Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City

(Paperback)

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Mesopotamia, situated roughly where Iraq is today, was one of the greatest ancient civilizations. It was here that the very first cities were created and where the familiar sights of modern urban life - public buildings and gardens, places of worship, even streets and pavements - were originally invented. This book examines everyday life as it was in ten long-lost Mesopotamian cities, beginning with Eridu, the Mesopotamian Eden, and ending with Babylon, the first true metropolis: cosmopolitan, decadent, multicultural and the last centre of a dying civilization. Using archaeological fragments of jewellery, textiles and writings, Gwendolyn Leick paints a colourful picture of the lives of Mesopotamians - from poets and priests to businesswomen and divorcees - and the incredible achievements of their advanced and imaginative society.

Reviews

"As Leick convincingly shows, Mesopotamian antiquity has as much interest as, and even greater importance than, Egypt; and her welcome book helps redress the balance of knowledge in its direction."

Author Bio

GWENDOLYN LEICK is an anthropologist and Assyriologist. She is the author of various publications on the Ancient Near East, including A Dictionary of Near Eastern Mythology and Sex & Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature. She also acts as a cultural tour guide in the Middle East, lecturing on history, archaeology and anthropology.