Synopses & Reviews
This book investigates the archaeological, epigraphic, and biblical evidence for the course of Ammon's history, setting it squarely within the context of ancient Near Eastern imperialism. Drawing on cross-cultural parallels from the archaeology of empires, Tyson elucidates the dynamic processes by which the local Ammonite elite made the cousins of biblical Israel visible to history. Tyson explain changes in the region of Ammon during the Iron Age II, namely the increasing numbers of locally produced elite items as well as imports, growth in the use of writing for administrative and display purposes, and larger numbers of sedentary settlements; in the light of the transformative role that the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires played in the ancient Near East. The study also widens the conversation to consider cross-cultural examples of how empires affect peripheral societies.
About the Author
Craig W. Tyson, Ph.D. (University of Michigan) is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at D'Youville College in Buffalo, NY, USA. His publications and research interests focus on the social history of the Levant and literary readings of the Hebrew Bible.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
2. The Amman Plateau: Late Bronze through Iron Age IIA (ca. 1400-900 BCE)
3. The Archaeology of the Amman Plateau in the Iron IIB-C (900-500 BCE)
4. Epigraphic Sources for Ammonite History
5. Biblical and Postbiblical Sources for Ammonite History
6. Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylon Imperialism
7. The Economy of the Amman Plateau
8. Societal Change in the Iron Age
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index