Robert William Rogers (1864–1930)

A section of a greater history of Assyria and Babylon chronicling the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

This section is part of the same book as "The History of the Assyrian Empire." It was written at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries and reflects the prevailing cultural assumptions and writing styles of that time.

While there are no doubt more contemporary studies on Babylon, Rogers does well at setting forth the general narrative of the Neo-Babylonian Empire based on primary sources available at the time. We've been able to fill in a few details here and there but the general story remains the same.

Worthwhile for its purpose.… (más)

An excerpt from a presumably greater history of the ancient Near East or of Semitic peoples featuring the history of Assyria from prehistory to the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 604 BCE.

The book from which this section is excerpted is most likely from the turn of the century...the 19th to 20th century. The author is a fan of race theory, and will argue that difficulties in Assyria and Babylon sometimes are due to "mixed blood" with foreigners. Then again, that was a thing a century ago.

Yet, in general, the author follows the chronicles of Assyria and Babylon uncovered in archaeological expeditions of the 19th century, and brings in the Bible and Greek historical connections when relevant. Nomenclature follows late 19th century standards; we've discovered some details that are missing here (especially about the end), and have found a few more kings in the list (so we consider the Shamaneser II of this book to be actually Shalmaneser III), and it's not always easy to follow the geographical referents. It helps to have at least a decent handle on ancient Near Eastern history in general before approaching this work.

Good luck finding too many more modern histories focusing on Assyria but giving a rather comprehensive view of its history. If you find some, please let me know.

A good resource for what it is: a comprehensive history of Assyria that is over a century old.… (más)