Amanda H. Podany is Professor of History at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is the author of The Ancient Near Eastern World (OUP).

This is a lively, enjoyable book, effectively hiding the fact that it is based on an enormous amount of painstaking research.

• A Word about Chronology and TranslationCast of CharactersTime LineAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: The Early Dynastic Period and Akkadian Empire, 1500-2000 BCECh 1: The First Evidence for Diplomacy ("I am your brother and you are my brother")Ch 2: Traders and Ships from Different Lands ("At the wharf of Akkad he made moor ships") Part II: The Old Babylonian Period, 2000-1595 BCECh 3: War and Allegiance ("I have always done good things for him and his heart knows the good deeds that I have done for him")Ch 4: Long Journeys away from Home ("Who is there who would sell lapis-lazuli?") Part III: A Time of Crisis and Change, 1595-1400 BCECh 5: Attack on Babylon by a Distant Enemy ("I sent to a far-off land")Ch 6: A Clash between Expanding Empires ("Prepare yourselves! Make your weapons ready! For one will engage in combat with that wretched foe in the morning")Ch 7: Diplomatic Overtures between the Great Powers ("A notable event! The like of this occurrence had not been heard of since the time of the demigods" Part IV: The Amarna Age, 1400-1300 BCECh 8: Brother Kings United and at Peace ("My brother, whom I love and who loves me")Ch 9: Diplomatic Marriages ("We, between us, are one, the Hurrian land and the land of Egypt ")Ch 10: Luxury Goods from Eveyrwhere ("The gold is much. Among the kings there are brotherhood, amity, peace, and good relations")Ch 11: A Crisis in the Brotherhood ("My father became hostile")Ch 12: The End of an Empire and the Restoration of Peace ("My ancestors and your ancestors made a mutual declaration of friendship")EpilogueAbbreviationsNotesFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex

Amanda H. Podany is Professor of History at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is the author of The Ancient Near Eastern World (OUP).

This is a lively, enjoyable book, effectively hiding the fact that it is based on an enormous amount of painstaking research.

• A Word about Chronology and TranslationCast of CharactersTime LineAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: The Early Dynastic Period and Akkadian Empire, 1500-2000 BCECh 1: The First Evidence for Diplomacy ("I am your brother and you are my brother")Ch 2: Traders and Ships from Different Lands ("At the wharf of Akkad he made moor ships") Part II: The Old Babylonian Period, 2000-1595 BCECh 3: War and Allegiance ("I have always done good things for him and his heart knows the good deeds that I have done for him")Ch 4: Long Journeys away from Home ("Who is there who would sell lapis-lazuli?") Part III: A Time of Crisis and Change, 1595-1400 BCECh 5: Attack on Babylon by a Distant Enemy ("I sent to a far-off land")Ch 6: A Clash between Expanding Empires ("Prepare yourselves! Make your weapons ready! For one will engage in combat with that wretched foe in the morning")Ch 7: Diplomatic Overtures between the Great Powers ("A notable event! The like of this occurrence had not been heard of since the time of the demigods" Part IV: The Amarna Age, 1400-1300 BCECh 8: Brother Kings United and at Peace ("My brother, whom I love and who loves me")Ch 9: Diplomatic Marriages ("We, between us, are one, the Hurrian land and the land of Egypt ")Ch 10: Luxury Goods from Eveyrwhere ("The gold is much. Among the kings there are brotherhood, amity, peace, and good relations")Ch 11: A Crisis in the Brotherhood ("My father became hostile")Ch 12: The End of an Empire and the Restoration of Peace ("My ancestors and your ancestors made a mutual declaration of friendship")EpilogueAbbreviationsNotesFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex