Bringing together the research of internationally renowned scholars, Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age contributes significantly to our understanding of the epoch-making artistic and cultural exchanges that took place across the Near East and Mediterranean in the early first millennium B.C. This was the world of Odysseus, in which seafaring Phoenician merchants charted new nautical trade routes and established prosperous trading posts and colonies on the shores of three continents; of kings Midas and Croesus, legendary for their wealth; and of the Hebrew Bible, whose stories are brought vividly to life by archaeological discoveries. Objects drawn from collections in the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and the United States, reproduced here in sumptuous detail, reflect the cultural encounters of diverse populations interacting through trade, travel, and migration as well as war and displacement. Together, they tell a compelling story of the origins and development of Western artistic traditions that trace their roots to the ancient Near East and across the Mediterranean world. Among the masterpieces brought together in this volume are stone reliefs that adorned the majestic palaces of ancient Assyria; expertly crafted Phonecian and Syrian bronzes and worked ivories that were stored in the treasuries of Assyria and deposited in tombs and sanctuaries in regions far to the west; and lavish personal adornments and other luxury goods, some imported and others inspired by Near Eastern craftsmanship. Accompanying texts by leading scholars position each object in cultural and historical context, weaving a narrative of crisis and conquest, worship and warfare, and epic and empire that spans both continents and millennia. Writing another chapter in the story begun in Art of the First Cities (2003) and Beyond Babylon (2008), Assyria to Iberia offers a comprehensive overview of art, diplomacy, and cultural exchange in an age of imperial and mercantile expansion in the ancient Near East and across the Mediterranean in the first millennium B.C.—the dawn of the Classical age.

This English translation of Glassner s Chroniques Mésopotamiennes (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1993) collects all chronicle literature of ancient Mesopotamia from the early second millenium to Seleucid times. The volume, which incorporates revisions and additions by the author and a transcription of the cuneiform, includes every example of Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian historiographic literature, and magisterial essays on the genre and on Mesopotamian historiography in general.Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)

This little-known story of biblical times is “one of those contingent moments in world history on which whole civilizations pivot” (The Globe and Mail, Toronto). At the turn of the eighth century BC, a mighty Assyrian army entered Judah and fought its way to the very gates of Jerusalem, poised, the prophet Isaiah warned, to “smash the city as easily as someone hurling a clay pot against the wall.” But the assault never came. Instead, the Assyrian army turned and fled, an event that has been called the Deliverance of Jerusalem. Whereas biblical accounts attribute the Assyrian retreat to divine intervention, this account offers an explanation that is miraculous in its own light: The siege was broken by the arrival of an army from Kushite Egypt—an army that is, made up of black Africans. These Kushites figured in historical texts, the author reveals, until the late nineteenth century—when racist scholars expunged them from the record, a process that coincided with the European conquest and colonization of Africa. The Kushite intervention assured the survival of the Hebrew people, and this book is a fresh and fascinating look at this chapter in biblical history and “a joy to read” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel).

The Royal Inscriptions of Sennacherib, King of Assyria (704-681 BC), Part 2 (Royal Inscriptions of the Neo-Assyrian Period 3/2) provides reliable, up-to-date editions of 195 texts of Sennacherib, as well as 26 other late Neo-Assyrian inscriptions that might belong to this king and 2 inscriptions of his family (including one of his wives, Tashmetu-sharrat). The volume contains historical inscriptions on bull and lion colossi from Nineveh, rock reliefs, stone horizontal prisms, and clay cylinders and prisms from other cities under Sennacherib's authority (especially Ashur and Tarbisu); epigraphs on reliefs; and inscriptions on bricks, threshold slabs, door sockets, wall panels, stone blocks, beads, metal plating (including door bands); and drafts and copies of historical and building inscriptions written on clay tablets. Each text edition (with its English translation) is supplied with a brief introduction containing general information, a catalogue containing basic information about all exemplars, a commentary containing further technical information and notes, and a comprehensive bibliography. RINAP 3/2 also includes: (1) a general introduction to the corpus of inscriptions and Sennacherib's numerous building activities in Assyria (especially construction at Ashur); (2) several photographs of objects inscribed with texts of Sennacherib; (3) indices of museum and excavation numbers and selected publications; and (4) indices of proper names (Personal Names; Geographic, Ethnic, and Tribal Names; Divine, Planet, and Star Names; Gate, Palace, Temple, and Wall Names; and Object Names). The RINAP Project is under the direction of G. Frame (University of Pennsylvania) and is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This all-purpose commentary is by the author of 'The Suffering Servant in Deutero-Isaiah'. It meets the needs of the specialist but most of it should be intelligible to preachers and teachers who know little or no Hebrew. The Introduction discusses the literary structure of the prophecy, the theology of Deutero-Isaiah (with some reference to current theological debate), and the problem of Salvation History. The exegetical notes are based on the author's own translation from the Hebrew text. The purpose of the book is to elucidate the message of the Prophet in the context of Scripture as a whole.

The author offers an exploration of the 'Old Testament', illuminating its importance as history, literature, and sacred text. He provides an overview of one of the great pillars of Western religion and culture, a book which remains important today for Jews, Christians, and Muslims worldwide.