L. DeBlois and R. J. Van der Spek, An Introduction to the Ancient World.

Translated by Susan Melior. London, UK/New York, NY: Routledge, 1997. Pp. xx + 321. Paper, $25.99

De Blois and Spek's book focuses on the history of civilizations surrounding the Mediterranean Sea: namely, the ancient Near East, the Greek, and the Roman civilizations. The writers intend for it to be an introduction to the ancient history of this area, from 3500 BCE (the beginning of city-states and writing) to 500 CE (the fall of the western Roman Empire). After a cursory overview of kingdoms of the third and second millennium BCE, however, the authors turn to their primary focus, which is upon the Greek and Roman civilizations (about 700 BCE to 500 CE).They choose to present the aspects of history: i.e., the social, political, and cultural processes, that influenced later western civilizations. Although they concentrate on political history, they do not ignore the significant contributions of religion, science, literature, philosophy, and other cultural aspects to history. The target audience for this book is undergraduate college students (it is intended specifically as a textbook), but it should prove of value to anyone interested in ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean history.

The authors divide the book into three major sections: Ancient Near East, Greece, and Rome. In the first section, divided by millennia and topics), they give only the bare essentials of the political history of the major peoples and empires of the third and second millennia BCE. They mention few if any individuals by name, who are usually associated with the various kingdoms; but they do point out specific contributions these peoples made to western civilization, such as writing (p. 10), the invention of the chariot (p. 21), and an alphabetic script (p. 33). They also highlight the connection between the Near East and Europe--i.e., they show how the various cultures came into contact with and influenced each other. But they devote as little as one paragraph to some peoples (Old Assyrian Empire [p. 19] and Mittani [pp. 24-25]), which I think is an insufficient amount of information even for the vaguest understanding of a particular group's history. They do, however, include chapters on ancient Near Eastern religion, economy and society, and government--all of which I thought were quite helpful.

After the section on the Ancient Near East, the writers furnish two sections that are obviously within their areas of special expertise: Greek and Roman civilization. The former chronicles the political history of the culture while providing information concerning Greek influence on later western culture. De Blois and Spek provide many more names here than in the previous section, including those of rulers, military leaders, and philosophers. The information is presented concisely, yet includes all the major events and players.

Half the book is devoted to the history of the Roman Empire, as it probably should be, given the importance of the Roman Empire to western civilization. Like the section on Greek civilization, in this one too the writers give us a masterful introductory work. They trace the history and culture of the Roman Empire from the Etruscans to the fall of the western Empire to European invaders. Like the Greek section, the Roman is well written, including the basic information on all the complexities that made up the Mediterranean world under the Romans, such as politics, government, organization, religion, culture, and key persons.

This book contains many helpful maps, charts, and black-and-white pictures. Most of the pictures have captions that provide significant details. Also included are appendices on Greek and Roman names, on money, and on Roman emperors. A categorized selected bibliography will direct the avid history student to more specific works in particular areas. The volume concludes with a combined index on selected topics, persons, and places.

Overall, I found the book quite readable and informative. De Blois and Spek have successfully written a book that presents ancient history in a manner that helps one to understand how modern western society has derived much of its culture from these ancient civilizations.

Terry W. Eddinger
Houston Graduate School of Theology
NC Campus
High Point NC 27262