War and Peace in the Ancient World [Hardcover]

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• The first book to focus on war and peace in the ancient world
  
• Takes a global perspective, covering a large number of early civilizations, from China, India and West Asia, through the Mediterranean to the Americas
  
• Features contributions from nineteen distinguished scholars, all of whom are experts in their fields
  
• Offers remarkable insights into the different ways in which ancient societies dealt with a common human challenge
  
• Requires no prior historical knowledge, making it suitable for non-specialists

Series Editor’s Preface vii

Notes on Contributors ix

1 Introduction: Searching for Peace in the Ancient World 1
Kurt A. Raaflaub

2 Making War and Making Peace in Early China 34
Robin D. S. Yates

3 Ancient India: Peace Within and War Without 53
Richard Salomon

4 Water under the Straw: Peace in Mesopotamia 66
Benjamin R. Foster

5 Making, Preserving, and Breaking the Peace with the Hittite State 81
Richard H. Beal

6 Conflict and Reconciliation in the Ancient Middle East: The Clash of Egyptian and Hittite Chariots in Syria, and the World’s First Peace Treaty between “Superpowers” 98
Lanny Bell

7 From Achaemenid Imperial Order to Sasanian Diplomacy: War, Peace, and Reconciliation in Pre-Islamic Iran 121
Josef Wiesehofer