At the Origins of Politics

History

Buccellati, Giorgio

Ancient Civilizations

Routledge

This volume, now available in English, explores how Mesopotamia's urban revolution in the late fourth millennium B.C. shaped a new mentality, leading to new forms of social interaction, and to the development of the state, its laws and its religion to consolidate new managerial hierarchies in the region.How is it that the phenomenon of the state, a society structured along lines of power that frame individuals in a new supra-organism, suddenly came into being during the fourth millennium B.C.? In this book, Buccellati explores the emergence of statehood and power structures in ancient Mesopotamia against the background of the long prehistoric period. It was the arena in which the earliest cities and states were born and that offers us the first and richest documentation of the development of political life in antiquity. This book provides rich documentation of the causes that led to the formation of the territorial state, tracing its evolution from city-states to universal empires from ca 3500 B.C. to 500 B.C. At the same time, it examines the tension between individual rights and supra-personal systems of power during this period and explores new forms of social interaction that coincided with the economic dimension of the urban revolution. This paradigmatic history, newly translated into English for Anglophone readers, offers a key to understanding modern political forms and their transformations.At the Origins of Politics provides a thorough examination of the development of the state in ancient Mesopotamia, suitable for students, scholars, and researchers working on Near Eastern history and society, and ancient societies and politics more broadly.

“When on High the Heavens…”

This English translation of Giorgio Buccellati's ambitious work offers readers an insightful discussion of ancient Mesopotamian religion and spirituality in its relationship to the biblical ethos. Our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian religion, while shaped by a wealth of archaeological, artistic, and epigraphic evidence, remains limited with regard to a proper hermeneutic approach. In this volume, Buccellati sheds light on the spirituality of Mesopotamian polytheism by drawing comparisons with that of biblical monotheism. These comparisons are used to better understand the divine-human relationship in the Mesopotamian context, as both individuals and members of a wider community. In addition, Buccellati provides detailed discussions on divination and the central role of fate in ancient Mesopotamia. Buccellati's understanding of Mesopotamian religion and spirituality as illuminated by biblical texts, now available to an Anglophone audience, offers much food for thought on this challenging subject. "When on High the Heavens..." Mesopotamian Religion and Spirituality with Reference to the Biblical World provides a wide-ranging and thorough exploration of Mesopotamian religion for students, scholars, and researchers in Near Eastern archaeology and history, biblical studies, and the history of religion and spirituality.

This English translation of Giorgio Buccellati's ambitious work offers readers an insightful discussion of ancient Mesopotamian religion and spirituality in its relationship to the biblical ethos.Our understanding of ancient Mesopotamian religion, while shaped by a wealth of archaeological, artistic, and epigraphic evidence, remains limited with regard to a proper hermeneutic approach. In this volume, Buccellati sheds light on the spirituality of Mesopotamian polytheism by drawing comparisons with that of biblical monotheism. These comparisons are used to better understand the divine-human relationship in the Mesopotamian context, as both individuals and members of a wider community. In addition, Buccellati provides detailed discussions on divination and the central role of fate in ancient Mesopotamia. Buccellati's understanding of Mesopotamian religion and spirituality as illuminated by biblical texts, now available to an Anglophone audience, offers much food for thought on this challenging subject. "When on High the Heavens..." Mesopotamian Religion and Spirituality with Reference to the Biblical World provides a wide-ranging and thorough exploration of Mesopotamian religion for students, scholars, and researchers in Near Eastern archaeology and history, biblical studies, and the history of religion and spirituality.

At The Origins Of Politics

London ; Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group

This book, just like the exhibit that it illustrates, presents the very particular story of an archaeological site in Syria, during the recent eight years of war. The ancient city of Urkesh, today Tell Mozan, in Northeastern Syria, became a center of activities that developed around the archaeological site, a strong and unexpected synergy between a variety of communities and social groups. In strong contrast with the destructive violence of war and the intentional and perverted iconoclastic fury of ISIS, Urkesh has emerged as a source of hope and a reason of pride for the people who live in the area. In this perspective, the project became a model of this new sensitivity that archaeology as a discipline is developing - a sensitivity towards the value of the land as a shared element between the ancients and the people who live there today.

The Millennia for Today: Archaeology Against War: Yesterday's Urkesh in Today's Syria

Ermidoro, Stefania

Mahmoud, Yasmine

Undena Publications

A Critique of Archaeological Reason: Structural, Digital, and Philosophical Aspects of the Excavated Record

In A Critique of Archaeological Reason, Giorgio Buccellati presents a theory of excavation that aims at clarifying the nature of archaeology and its impact on contemporary thought. Integrating epistemological issues with methods of data collection and the role and impact of digital technology on archaeological work, the book explores digital data in order to comprehend its role in shaping meaning and understanding in archaeological excavation. The ability of archaeologists to record in the field, rather than offsite, has fundamentally changed the methods of observation, conceptualization, and interpretation of deposits. Focusing on the role of stratigraphy as the center of archaeological field work, Giorgio Buccellati examines the challenges of interpreting a 'broken tradition'; a civilization for which there are no living carriers today. He uses the site of Urkesh in Syria, where he has worked for decades, as a case study to demonstrate his theory.

Politics & Social Sciences

Archaeology

Cambridge University Press

The purpose of this grammar is to provide a description of Babylonian which may serve both as a systematic theoretical statement of the structure of the language, and as a guide towards a better understanding of the textual record.

A Structural Grammar of Babylonian

Reference

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Harrassowitz

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Buccellati, Giorgio. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Buccellati, Giorgio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Buccellati, Giorgio. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

At the Origins of Politics

At the Origins of Politics

“When on High the Heavens…”

“When on High the Heavens…”

At The Origins Of Politics

The Millennia for Today: Archaeology Against War: Yesterday's Urkesh in Today's Syria

A Critique of Archaeological Reason: Structural, Digital, and Philosophical Aspects of the Excavated Record

A Critique of Archaeological Reason: Structural, Digital, and Philosophical Aspects of the Excavated Record

A Structural Grammar of Babylonian