students and academics.

From the middle of the 3rd millennium BC until the coming of Cyrus the Great, southwestern Iran was referred to in Mesopotamian sources as the land of Elam. A heterogeneous collection of regions, Elam was home to a variety of groups, alternately the object of Mesopotamian aggression, and aggressors themselves; an ethnic group seemingly swallowed up by the vast Achaemenid Persian empire, yet a force strong enough to attack Babylonia in the last centuries BC. The Elamite language is attested as late as the Medieval era, and the name Elam as late as 1300 in the records of the Nestorian church. This book examines the formation and transformation of Elam's many identities through both archaeological and written evidence, and brings to life one of the most important regions of Western Asia, re-evaluates its significance, and places it in the context of the most recent archaeological and historical scholarship.

Some times, I ask myself if I have not dreamt this entire incredible love story myself. I then have to open once again my familial photo album to see the jovial Khan smiling back at me with his confident, glittering eyes and the Princess, smiling too, seated in her comfortable armchair and dressed in full Qashqai tribal regalia to make sure that the whole story was not, after all, just one of those extraordinary dreams of mine Iran's backbone is the Zagros mountain chain-a real paradise on Earth that is dominated by lofty peaks and water cascading down all of its steep valleys. It is also populated by millions of oak trees and inhabited by the oldest tribe on Earth: the Bakhtiaris. The tribal name Bakhtiari literally means the "companions of good fortune." And the twentieth-century discovery of crude oil in this paradise seems to confirm the meaning. An elite family, founded by the great Haydar, has ruled the Bakhtiaris for the past four hundred years. Their leaders marched on Tehran in 1909 to save the young, fragile Constitution and reopen the Parliament. Among those in command was Morteza Quli Khan, a rather unique individual with an extraordinary life. The Last of the Khans recounts his, and the ancient tribe's, great heritage.

Why on earth would two history nerds use their own free time to write another US history textbook? Well, that, intelligent human, is the right question. This work breaks from the traditional memorization of who, what, when, where, and focuses on why and how. The former is popular in schools due to its efficiency in quantification for testing. You're either right or wrong about remembering facts. But it's so boring that most students turn off their brains once they set foot in the class, and that habit continues well into old age, if not recognized and corrected. Why and how are more subjective, therefore harder to grade. But with their asking, people become re-centered in our collective story, where they belong. Only then can proper context be understood, and criticism and perspective be applied. We believe this approach to be the missing link in our education and understanding of current issues, norms, and discussion points. Hopefully, after reading this work, each reader's critical thinking will activate around all history permanently. That will certainly aid humanity's evolution and communication. Wait, does that mean this book can be categorized as self-help? Argue away!