Bryce T. The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia

Routledge, New York, 2009. — ISBN13: 978–0–415–39485–7. — 944 p.This 500,000 word reference work provides the most comprehensive general treatment yet available of the peoples and places of the regions commonly referred to as the ancient Near and Middle East – covered in this book by the term ancient western Asia – extending from the Aegean coast of Turkey in the west to the Indus river in the east. It contains almost 1,500 entries on the kingdoms, countries, cities, and population groups of Anatolia, Cyprus, Syria–Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Iran and parts of Central Asia, from the Early Bronze Age to the end of the Persian empire.
Trevor Bryce, in collaboration with five international scholars, provides detailed accounts of the Near/Middle Eastern peoples and places known to us from historical records. Each of these entries includes specific references to translated passages from the relevant ancient texts. Numerous entries on archaeological sites contain accounts of their history of excavation, as well as more detailed descriptions of their chief features and their significance within the commercial, cultural, and political contexts of the regions to which they belonged. Illustrated throughout with 140 images and 20 maps, The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia is a much-needed reference resource for students as well as established scholars of history and archaeology, of both the ancient Near Eastern as well as the Classical civilizations. Including substantial essays on a number of
major kingdoms, countries and cities, such as Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Troy, it will also appeal to more general readers who wish to pursue in depth their interest in these civilizations.