Ruthless wars, ambitions of empire and sumptuous palaces that awed all those who came upon them... This course is designed to familiarize students with the diverse textual sources from the Neo-Assyrian (912-612 BCE) and Neo-Babylonian (627/612?539 BCE) periods and to explicate how scholars use them to reconstruct history. In the first part of the seminar, students will deepen their knowledge about the imperial phase of Assyria's history by reading selections from letters, annals and commemorative inscriptions in the original cuneiform. The second part of the course deals with two key Neo-Babylonian kings (Nebuchadnezzar II and Nabonidus) and the shift from the Neo-Babylonian to the Achaemenid (or First Persian) Empire in 539 BCE, with special attention paid to Cyrus II ("Cyrus the Great") and his conquest of Babylon. Themes to be explored during discussions include the political and administrative mechanics of imperial expansion, religious policies, the relationship between Babylonia and Assyria, strategies of diplomacy and the question of cultural clashes and cultural exchange. This course is designed to lay the basis for independent work, such as a BA thesis.