PREFACEThe present volume contains an account of the most important additionswhich have been made to our knowledge of the ancient history of Egyptand Western Asia during the few years which have elapsed since thepublication of Prof. Maspero's _Histoire Ancienne des Peuples del'Orient Classique_, and includes short descriptions of the excavationsfrom which these results have been obtained. It is in no sense aconnected and continuous history of these countries, for that hasalready been written by Prof. Maspero, but is rather intended as anappendix or addendum to his work, briefly recapitulating and describingthe discoveries made since its appearance. On this account wehave followed a geographical rather than a chronological system ofarrangement, but at the same time the attempt has been made to suggestto the mind of the reader the historical sequence of events.At no period have excavations been pursued with more energy andactivity, both in Egypt and Western Asia, than at the present time, andevery season's work obliges us to modify former theories, and extendsour knowledge of periods of history which even ten years ago wereunknown to the historian. For instance, a whole chapter has been addedto Egyptian history by the discovery of the Neolithic culture of theprimitive Egyptians, while the recent excavations at Susa are revealinga hitherto totally unsuspected epoch of proto-Elamite civilization.Further than this, we have discovered the relics of the oldesthistorical kings of Egypt, and we are now enabled to reconstitute frommaterial as yet unpublished the inter-relations of the early dynastiesof Babylon. Important discoveries have also been made with regard toisolated points in the later historical periods. We have thereforeattempted to include the most important of these in our survey of recentexcavations and their results. We would again remind the reader thatProf. Maspero's great work must be consulted for the complete history ofthe period, the present volume being, not a connected history of Egyptand Western Asia, but a description and discussion of the manner inwhich recent discovery and research have added to and modified ourconceptions of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilization.CONTENTSI. The Discovery of Prehistoric EgyptII. Abydos and the First Three DynastiesIII. Memphis and the PyramidsIV. Recent Excavations in Western Asia and the Dawn of Chaldæan HistoryV. Elam and Babylon, the Country of the Sea and the KassitesVI. Early Babylonian Life and CustomsVII. Temples and Tombs of ThebesVIII. The Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires in the Light of RecentResearchIX. The Last Days of Ancient EgyptEGYPT AND MESOPOTAMIA_In the Light of Recent Excavation and Research_