Changes

This list concentrates on the economy of the Bronze Age, as it was an important element that helped link the ancient Near East with the broader ancient Old World in Central Asia, India, and Europe through long-distance commerce. This trade helped facilitate emerging patterns of consumerism, entrepreneurial spirit, and the spread of the alphabet and other social ideas. The economy, however, seems alien to us as it was complex and had many aspects to it, spanning from elites in palaces and temples to common urban and nomadic households.

While we often think of temples as being places of religion and nothing more, the reality is temples were foundational and if not critical to economic activity for many Bronze Age cities. Temples were places that held the identity of cities, where the local gods would be housed and worshiped. However, temples also controlled lands and had many people working for them, sometimes acting like land managers and renting or leasing their lands to be farmed. In addition, temples also controlled production of things, including beer and textiles. This required a lot of labor and temples were able to control this labor process, forming what amounted to be factories of workers.

The book covers an interesting history in the Near East during the 14th century BC, when the city of Amarna briefly became the capital in Egypt during the reign of Akhenaten. This period saw a large number of correspondences between vassals and kings with the Egyptian court in the common language of Akkadian. The international correspondences between the kings of Babylon, Assyria, Mitanni, Hittites, and Cyprus demonstrate the gift exchanges and sending of goods between palaces and governments during this time.