- Mountains and Lowlands is an engaging exploration of the history of
ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and Iran from 6000 BC-AD 650Ancient
Mesopotamia and Iran are usually treated separately or as part of a much
broader 'Ancient Near East'. However, the developments that lie at the
root of our own world - farming, cities, writing, organized religion,
warfare - were forged in the tensions and relations between the
inhabitants of lowland Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) and the highlands of
Iran. Mountains and Lowlands explores this relationship providing a
detailed but accessible account covering the period 6000 BC AD 650, from
the development of the first agricultural communities to the coming of
Islam. The story is told through the superlative Ancient Near Eastern
collections in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, supplemented by images of
photographs of archaeological sites and of iconic pieces in other
collections including the Louvre, Paris. The discussion is further
supported by six maps commissioned especially for this publication.
Contents: 1. Introduction 2. From Village to City: 6000-3000 BC 3. From
City to Kingdom: 3000-1500 BC 4. From Kingdom to Empire: 1500-500 BC 5.
From India to Egypt: 500 BC-AD 650
