Van De Mieroop M. Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History

Routledge, 1999. — 198 pp. — (Approaching the Ancient World). — ISBN: 0-203-97837-4.History does not begin in classical antiquity. Several cultures in the Near East predate Greek historical tradition by many centuries. To understand the history of one of the main ancient Near Eastern cultures, that of Mesopotamia, the scholar has to rely on cuneiform texts, which represent the oldest tradition of writing in human history, in use for nearly 3,000 years. The number and variety of texts written in the cuneiform script are enormous, and present a unique source for the study of history. This book describes the possibilities and challenges the material presents to the modern historian.
Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History discusses how the abundant Mesopotamian sources can be used for the study of various aspects of history: political, social, economic and gender. Marc Van De Mieroop:
• criticizes disciplinary methodologies which are often informed by a desire to write a history of events;
• scrutinizes the intellectual background of historical writings;
• examines how Mesopotamia’s position as the ‘other’ in classical and biblical writings has influenced scholarship;
• suggests how the cuneiform texts can be used in innovative ways;
• illustrates approaches with examples taken from the entirety of Mesopotamian history.
Cuneiform Texts and the Writing of History provides a challenging introduction to the written sources from Mesopotamia which will be useful to academics and students.
Marc Van De Mieroop is Professor of Ancient Near East History at Columbia University in New York. His previous publications include The Ancient Mesopotamian City (1997).