Ancient Mesopotamia : Life in the Cradle of Civilization

Locations
Call Number: DVD 935 Po Oversize, Adult DVD / Great Courses / History / Ancient / Ancient Mesopotamia
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	DVD 935 Po Oversize	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult A/V 4-week checkout	Adult DVD / Great Courses / History / Ancient / Ancient Mesopotamia	4-week checkout	On Shelf

Title from DVD container cover.
"Course No. 3166"
Uncovering near eastern civilization -- Natufian villagers and early settlements -- Neolithic farming, trade, and pottery -- Eridu and other towns in the Ubaid period -- Uruk, the world's biggest city -- Mesopotamia's first kings and the military -- Early dynastic workers and worshipers -- Lugalzagesi of Umma and Sargon of Akkad -- Akkadian empire arts and gods -- The fall of Akkad and Gudea of Lagash -- Ur III households, accounts, and ziggurats -- Migrants and old Assyrian merchants -- Royalty and palace intrigue at Mari -- War and society in Hammurabi's time -- Justice in the old Babylonian period -- The Hana kingdom and clues to a Dark Age -- Princess Tadu-Hepa, diplomacy, and marriage -- Land grants and royal favor in Mittani -- The late Bronze Age and the end of peace -- Assyria ascending -- Ashurbanipal's library and Gilgamesh -- Neo-Assyrian empire, warfare, and collapse -- Babylon and the New Year's Festival -- End of the Neo-Baylonian empire.
Lecturer: Amanda H. Podany.
"When we imagine what life might have been like thousands of years in the past, the images we often conjure are primitive ones: reed and mud huts or plain brick dwellings, cooking pits, villagers, and simple farms. That was indeed what life was like in the earliest settlements, but by five thousand years ago, life in some places had become much more sophisticated than we might think. Impressive achievements-like stepped temples that towered like mountains, elaborate palaces (some with bathrooms and plumbing), and complex houses-were also a part of life for people who lived in cities that arose thousands of years ago, particularly in the fertile region that emerged along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Welcome to Mesopotamia, the ancient name for the region that is now Iraq, a remarkably advanced civilization that flourished for two-thirds of the time that civilization has existed on Earth. Mesopotamians mastered irrigation agriculture; built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions through warfare and diplomacy. While civilizations like Greece and Rome have an unbroken tradition of written histories, the rich history of Mesopotamia has only been recently rediscovered, thanks to the decipherment of Mesopotamia's cuneiform writing less than 200 years ago. In this 24-lecture course taught by Professor Podany, you'll fill in the blanks of your historical understanding as you witness a whole new world opening before your eyes. Riveting stories about kings and priestesses as well as ordinary people from all walks of life transport you back in time, giving you invaluable insights into the history of a landmark region that has long been known as the cradle of civilization."
DVD.

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Excellent submitted by timdufresne on July 12, 2018, 5:23pm Through happenstance I chanced upon this lecture after completing an audiobook of the Epic of Gilgamesh. I highly recommend checking them out together.