Davide Nadali is Lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

When we look at the Middle East today, there has never been a more significant time for us to think critically and creatively about memory and its multiple, complex roles in the construction, manipulation and demolition of cultural identities. Every day our news media deliver stories of shocking transformations to the tangible and intangible manifestations of memory that constitute the rich archaeological, historical and cultural records of the region. But the past of the Middle East has never been static, never ‘set in stone’, always contested and put to work in ways divisive, inclusive, exclusive and subversive. In this thoughtful and stimulating volume, the authors explore specific case studies illuminating the role of memory, and memory loss, in multiple historical trajectories from ancient Egypt and Iraq/Mesopotamia. All scholars and students of the past have much to learn from engaging with their innovative approaches and interpretations.

• AcknowledgementsIllustrationsIntroduction, by Davide Nadali1. Preserving the Memory of the Mythical Origins: The King's Role Between Tradition and Innovation, by Paolo Matthiae2. The Emergence of Writing and the Construction of Cultural Memory in Egypt, by Federico Contardi3. Community and Individuals: How Memory Affects Public and Private Life in the Ancient Near East, by Davide Nadali4. Embodying the Memory of the Royal Ancestors in Western Syria during the Third and Second Millennia BC: The Case of Ebla and Qatna, by Nicola Laneri5. The Historical Memory of the Late Bronze Age in the Neo-Assyrian Palace Reliefs, by Mehmet-Ali Ataç6. Prioritized Presence: Rulers' Images in the Neo-Assyrian Palace as Devices of Elite Ideological Memory, by Amy Gansell7. The Many Falls of Babylon and the Shape of Forgetting, by Seth Richardson8. War Remembrance Narrative: Negotiation of Memory and Oblivion in the Mesopotamian Art, by Silvana Di Paolo9. From Ancient Egypt to the Mississippi Delta: a comparative approach to Cultural Memory and Forgetting, by Martin BommasIndex

Davide Nadali is Lecturer in Near Eastern Archaeology at the Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

When we look at the Middle East today, there has never been a more significant time for us to think critically and creatively about memory and its multiple, complex roles in the construction, manipulation and demolition of cultural identities. Every day our news media deliver stories of shocking transformations to the tangible and intangible manifestations of memory that constitute the rich archaeological, historical and cultural records of the region. But the past of the Middle East has never been static, never ‘set in stone’, always contested and put to work in ways divisive, inclusive, exclusive and subversive. In this thoughtful and stimulating volume, the authors explore specific case studies illuminating the role of memory, and memory loss, in multiple historical trajectories from ancient Egypt and Iraq/Mesopotamia. All scholars and students of the past have much to learn from engaging with their innovative approaches and interpretations.

• AcknowledgementsIllustrationsIntroduction, by Davide Nadali1. Preserving the Memory of the Mythical Origins: The King's Role Between Tradition and Innovation, by Paolo Matthiae2. The Emergence of Writing and the Construction of Cultural Memory in Egypt, by Federico Contardi3. Community and Individuals: How Memory Affects Public and Private Life in the Ancient Near East, by Davide Nadali4. Embodying the Memory of the Royal Ancestors in Western Syria during the Third and Second Millennia BC: The Case of Ebla and Qatna, by Nicola Laneri5. The Historical Memory of the Late Bronze Age in the Neo-Assyrian Palace Reliefs, by Mehmet-Ali Ataç6. Prioritized Presence: Rulers' Images in the Neo-Assyrian Palace as Devices of Elite Ideological Memory, by Amy Gansell7. The Many Falls of Babylon and the Shape of Forgetting, by Seth Richardson8. War Remembrance Narrative: Negotiation of Memory and Oblivion in the Mesopotamian Art, by Silvana Di Paolo9. From Ancient Egypt to the Mississippi Delta: a comparative approach to Cultural Memory and Forgetting, by Martin BommasIndex