History and Myth from Babylon and the Amorites: The Oldest Stories (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798280565210)

This is unlike any ancient history you have read before. It is conversational, free flowing, and accessible, while still being an in-depth exploration of the middle bronze age in all its intricacies. The section on myth not only tells some of the most impactful myths of the Babylonians, it also discusses their impact on the Babylonian lifestyle and perspective. The section on history is not only kings and wars, but also the effect of the kingdoms on regular people. The section on warfare is not only armaments and logistics, but also a visceral look at reconstructed battles. And the section on daily life covers not only broad subjects like agriculture, law, and medicine, but also a look at what we are able to know about a specific person over the course of his life.

This book is based on the Oldest Stories Podcast, with over 1 million downloads. Focused on the history and myth of Ancient Mesopotamia, Oldest Stories is an engaging, in-depth dive into the history, culture, and mindset of the Ancient Near East and has covered everything from the rise of Sumerian civilization to the Bronze Age Collapse to the controversial history of ancient Israel.

In this volume, we cover one of the most interesting, and often among the most neglected, periods of ancient history, the dynamic Isin-Larsa period and the prosperous Old Babylonian period. This is the age of the Amorites, when crucial foundations were laid that would affect Mesopotamia, other Semitic cultures, and even distant Anatolia. We will witness sophisticated trading empires, read through foundational epics, and follow the ebb and flow of centuries of battle, culminating in a showdown between three of the most interesting and competent rulers in human history, Shamshi-Adad, Rim-Sin, and the unparalleled Hammurabi himself.