The Age of Agade

In this first book-length treatment of the subject, Benjamin Foster draws together over 40 years of research to offer an exhaustive survey of the Akkadian period, which saw the rise of the world’s first known empire. The book covers all aspects of the empire: its history, land and cities, arts, religion, economy and production, military and much more. A final chapter examines how the empire has been presented in modern historiography from the decipherment of cuneiform to the present, including the extensive research of Soviet historians which are summarized here in English for the first time. This is a crucial resource for anyone studying the Ancient Near East.