Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon

Empires of the Plain: Henry Rawlinson and the Lost Languages of Babylon
Lesley Adkins

How 19th-century soldier, adventurer and scholar Henry Rawlinson deciphered cuneiform, the world’s earliest writing, and rediscovered Iraq's ancient civilisations.This is the exciting, true adventure story of Henry Rawlinson, a fearless soldier, sportsman and explorer. From 1827 he spent twenty-five years in India, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. A brilliant linguist, fascinated by history, he became obsessed with cuneiform, the world’s earliest writing. An immense inscription on a sheer rock face at Bisitun in Iran was the key to understanding the many cuneiform scripts and languages, and only Rawlinson had the skills to achieve the perilous ascent and copy the monument.In her gripping account, Lesley Adkins relates how Rawlinson triumphed in deciphering the lost languages of Persia and Babylonia, overcoming his bitter rival, Edward Hincks. While Rawlinson was based at Baghdad, incredible palaces with whole libraries of cuneiform clay tablets were unearthed in the ancient mounds of Mesopotamia, from Nineveh to Babylon – the great flood plain of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers that had been fought over by so many powerful empires. His decipherment of the inscriptions resurrected these lost civilisations, revealing fascinating details of everyday life and forgotten historical events. By proving to the astonished Victorian public that people and places in the Old Testament really existed, Rawlinson assured his own place in history.

Empires of the Plain

HENRY RAWLINSON AND THE LOST

LANGUAGES OF BABYLON

Lesley Adkins

Dedication (#ulink_0f09741f-1aaf-5f7b-8619-cb99ea7b3e34)

To Roy, for everything

Contents

Cover (#ud9b8a42d-d57c-5c31-85b3-a70f4edaeea4)

Title Page (#u3221bd0f-925b-5732-b693-105b289781d9)

Dedication (#uffebc615-202b-5d59-afcd-17b324601f4c)

Map (#ue04dd0b1-032c-5bed-bfd1-0a3a155c7b02)

Empires: Key Events (#u2fd8acdf-3780-5ae6-a795-e8cf5467971a)

Rawlinson’s Rock (#u112b2a9b-6c84-548d-8ebc-d56b1105ec95)

ONE: Into India (#u1bd14eab-e02f-5ae6-ada6-c18e8a95f026)

TWO: From Poona to Panwell (#u0859e477-b94a-58f3-9900-e20249a14a51)

THREE: In the Service of the Shah (#u73741653-bcd4-54cd-8fc7-03367aea54fa)

FOUR: The Cuneiform Conundrum (#u7277c57f-6096-5d62-beab-b347e05f0142)

FIVE: Discovering Darius (#uefd4b79c-99d1-5edb-ab8b-649fb093f551)

SIX: Bewitched by Bisitun (#ufdeb231f-4053-5a2c-b3b8-445691075d23)

SEVEN: Royal Societies (#u1bc982ca-1f89-553b-8d31-03b227233a35)

EIGHT: An Afghan Adventure (#litres_trial_promo)

NINE: Back to Baghdad (#litres_trial_promo)

TEN: Introduction to Layard (#litres_trial_promo)

ELEVEN: Old Persian Published (#litres_trial_promo)

TWELVE: Nimrud, Niffer and Nineveh (#litres_trial_promo)

THIRTEEN: An Irish Intruder (#litres_trial_promo)

FOURTEEN: Battling with Babylonian (#litres_trial_promo)

FIFTEEN: A Brief Encounter (#litres_trial_promo)

SIXTEEN: Celebrity (#litres_trial_promo)

SEVENTEEN: Rivals (#litres_trial_promo)

EIGHTEEN: Magic at Borsippa (#litres_trial_promo)

NINETEEN: The Final Test (#litres_trial_promo)

Digging Down to Babylon (#litres_trial_promo)

P.S.: Ideas, Interviews & Features … (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Portrait

Life at a Glance (#litres_trial_promo)

Favourite Reads (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Book (#litres_trial_promo)

A Critical Eye

Cover Story (#litres_trial_promo)

Henry Rawlinson: A Life in Brief (#litres_trial_promo)

Read On (#litres_trial_promo)

Have You Read?

If You Loved This, You’ll Like … (#litres_trial_promo)

Find Out More (#litres_trial_promo)

Bibliography (#litres_trial_promo)

Index (#litres_trial_promo)