History of Babylonia and Assyria 2 Volume Set (Cambridge Library Collection - Archaeology)

Robert W.

Rogers (1864–1930), American professor of biblical exegesis, became fascinated by the Hebrew language as a boy, when trying to understand the Book of Job, and subsequently studied ancient languages and history in Leipzig and Oxford, where he became a friend of A.

H.

Sayce.

In this two-volume 1901 work, he provides a history of the Mesopotamian civilisations, but begins with an extensive review of the archaeological and literary sources of information, opening with the earliest accounts of Western travellers.

Volume 1 then continues with a discussion of the environment and resources, and the peoples and the chronology of the area, before beginning a narrative of Babylonian history.

Volume 2 deals with the history of Assyria and of the Chaldean empire.

The work, with its detailed review of and reliance on original sources, is still valuable as an introduction to a long period of ancient Middle Eastern history.