Thisgroundbreaking,five-volumeseriesoffersacomprehensive,fullyillustratedhistoryofEgyptandWesternAsia(theLevant,Anatolia,Mesopotamia,andIran),fromtheemergenceofcomplexstatestotheconquestofAlexandertheGreat.Writtenbyadiverse,internationalteamofleadingscholarswhoseexpertisebringstolifethepeople,places,andtimesoftheremotepast,thevolumesinthisseriesfocusfirmlyonthepoliticalandsocialhistoriesofthestatesandcommunitiesoftheancientNearEast.Individualchapterspresentthekeytextualandmaterialsourcesunderpinningthehistoricalreconstruction,payingparticularattentiontothemostrecentarchaeologicalfindsandtheirimpactonourhistoricalunderstandingoftheperiodssurveyed.ThefifthandfinalvolumeoftheOxfordHistoryoftheAncientNearEastcoverstheperiodfromthesecondhalfofthe7thcenturyBCuntilthecampaignsofAlexanderIIIofMacedon(336-323BC)broughtanendtotheAchaemenidDynastyandthePersianEmpire.Tyingtogetherareasandpoliticaldevelopmentscoveredbypreviousvolumesintheseries,thistitlecoversalsothePersianEmpire’simmediatepredecessorstates:SaiteEgypt,theNeo-BabylonianEmpire,andLydia,amongotherkingdomsandtribalalliances.Thechaptersinthisvolumefeatureawiderangeofarchaeologicalandtextualsources,withcontributorsdisplayingamasterfultreatmentofthechallengesandadvantagesoftheavailablematerials.Twochaptersfocusonareasthathavenotenjoyedprominenceinanyofthepreviousvolumesofthisseries:easternIranandCentralAsia.Thisvolumeisthenecessaryandcomplementaryfinalcomponentofthiscomprehensiveseries.
