Analysis of the empires that dominated the scene from the 9th to the 4th century BC in the Ancient Orient, in the interpretation of a great archaeologist.
[The Great Empires. 1000-330 BC] In this fourth volume of the prestigious work on the Ancient Orient, Paolo Matthiae provides analysis of the empires that dominated the scene from the 9th century BC to the age of Alexander the Great: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medians and the Persians.
The volume begins with an essay outlining the historical and artistic profile of the period, a period in which the universalistic tendencies of political and military power tended to unify conquered peoples, and one that produced some of the greatest artistic masterpieces of the oriental civilizations. Other essays then provide more detailed analysis of the architecture, sculpture, painting and “minor arts” of each of the civilizations examined.