BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD

A COMPAN ION TO TH E

ANCIENT NEAR EAST

EDITED BY DANIEL SNELL

A COMPANION TO THE

ANCIENT NEAR EAST

BLACKWELL COMPANIONS TO THE ANCIENT WORLD

This series provides sophisticated and authoritative overviews of periods of ancient history, genres of classical literature, and the most important themes in ancient culture. Each volume comprises between twenty-five and forty concise essays written by individual scholars within their area of specialization. The essays are written in a clear, provocative, and lively manner, designed for an international audience of scholars, students, and general readers.

Ancient History

Literature AND Culture

Published

A Companion to the Ancient Near East Edited by Daniel C. Snell

A Companion to the Hellenistic World Edited by Andrew Erskine

In preparation

A Companion to Ancient History

Edited by Andrew Erskine

A Companion to the Archaic Greek World Edited by Kurt A. Raaflaub and Hans van Wees

A Companion to the Classical Greek World Edited by Konrad Kinzl

A Companion to the Roman Republic Edited by Nathan Rosenstein and Robert Morstein-Marx

A Companion to the Roman Empire Edited by David Potter

A Companion to the Roman Army Edited by Paul Erdkamp

A Companion to Late Antiquity Edited by Philip Rousseau

A Companion to Byzantium Edited by Elizabeth James

Published

A Companion to Latin Literature Edited by Stephen Harrison

In preparation

A Companion to Ancient Epic Edited by John Miles Foley

A Companion to Greek Tragedy Edited by Justina Gregory

A Companion to Classical Mythology Edited by Ken Dowden

A Companion to Greek and Roman

Historiography

Edited by John Marincola

A Companion to Greek Religion Edited by Daniel Ogden

A Companion to Greek Rhetoric Edited by Ian Worthington

A Companion to Roman Rhetoric Edited by William J. Dominik and Jonathan Hall

A Companion to Classical Tradition

Edited by Craig Kallendorf

A Companion to Roman Religion Edited by Jorg RUpke

A COMPANION TO THE

ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Edited by Daniel C. Snell

Blackwell

Publishing

© 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

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The right of Daniel C. Snell to be identified as the Author of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

First published 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A companion to the ancient Near East / edited by Daniel C. Snell.

P. cm. — (Blackwell companions to the ancient world. Ancient history)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-631-23293-1 (hardback : alk. paper)

1. Middle East—Civilization—To 622. I. Snell, Daniel C. II. Series.

DS57.C56 2005 939'.4—dc22

2004012928

A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

Set in 10 on 12.5pt Galliard

By Kolam Information Services Pvt. Ltd, Pondicherry, India Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall

Picture research by Kitty Bocking

The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid-free and elementary chlorine-free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards.

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