Book recommendations?

[Basementboy]

Precisely what the title says- I’m interested in any military history books discussing the ancient Near/Middle East. I’m looking for anything from Sumer to the Sassanid Persian dynasty- though anything about the successor states/Parthian empire would be particularly valuable! thanks so much in advance! 

[SJWi]

Are you after general histories covering long swathes of time or period specific books ? I'll look at my stash in the morning and give you some recommendations.

[Basementboy]

I’ll take whatever you got, mate! Looking forward to it 

[Mad Gadgeteer]

Here are some off the top of my head.

'The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in the Light of Archaeological Study' (2 volumes) by Yigael Yadin.

'Battles of the Bible' by Mordechai Gichon and Chaim Herzog

'Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC' by William J. Hamblin

'Armies of the Near East - 3000 BC to 539 BC: Organisation, Tactics, Dress and Equipment' by Nigel Stillman, Nigel Tallis

And don't forget the various titles from Osprey.

https://www.ospreypublishing.com/us/osprey-publishing/period/ancient-warfare/

For grins-n-giggles here is a blog dedicated to wargaming the Ancient Near East.

https://sumer2sargon.blogspot.com/2012/07/welcome.html

[SJWi]

Basementboy, Madgeteerr has covered some Middle East general books but I would point out that the Yadin and Herzog books are now a tad dated, but still useful especially for Israelite topics. The Ospreys can be a bit hit or miss. The very general ones are too thin, so select carefully.

I'll concentrate on Alexander's immediate Successors and the Parthians. I think most of what I list are still in print and available.

Two volumes by Bob Bennet and Mike Roberts entitles "The Wars of Alexander's Successors" .  Vol 1 covers "Commanders and Campaigns", Vol 2 "Battles and Tactics". Page count for the two together 400 pages.

"The Perdiccas Years" by Tristan Hughes. Covers 323-320BC

"Dividing the Spoils" by Robin Waterfield. Covers to circa 280BC

"Ghosts Around the Throne" by James Romm. Covers to the death of Cleopatra, Alexander's sister.

There are many more books on specific armies such as the Ptolemaic and Seleucids, plus a trilogy on the Seleucid Empire if you are interested.

I don't have many books on the Parthians specifically. I would avoid the Osprey Men-at-Arms book as it is thin and now quite old.  However they are covered in the following;

"Shadows in the Desert; Ancient Persia at War" by Dr Kaveh Farrokh. This book covers the Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids"

"The Defeat of Rome" by Gareth Sampson. Covers Crassus' Carrhae campaign of 53BC

There is also a wargamer's guide to the Parthians by Jim Webster. Published for the Impetus ruleset it is a fairly useful introduction to the Parthian army. It is available as a download from Wargames Vault for less than $5.

If there are any more specifics you are interested in happy to dig deeper in my library.

 
   
 

[Emir of Askaristan]

Id have a look at
The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 7, The Hellenistic Monarchies and the Rise of Rome

It's perhaps a bit old school, but its does cover the broad sweep of the successors. If you can find an old hardback copy it has lovely fold out maps.

After that you can dive into the warren of almost any of the kingdoms and their rulers covered in more modern books.

[Basementboy]

To SJWi- the specific army books and trilogy both sounds fascinating, would love to hear more! And to everyone, thanks so much for the recommends! All extremely useful 

[SJWi]

Ok. I'm off gaming this morning so will supply more detail later.

[Cat]

Thutmose III : The Military Biography of Egypt's Greatest Warrior King by RIchard A. Gabriel goes into detail on the campaigns against numerous opponents that built the Egyptian Empire.

[SJWi]

Basementboy, to expand further on the Successors. The trilogy is by John D Grainger and covers "The Rise of the Seleukid Empire", the "Seleukid Empire of Antiochus III" and "The Fall of the Seleucid Empire". I normally buy my history books hard-copy do I can look at the maps whilst I read, but maps are pretty scarce in these so kindle might be a good bet. A classic on the Seleucid army is "The Seleucid Army; Organisation and Tactics in the Great Campaigns" by B Bar-Kochva .Dates back to 1976 but still recommended even if it does look as if it was written on a 1950s typewriter! A newer book is "The Seleucid Army of Antiochus the Great" . Finally, if the Ptolemaic army of Egypt is more your thing then "The Army of Ptolemaic Egypt 323-204BC; an Institutional and Operational History" may be of interest.     

[Basementboy]

Thank you so much! Will be sure to look for all the recommendations!

[SJWi]

You might need a deep wallet! I've been collecting my library for 40+ years.