Letters of the Great Kings of the Ancient Near East : The Royal Correspondence of the Late Bronze Age

From the seventeenth to the twelfth centuries BCE, the five Great Kings of Egypt, Babylon, Hatti (the kingdom of the Hittites), Mitanni and Assyria ruled over vast, complex territories.

One of the secrets to their control was frequent communication by letter.

Many of these letters survive to the present day, offering fascinating insights into the people and politics of the ancient near Eastern kingdoms.

Trevor Bryce uses the letters as the focus of a fresh look at this turbulent and volatile region in the late Bronze Age.

Throughout the book, numerous extracts from the letters themselves are constantly interwoven into the fabric of narrative and discussion.

This lively approach allows us to witness history through the eyes of the people who lived it, revealing the personalities and reactions of kings, queens, princes, princesses and royal officials more than 3500 years ago to the current events of the day.