The Amorites and the Bronze Age Near East
The Amorites and the Bronze Age Near East
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In this book, Aaron A. Burke explores the evolution of Amorite identity in the Near East from ca. 2500–1500 BC. He sets the emergence of a collective identity for the Amorites, one of the most famous groups in Ancient Near Eastern history, against the backdrop of both Akkadian imperial intervention and declining environmental conditions during this period. Tracing the migration of Amorite refugees from agropastoral communities into nearby regions, he shows how mercenarism in both Mesopotamia and Egypt played a central role in the acquisition of economic and political power between 2100 and 1900 BC. Burke also examines how the establishment of Amorite kingdoms throughout the Near East relied on traditional means of legitimation, and how trade, warfare, and the exchange of personnel contributed to the establishment of an Amorite koiné. Offering a fresh approach to identity at different levels of social hierarchy over time and space, this volume contributes to broader questions related to identity for other ancient societies.
- Provides a unique and synthetic perspective on the formation and maintenance of the identity of a familiar people group in ancient Near Eastern history and biblical studies
- Articulates a working approach to identity at different levels of social hierarchy, through time, and across a large geographic region
- A book-length study that exposes the role played by environmental changes and niche exploitation in the creation and maintenance of group identity
Reviews & endorsements
'The author successfully combines the textual evidence with archaeological sources and he provides a fitting hypothesis on the origin of the Amorite identities and how they evolved over a long stretch of time. Future studies on the Amorites will have to engage with this book and the ideas therein.' Rients de Boer, Bibliotheca Orientalis
Product details
December 2020Hardback
9781108495967
456 pages
259 × 183 × 25 mm
1.05kg
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction: Amorites, their legacy, and the study of identity
- 2. Communities at the margins: the origins of Amorite identity, 2500–2200 B.C.
- 3. Beyond pastoralism: diaspora and opportunity, 2200–2000 B.C.
- 4. Mercenaries and merchants: networks of political and economic power, 2000–1800 B.C.
- 5. Competition and emulation: the Amorite Koiné from Dilmun to Avaris, 1800–1500 B.C. 6. Conclusion: Amorite identity in the long durée.
