"From Achaemenids to Ziwiye and administration to ziggurat, the British Museum Dictionary of the Ancient Near East is a mine of information on the ancient Near Eastern world. It is the only single-volume dictionary to cover the whole area - Mesopotamia, the Levant, Iran, Anatolia and Arabia - from earliest times until the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BC.". "Over 500 extensively cross-referenced and comprehensively indexed entries provide clear explanations and descriptions of the ideas, institutions, sites, peoples and personalities that have shaped an area often described as the cradle of civilization. Each entry is a considered, self-contained essay, signed by an international scholar. Architecture, literature, economics, labour, religion and society are all covered, while more unusual subjects include adultery, crime, drunkenness, eunuchs and sexual behaviour.". "Each entry is followed by a short bibliography enabling readers to pursue topics in greater detail, with summary chronologies for ease of reference. The dictionary is illustrated throughout with photographs and specially commissioned maps, plans of major sites and drawings of reconstructed buildings, sculptures and reliefs."--BOOK JACKET.