Amanda H. Podany
Amanda Podany here takes readers on a vivid tour through a thousand years of ancient Near Eastern history, from 2300 to 1300 BCE, paying particular attention to the lively interactions that took place between the great kings of the day. Allowing them to speak in their own words, Podany reveals
how these Near Eastern leaders and their ambassadors devised a remarkably sophisticated system of diplomacy and of trade that extended from the Aegean Sea to Afghanistan, and from the Baltic to central Africa.
The allied kings referred to one another as "brothers," kings with equal power
and influence who were tied to one another through peace treaties and powerful obligations. They were also often bound together as in-laws, as a result of marrying one another's daughters. These rulers had almost never met one another in person, but they felt a strong connection - a real brotherhood
- which gradually made wars between them less common. A remarkable account of a pivotal moment in world history - the establishment of international diplomacy thousands of years before the United Nations - Brotherhood of Kings offers a vibrantly written history of the region often known as the
"cradle of civilization."
Introduction: A Letter
1. The First Evidence for Diplomacy: "I am your brother and you are my brother"
2. Long distance trade before 2200 BCE: "At the wharf of Agade he made moor ships"
3. War and allegiance in the Old Babylonian period: "I have always done good things for him and
his heart knows the good deeds that I have done for him"
4. Mesopotamian contacts with distant lands from 2200 to 1500 BCE: "Who is there who would sell lapis-lazuli?"
5. A diplomatic crisis between Babylonia and Hatti: "I sent to a far-off land"
6. A clash between expanding empires
after 1500 BCE: "Prepare yourselves! Make your weapons ready! For one will engage in combat with that wretched foe in the morning"
7. First diplomatic overtures between the great powers of the Late Bronze Age: "A notable event! The like of this occurrence had not been heard of since the time of
the demigods"
8. Mittani and Egypt united and at peace: "My brother, whom I love and who loves me"
9. Diplomatic marriage in Amarna times: "We, between us, are one, the Hurrian land and the land of Egypt "
10. Luxury goods from everywhere: "The gold is much. Among the kings there are
brotherhood, amity, peace, and good relations"
11. A crisis in the diplomatic relationships: "My father became hostile"
12. The end of Mittani and the restoration of peace: "My ancestors and your ancestors made a mutual declaration of friendship"
Epilogue
Bibliography
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Amanda H. Podany is Professor of History at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is the author of The Ancient Near Eastern World (OUP).
The Ancient Near Eastern World - Amanda H. Podany and Marni McGee
Writing History - William Kelleher Storey and Towser Jones
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