Storieta
Sign up

About this book

This volume is the sixth in a scholarly series that aims to present the most recent scientific findings on the ancient Semitic peoples in a concise, “popularly scientific” form. The opening pages explain that the series was conceived after a surge of archaeological and linguistic research, and each part is written by a specialist chosen from the ranks of eminent European and American scholars. Sayce’s contribution focuses on the everyday life and customs of the Babylonians and Assyrians, drawing especially on contract tablets and letters. The introduction situates Babylon as a fertile delta between the Euphrates and Tigris, recounts its early settlements at Eridu, Ur and Nippur, and traces the gradual fusion of Sumerian and Semitic cultures that produced the mixed society described throughout the book.

The author writes in a measured, academic prose typical of late‑Victorian scholarship, blending detailed geographical and historical description with occasional theological reflection. The tone is earnest and explanatory rather than narrative, making the work a valuable reference for students of ancient Near Eastern history, archaeology, or comparative religion. Readers who appreciate careful synthesis of primary sources, enjoy the intellectual rigor of early twentieth‑century oriental studies, and seek a thorough overview of Babylonian and Assyrian social practices will find this text rewarding.

Opening lines

Recent scientific research has stimulated an increasing interest in the study of the Babylonians, Assyrians, and allied Semitic races of ancient history among scholars, students, and the serious reading public generally. It has provided us with a picture of a hitherto unknown civilization, and a history of one of the great branches of the human family. The object of the present Series is to state its results in popularly scientific form. Each work is complete in itself, and the Series, taken as a whole, neglects no phase of the general subject. Each contributor is a specialist in the subject assigned him, and has been chosen from the body of eminent Semitic scholars both in Europe and America. …

Keep reading free · chapter 1 needs no account

More like this

Cover of Social life among the Assyrians and Babylonians

Social life among the Assyrians and Babylonians

A. H. Sayce

Cover of The City of God, Volume I

The City of God, Volume I

Augustine, of Hippo, Saint

The work is Augustine’s City of God, Volume I, a foundational treatise of early Christian apologetics that…

Cover of A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 1 (of 2) During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era

A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 1 (of 2) During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era

Lynn Thorndike

This volume is a scholarly survey of how magic and experimental science intersected from antiquity through…

Cover of The Anabasis of Alexander: or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great

The Anabasis of Alexander: or, The history of the wars and conquests of Alexander the Great

Arrian

Arrian’s Anabasis of Alexander presents a meticulous chronicle of the Macedonian king’s campaigns, beginning…

Cover of The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete

Suetonius

Suetonius’s The Lives of the Twelve Caesars offers a compact, biographical survey of Rome’s early imperial…

Cover of Roman Stoicism being lectures on the history of the Stoic philosophy with special reference to its development within the Roman Empire

Roman Stoicism being lectures on the history of the Stoic philosophy with special reference to its development within the Roman Empire

Edward Vernon Arnold

The book is a scholarly lecture series by Edward Vernon Arnold, originally delivered to Latin Honours…