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Babylon

Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization

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About this listen

Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place.

In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period and explores the political and social systems, as well as the technical and cultural innovations, which made this land extraordinary. At the heart of this book is the story of Babylon, which rose to prominence under the Amorite king Hammurabi from about 1800 BCE. Even as Babylon's fortunes waxed and waned, it never lost its allure as the ancient world's greatest city.

Engaging and compelling, Babylon reveals the splendor of the ancient world that laid the foundation for civilization itself.

©2010 Paul Kriwaczek (P)2019 Tantor Ancient Civilization Middle East World Mesopotamia Ancient History Thought-Provoking Africa Royalty Ancient Greece Middle Ages Iran
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Derek Perkins narrates this brilliantly
The author has given just the right amount of information about this fascinating area of the world and its people, we owe so much to them .

Great book

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I loved learning about a subject I had very little knowledge of. If you have even a small interest in ancient history you'll enjoy this.

Fascinating Listen

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This is a comment about the book, not the recording.

The author continuously introduce his political opinions as historical facts. Across the book, he makes ahistorical judgements about how progressive the Mesopotamian were. Although a conservative, I don't mind reading progressive opinions, what I don't like is buying a book to learn about history and finding a political essay.

Obscene modern political propaganda

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The going back and forth from today to ancient times was confusing, at times. Very informative and a wealth of knowledge into my ears and mind.

The performance was excellent, clear, satisfying voice

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This was extremely thought provoking. it's my 4th book on this subject and this was perhaps the one that most brought it to life. This connected cities, cultures myths and religions across the vast swathes of time. Epic journey through time.

Epic journey to origins of civilization

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