| Happy Wanderer | 12 Jun 2012 12:53 p.m. PST |
Gents, Can anyone tell me what reading material they would advise for the good ‘juice' on the Sumerians, dynastic state wars, etc. I like to set the scene with some good background reading that is engaging….not particularly dry reading if you follow me. Is there a history of Sargon's time of rule or something like that. I kinow military history on this subject is sparse but are their any gems out there? Even a good fiction book would be useful to provide some meat to the imagination on the Sumerians. There are some great 28mm ranges out now but some good background to their use would make things a bit more enticing. Cheers Happy Wanderer |
 The Editor   | 12 Jun 2012 1:07 p.m. PST |
Seems like most of the books you can find are the old-but-still-good Samuel Noah Kramer titles. Not the most exciting reading material, but not as dull as some historians. Some of his work: History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Man's Recorded History The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character |
 zippyfusenet  | 12 Jun 2012 2:11 p.m. PST |
Genesis 14. 'Amraphel King of Shinar' is thought by many to be Hammurabi, founder of the Babylonian empire. Slightly past the end of your period, but not of that era: link |
| Huscarle | 12 Jun 2012 11:07 p.m. PST |
A bit later, but for fiction you could try Nicholas Guild's "The Assyrian" & its sequel "The Blood Star" link |
Rapier Miniatures  | 13 Jun 2012 2:59 a.m. PST |
Well Hammurabi is in the bible, it is from his laws that you get, 'an eye for an eye'. |
 Mardaddy | 13 Jun 2012 3:46 p.m. PST |
You might want to check out the writings of Zecharia Sitchen, link A buddy of mine loves the imaginative themes of his work and the, "juice," as long as you keep in mind it's not canon. He is a tad (ahem) discredited for mistranslating and writing "pseudohistory," and for sure you gotta bypass completely the, "12th planet," theory stuff, but my buddy claims there are some good thematic gems to get into the Sumerian culture. |
| zippyfusenet | 13 Jun 2012 4:33 p.m. PST |
Of course you want to absorb the Gilgamesh Epic: link Best if you can have a bard declaim it to you while you swill barley beer. There's quite a bit of interpretation of Sumerian myth and culture in The Necronomicon: link Make sure you have the Ed Simon book, and not one of the other volumes by this title. |
| HUBCommish | 13 Jun 2012 7:40 p.m. PST |
"Between the Rivers" by Harry Turtledove is a fun novel set in a fantasy version of Sumeria. It won't help you with historical events, but it might give you a feel for the time and how the people lived. link Scott |
| colin knight | 13 Jun 2012 10:37 p.m. PST |
Not able add much to above suggestions. Could try H Crawford Sumerian book. Also sure have seen cuttingedgeminiatures.com 28mm with lots of info in figure descriptions. |
| CooperSteveOnTheLaptop | 13 Jun 2012 11:51 p.m. PST |
Nicholas Guild is great, but novels set in the New Assyrian Empire do not tell you much about Sumer… 'Gilgamesh the King' by Robert Silverberg, on the other hand… |
| zippyfusenet | 14 Jun 2012 8:21 a.m. PST |
Did Bob Silverberg write a Gilgamesh novel? I'll have to track it down. I always liked his science fiction, and his historical novels have been good, too. |
| CooperSteveOnTheLaptop | 14 Jun 2012 1:21 p.m. PST |
He wrote 2! Gilgamesh the King is a straight novelisation of the Sumerian stories, TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING has Enkidu & Gilgamesh thousands of years into the afterlife, the plot includes HP Lovecraft & Robert E Howard driving to the court of Prester John to form an alliance with Elizabeth I against Henry VIII… if I remember rightly! |
| sumerandaccad | 14 Jun 2012 1:56 p.m. PST |
Perhaps you may like Sam Barones' series on the rise of Akkad. 'Dawn Of Empire'; 'Empire Rising' and 'Quest of Honour' Hoping to get a Sumerian army for fathers day (6mm), fingers crossed! |
| Happy Wanderer | 15 Jun 2012 4:22 p.m. PST |
Gents, Thanks one and all for some very useful leads. Regards HappyW |
