The Ancient East

Hogarth, D. G. (David George), 1862-1927Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 268K words
Chapters: 27

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Ancient East by D. G. HogarthAuthor: Hogarth, D. G. (David George), 1862-1927,Language: English, Class: DS: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: Asia, Release Date: Feb 1, 2005

Editor's review

This book is a concise survey of ancient Near Eastern civilizations by the British archaeologist and historian D. G. Hogarth, a general history written for the ordinary reader. Its value lies not in piling up scholarly detail but in linking the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Syria and Egypt along clear lines, helping readers build a geographical and chronological framework. The prose has the restrained style of early twentieth-century academic writing; the narrative emphasizes political change and cultural exchange, and references to archaeological finds and documentary sources serve the overall argument rather than display. As a public-domain e-book it is a useful sample of how the concept of the "ancient East" was framed by early Western scholars, and it can be read alongside more recent histories of the Near East to observe how scholarly perspectives have shifted. Readers should bear in mind the limitations of its period, as some formulations carry the habitual frameworks of European scholarship at the time. It suits a quick overview before systematic study of ancient world history, or as background reading for more specialized topics.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers interested in ancient world history who want a quick framework for Near Eastern civilizations
History students who need an English public-domain general history as background reading for a course
Readers interested in examining early academic writing styles and the evolution of historiographical ideas
Travelers preparing to visit West Asia or Egypt who want to understand the region's historical context first

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers seeking the latest archaeological findings and contemporary research conclusions
General readers who prefer a Chinese translation and are not comfortable with English originals
Visual learners who need abundant illustrations, maps and detailed chronological tables

Reading tips

Begin with the table of contents and introduction, and mark on a blank map the place names and rivers that recur throughout the book.
After each chapter, summarize in three sentences of your own the main changes and lines of exchange in that region.
Read alongside a contemporary general history of the Near East and note where this book is sketchy or biased because of its period.
List the archaeological sites mentioned in the book separately and check them against publicly available museum materials.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English? Is it hard to read?

The original is in English, an academic general history from the early twentieth century. The sentences are long but the vocabulary is not especially difficult. Readers with university-level English and a willingness to look up place names and personal names can read it through; those who only want an outline can start with the introduction and conclusion.

Are the book's views still reliable today?

As an early work, its account of basic geography and the sequence of civilizations remains useful for reference, but specific dates, ethnic relations and some interpretations have been revised by later archaeology and research. It is best treated as material for the history of historiography and as background reading rather than as final conclusions.

Can I read it without any background in Near Eastern history?

Yes, but it is best to have a chronology or map of ancient world history at hand. The book assumes a minimum familiarity with Mesopotamia, Egypt and the like; without a framework, readers can easily be overwhelmed by names of people and places, so looking things up as you read will make it smoother.

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About the author

Hogarth, D. G. (David George), 1862-1927 Author · British · 1862–1927

David George Hogarth (1862–1927) was a British archaeologist and classical scholar who served as Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Moving between archaeological excavation, the arrangement of artefacts and classical scholarship, he combined field experience with a practical eye for museum administration. His book The Ancient East is addressed to general readers, sketching the civilizations of the ancient Near East in clear, concise prose and stressing the mutual illumination of geography, political change and archaeological evidence. His style is plain rather than jargon-laden, showing a scholar consciously writing for the public. As far as the work held in this catalogue is concerned, Hogarth combines scholarly grounding with readability, offering Chinese readers a useful glimpse of the ancient East as seen by an early twentieth-century British scholar. Public information on Chinese translations of his work and on the details of his life remains limited, and his standing rests chiefly on his archaeological and museum work.