A Word about Chronology and Translation
Cast of Characters
Time Line
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I: The Early Dynastic Period and Akkadian Empire, 1500-2000
BCE
Ch 1: The First Evidence for Diplomacy ("I am your brother and you
are my brother")
Ch 2: Traders and Ships from Different Lands ("At the wharf of
Akkad he made moor ships")
Part II: The Old Babylonian Period, 2000-1595 BCE
Ch 3: War and Allegiance ("I have always done good things for him
and his heart knows the good deeds that I have done for him")
Ch 4: Long Journeys away from Home ("Who is there who would sell
lapis-lazuli?")
Part III: A Time of Crisis and Change, 1595-1400 BCE
Ch 5: Attack on Babylon by a Distant Enemy ("I sent to a far-off
land")
Ch 6: A Clash between Expanding Empires ("Prepare yourselves! Make
your weapons ready! For one will engage in combat with that
wretched foe in the morning")
Ch 7: Diplomatic Overtures between the Great Powers ("A notable
event! The like of this occurrence had not been heard of since the
time of the demigods"
Part IV: The Amarna Age, 1400-1300 BCE
Ch 8: Brother Kings United and at Peace ("My brother, whom I love
and who loves me")
Ch 9: Diplomatic Marriages ("We, between us, are one, the Hurrian
land and the land of Egypt ")
Ch 10: Luxury Goods from Eveyrwhere ("The gold is much. Among the
kings there are brotherhood, amity, peace, and good relations")
Ch 11: A Crisis in the Brotherhood ("My father became hostile")
Ch 12: The End of an Empire and the Restoration of Peace ("My
ancestors and your ancestors made a mutual declaration of
friendship")
Epilogue
Abbreviations
Notes
Further Reading
Bibliography
Index
Amanda H. Podany is Professor of History at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She has published a number of books and articles on topics in ancient Near Eastern history, including The Ancient Near Eastern World.
"Podany has...broken new ground in the study of international
relations in pre-classical antiquity...This work is the product of
excellent, detailed, and groundbreaking scholarship."--Bulletin of
the American Schools of Oriental Research
"An engaging book that manages to provide a nuanced analysis and
insightful observations while setting out the general history of
the Near East over the period of two millennia. Shows that the
balance between force, negotiation of peace, and family ties (and
the use of the language of family ties) was (and still is) at the
heart of international relations. An astounding success."--Greece
and Rome
"This readable book breathes life into the dusty documents of the
ancient Near East. Erudite and imaginative, Brotherhood of Kings
brings us back to the origins of diplomacy and the first
international community. The events date back three or four
thousand years but Amanda Podany makes them seem fresh."--Barry
Strauss, author of The Spartacus War
"This is an attractive and accessible work. It is based securely on
the ancient sources from which the author quotes a generous amount
in translation. Podany's approach is imaginative without being
excessively speculative and her style is easy, clear, and flowing.
In her hands these ancient people come to life and a world which
was not well known is now better known."--Etudes Classiques
"Lively and vigorous, detailed and dramatic, Amanda Podany's
compelling narrative provides a sweeping view across centuries of
diplomacy and history in the ancient Near East. Her descriptions
breathe life into dusty documents and revive the ancient monarchs
and messengers, populists and people, in a tale told in vivid
color, replete with sights, sounds, smells, and textures. This is
truly a joy to read, a treasure to remember."--Eric H. Cline,
author of
Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction
"Something like this book has begged to be written. It is as good
as anything I have seen for making this ancient world interesting,
even fascinating, in a way that will draw in the uninitiated. This
is really a volume on ancient history and culture, told through
stories. Through a thousand years of diplomacy, Amanda Podany
presents a history of life in the Near East, full of eye-catching
attractions and riveting tales."--Daniel Fleming, New York
University
"A lively, enjoyable book."--Amélie Kuhrt, History Today
"This book is always interesting and often fascinating--it is not
just creative but conveys critical information without stultifying
the non-specialist."--History Book Club
"Joins a small but growing number of books which move Ancient Near
Eastern scholarship out to a wider readership. The author has
masterfully assembled disparate literatures, rendered them
accessible, and taught us something new: about our seemingly
unflagging ability to manage and solve complex political problems
of our own creation--for this, Podany deserves our
applause."--Ancient History Bulletin
"Podany enters the palaces of the high and mighty, imaginatively
recreating the exchanges that could have taken place. Using the
letters to carefully recreate this surprisingly peaceful period,
when alliances were solidified by dynastic marriages and luxury
gifts with the help of an active diplomatic correspondence, Podany
has penned an historical, if academic, quest."--Publishers
Weekly
"[Podany's] book is fun to read and...should be widely read both by
scholars in the field and by laymen. The latter so that they can
discover how engaging Near Eastern history can be; the former to
remind themselves of the same and to remember that they are dealing
with real people whose fears, pleasures, and other emotions are as
worthy of attention as a join between two tablet fragments, if not
more so."--Bibliotheca Orientalis
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