Between the Rivers: The History of Ancient Mesopotamia

By: Alexis Q. Castor, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Alexis Q. Castor

All cultures lie in the shadow of ancient Mesopotamia-the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that is now mostly encompassed by the borders of modern Iraq. In this fascinating series of 36 lectures, an award-winning teacher leads you on a vivid journey through Mesopotamian history-from Neolithic times to the age of Alexander the Great-and into the lives of mighty emperors, struggling farmers, ambitious merchants, and palace servants to reveal why this ancient culture occupies such a foundational position in our history.

The lectures look back to the time when the first cities arose in Mesopotamia and kings created complex bureaucracies to rule their expanding territories, thus fostering the invention of writing and other technologies. You peer into the lives and fortunes of Mesopotamia's people and learn about the birth of the urban lifestyle.

Professor Castor creates a detailed image not only of larger Mesopotamian society but of life on the level of the individual Mesopotamian as well. Among the many fascinating insights into daily Mesopotamian life you examine are how they ate, worked, learned, worshiped, married, and reared children; used scientific ideas to help them order and understand the natural world; engaged with their powerful neighbors in Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia (modern-day Turkey); waged war and experienced peace; and endured the collapse of their cities.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2006 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2006 The Great Courses

Outstanding Narration, Good Blend of Topics

Professor Castor’s crisp enunciation and measured delivery really helped make this an enjoyable listen; I seldom had to hit the Rewind icon to catch something I missed and never had to reduce the narration speed. The series is a good blend of history, archaeology, biography, vignettes of everyday life, and short retellings of legends with just the right amount of detail and no assumption of previous knowledge.

an accurate and current update on ancient Mesopota

it was nice to get a lecture series that represents the most current scholarship and research on the topic of ancient Mesopotamia. well done and informative.

Very detailed, but hard to follow at times

This is a fantastically rich history, but I wouldn't recommend it as a FIRST introduction to Mesopotamia. I'd start with the Great Courses "Life in Ancient Mesopotamia," which is less detailed but gives a more vivid outline. Then flesh out the details with this course.

so THAT is who sargon is!

wait a sec, im confused.

according to google, sargon of akkad is a youtuber who just wanted to play videogames until an evil witch named anita started misrepresenting the gamergate movement and the nuanced topic of minority representation in video games?!?

Very educational

This was a great fun. Very in depth but, very fun too. I love the lecture on the food of ancient Mesopotamia.

Good course on ancient Mesopotamia

I found the facts of the history fascinating. I found the narrator to be a little dry, and it took some getting used to. Overall I thought it was good, and enjoyed it

Excellent Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamia

Other reviewers complained that the first few introductory lectures were too long or that the presentation was bland. I believe that this probably stems from a lack of appreciation of standard academic rigor. The Professor's careful explanation of 'how we know what we know' is an invaluable insight that most mainline textbooks or introductions seem to render peripheral or even ignore. This creates a false sense of epistemic confidence with something that is, admittedly, a rough reconstruction of the past. The reference to the looting of the Iraq museum makes this point that much more clear.

Great Detail, Horrible Presentation

Alexis Castor has a special talent. Not only can she take an incredibly intriguing period of history and make it as boring as possible, but she does so with a uniquely annoying verbal cadence. She will take awkward pauses right in the middle of about every third sentence. To be fair, she presents an incredible amount of information. Even someone very familiar with the time period will learn a lot. But that is only true if they can stay awake and not rage quit when her annoying speech mannerisms get on their last nerve.

Too dry

Some interesting information but the professor is so dry and monotone that it is excruciating to listen to.

Concise

Great complimentary and overview for anyone studying the subject. A PDF with maps, etc. included