Bronze Age Mesopotamia?Sumer

[Ade G]

A friend at the club has asked for recommendations for warfare in the Mesopotamian Bronze Age with a focus on Sumer - I have told him about the two Nigel's WRG tome (new one soon?) but wonder if there is anything readable and relatively up to date?

[Duncan Head]

I'd start with Bill Hamblin's Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History.

[Ade G]

I will pass that on - thank you Duncan

[Jon Freitag]

For Sumeria, I thought Chris Flaherty's work was useful.

[Jim Webster]

I'd start with Bill Hamblin's Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History.

Just to second that one, I think at one time it was on web as a pdf, free

[stevenneate]

Hamblin's book is excellent and readily accessible. From the history side, I would look at (the late) Amelie Kurht's 2 volume The Ancient Near East. It's one of my all-time favourite reads.

[simonw]

Ygael Yadin's 'Art of war in Biblical Lands'. Might take a bit of finding to buy but illustrations are excellent and should be available in Libraries. I managed to buy a copy a few years back from a second hand bookshop for £20.

[Mark G]

Worth checking religious bookshops for the Yadin.  I got mine from one at a low price that can only be explained by the lack of Christian content concerning the sellers.

Also, there are two versions, a single and a double folio edition - afaik identical in content

[Jon Freitag]

I see prices for Yadin all over the board.  If you are patient, you can pick them up for (what I think are) bargain prices.  If you were in the States, I could send you the two-volume version.

[Erpingham]

It's worth shopping around for second hand copies of Yadin.  Massive price variation, dependent in part on condition.

I see Oxfam are offering one in their sale for £5.99

[Ade G]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions -