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Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
- A New History of the Ancient Near East
- Narrated by: Amanda H. Podany
- Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
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Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
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Summary
In this sweeping history of the ancient Near East, Amanda Podany takes listeners on a gripping journey from the creation of the world's first cities to the conquests of Alexander the Great. The book is built around the life stories of many ancient men and women, from kings, priestesses, and merchants to brickmakers, musicians, and weavers. Their habits of daily life, beliefs, triumphs, and crises, and the changes that people faced over time are explored through their own written words and the buildings, cities, and empires in which they lived.
Weavers, Scribes, and Kings creates a tapestry of life stories through which listeners will come to know individuals from many walks of life, and to understand their places within the broad history of events and institutions in the ancient Near East. These stories are preserved on ancient clay tablets, which allow us to trace, for example, the career of a weaver as she advanced to become a supervisor of a workshop, listen to a king trying to persuade his generals to prepare for a siege, and feel the pain of a starving couple and their four young children as they suffered through a time of famine. What might seem at first glance to be a remote and inaccessible ancient culture proves to be a comprehensible world, one that bequeathed to the modern world many of our institutions and beliefs, a fascinating place to visit.
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What listeners say about Weavers, Scribes, and Kings
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-03-24
Bringing ancient alive
Learning about the truly wonderful resources we now have to build pictures of life so many millennia ago. Loved the emphasis on the lower strara of society whilst maintaining an overall narrative arc of the flow of power at the top. Beautifully read. Thanks to 'The History Hit' podcast for bringing it to my attention.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Martin Jee
- 10-11-24
Very detailed and accessible history of ancient Mesopotamia
The level of detail here is fantastic. It’s very easy to listen to. It is 20 hours long so I had expected it to drag a bit and it did. But if you want a thorough introduction or deeper dive into the people behind the birth of writing and the first cities then this is your book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Matthew Cawthorne
- 29-03-23
The earliest history brought vividly to life!
A leading world authority on the emergence of Mesopotamian civilisation from the Middle Bronze Age, Professor Podany has skilfully marshalled the latest scholarship to animate rich and varied stories from the region.
Not all academics make the best communicators, but in this case, the author’s performance is highly engaging; more so, in all probability, than it would have been if read by a voice artist.
This tour de force is strongly recommended to all with an interest in the Middle East, in the birth of the modern world, and in particular those who are curious about how so much about the ancient can be inferred from relatively little evidence.
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3 people found this helpful