Iraq Beyond the Headlines: History, Archaeology, And War (Series on the Iraq War and Its Consequences)

This book is the first authoritative and up-to-date survey of the history of Iraq from earliest times to the present in any language. It presents a concise narrative of the rich and varied history of this land, drawing on political, social, economic, artistic, technological, and intellectual material. It also includes excerpts from works of ancient, medieval, and modern literature written in Iraq, some of which are translated for the first time into English. The final chapters provide an introduction to the history of archaeology in Iraq, set in the wider context of the development of archaeology into a scientific discipline. A special section highlights selected objects from the Iraq Museum, with emphasis on their cultural significance and current status in the aftermath of the looting in April 2003. The last chapter offers a unique guide to the complex international and national legal regimes for the protection of cultural heritage. The American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq are a turning point in Iraq's modern history, with important cultural consequences for all periods of its past. For all who seek to understand more fully the current situation, this book includes discussion of cultural and legal issues of the war and occupation, placing recent events in their full context Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Preface 12 Chapter 1 Beginnings Modern and Ancient 16 1. What is Iraq? 16 2. The Birthplace of Civilization 19 3. Production of Food: An Important Transition for the Human Race 20 4. Settlement in the Plains 24 5. A Durable Peasant Culture 25 6. The First Cities 26 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 1 34 Chapter 2 Early City States and Empires 36 1. New Polities 36 2. Ur of the Chaldees 37 3. The Rise of Kingship 38 4. The City Shuruppak 40 5. Lagash Nippur and Umma 42 6. Akkad: The First Empire 44 7. The Kingdom of Ur 51 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 2 56 Chapter 3 The Age of Hammurabi 58 1. The Amorites and Their Way of Life 58 2. Shamshi-Adad King of Northern Mesopotamia 60 3. Rim-Sin King of Larsa 61 4. Hammurabi King of Babylon and His Laws 62 5. Law Society and Literature 64 6. The End of Amorite Period 66 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 3 67 Chapter 4 A Babylonian Nation-State 70 1. The Kassite People and Their Society 70 2. Kassite Government 71 3. International Relations 72 4. Kassite Civilization 73 6. Hurrians in Mesopotamia 78 7. The End of Kassite Rute and the Renewal of Isin 80 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 4 81 Chapter 5 The Assyrian Achievement 84 1. The Land and Its City 84 2. The First Assyrian Empire 86 3. The Second Assyrian Empire 88 4. Two Assyrian Kings 91 5. Assyrian Cuiture of the First Miiiennium B.C.E. 95 6. The Fall of Assyria 97 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 5 98 Chapter 6 Babylon and Her Empire 100 1. The Land and Its City 100 2. Babylonian Economy and Society 104 3. Babylon and the World 107 4. The Persian Empire 109 Bibtiographicat Note to Chapter 6 114 Chapter 7 Mesopotamia between Two Worlds 116 1. Alexander the Great and His Successors 116 2. Life in Hellenistic Babylonia 118 3. Babylonian Cuiture and Economy 119 4. The Rise of Parthia 122 5. Parthian Society 124 6. Parthian Mesopotamia 125 7. Rome in Mesopotamia 127 8. Parthian Cities 129 9. The End of Mesopotamian Civilization and the Downfall of Parthia 131 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 7 132 Chapter 8 Iraq between Iran and Arabia 134 1. The Sassanians and Their Subjects 134 2. Sassanian Civilization 137 3. The Sassanian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire 139 4. Arab Settlement in Mesopotamia 141 5. Western Asia in the Seventh Century 142 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 8 144 Chapter 9 The Muslim Conquest of Iraq 146 1. The Mission of Muhammad 146 2. Arabian Catiphs and the Conquests of Iraq 150 3. Islam and the Arabs in Iraq 153 4. Leadership of the Muslim Wortd 156 5. Divisions within Islam 159 6. Commerce and Business 160 7. Deveiopments in Arabic-Islamic Culture 160 Bibilographical Note to Chapter 9 162 Chapter 10 The Age of Baghdad and Samarra 164 1. The Abbasid Catiphate 164 2. Baghdad and Its Civitization 166 3. Samarra and the Growth of Local Dynasties 169 4. Medieval Iraq 171 5. The Transition Movement 172 6. Decline and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate 175 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 10 179 Chapter 11 Iraq in the Ottoman Empire 180 1. Iraq under Mongol Rule 180 2. Iraq under Turkish Rule 181 3. The Ottomans and Their Subjects 183 4. Mamluk Iraq 185 5. Ottoman Weakness and Reform 188 6. Iraq in the Late Nineteenth Century 189 7. Pressures of Modernity 191 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 11 194 Chapter 12 Colonization and Monarchy 196 1. The First World War 196 2. The Conquest of Iraq and Its Governance 197 3. A New Monarchy 201 4. Aspects of Iraqi Culture under the Monarchy 203 5. Weakness and War 205 6. Archaeology in Iraq 208 7. A Time of Revolution 210 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 12 211 Chapter 13 The Republic of Iraq 214 1. The Qasim Regime 214 2. Iraqi Culture and Society 215 2. Saddam Hussein and War with Iran 217 3. Archaeotogy in Iraq 219 4. The Ba'th Party 220 5. The Invasion of Kuwait 221 6. The Embargo and Its Toll 222 6. The American invasion of iraq and the Destruction of Cultural Heritage 224 Bibilographical Note to Chapter 13 226 Chapter 14 Archaeology Past and Present in Iraq 228 Bibilographical Note to Chapter 14 239 Chapter 15 The Iraq Museum and the Future of the Past 240 Atabaster Head from Uruk ca. 3300-3000 B.C.E. (IM 45434) 246 Atabaster Vase from Uruk ca. 3300-3000 B.C.E. (IM 19606) 244 Diorite Statue of Enmetena from Ur ca. 2460 B.C.E. (IM 5) 248 Inlaid Harp from Ur ca. 2550-2400 B.C.E. IM (8694) 250 Copper-Alloy Statue Made for Naram-Sin ca. 2254-2218 B.C.E. (IM 77823) 252 Ivory Furniture Panel from Nimrud ca. 745-727 B.C.E. (IM 61898) 254 Cylinder Seats from Kish and Girsu ca. 2420-2220 B.C.E. (From top IM 2780 13239 9709 10958) 256 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 1 5 259 Chapter 16 International and National Legal Regimes for the Protecdon of Archaeological Heritage 260 1. Introduction 260 2. The international Legal Regime 261 3. United States Domestic Law and the international Art Market 277 4. Problems in Controlling the International Art Market: The Paradigm of Iraq 283 5. Conclusion 287 Bibliographical Note to Chapter 16 288 Appendix Iraqi Libraries Research Centers and Centers for the Arts 290 Ch. 1. Beginnings, modern and ancient -- ch. 2. Early city states and empires -- ch. 3. The age of Hammurabi -- ch. 4. A Babylonian nation-state -- ch. 5. The Assyrian achievement -- ch. 6. Babylon and her empire -- ch. 7. Mesopotamia between two worlds -- ch. 8. Iraq between Iran and Arabia -- ch. 9. The Muslim conquest of Iraq -- ch. 10. The age of Baghdad and Samarra -- ch. 11. Iraq in the Ottoman empire -- ch. 12. Colonization and monarchy -- ch. 13. The Republic of Iraq -- ch. 14. Archaeology past and present in Iraq -- ch. 15. The Iraq Museum and the future of the past -- ch. 16. International and national legal regimes for the protection of archaeological heritage "This is the first authoritative, up-to-date survey of the history of Iraq from earliest times to the present, in any language. The book presents a concise narrative of the rich and varied history of this land, drawing on political, social, economic, artistic, technological, and intellectual material. It also includes excerpts from works of Sumerian, Akkadian, and Arabic literature, some of which are translated here for the first time into English."--Jacket