Babylon - The Concubine's Son

REVIEWS FOR THE NORMANS SERIES BY H A CULLEY

"A thouroughly enjoyable and gripping read. H A Culley takes us on a breathtaking ride through history. I'm not usually someone who will read a book from cover to cover in one siting but I couldn't put this book down."

"Another solid, good read from H A Culley."

"Wonderful, historical, informative."

BOOK DESCRIPTION

In Bronze Age Mesopotamia Hammurabi narrowly escapes Babylon with his life after his half-brother, Zuuthusu, murders their father and seizes the throne. Although only sixteen, Hammurabi manages to raise an army to overthrow Zuuthusu. Using diplomacy and innovative tactics, he then defeats the neighbouring kingdom of Eshnunna, which has given refuge to Zuuthusu, but his brother escapes again, this time into Elam.
Hammurabi€s marriage to the feisty princess of Eshnunna creates problems at home, but he finds in her a soul-mate who shares his dream of a single kingdom to replace the plethora of small city states which are constantly at war with each other.
Surrounded by powerful neighbours, including the Assyrians, the Hittites, the Sumerians and the Elamites, he employs astute diplomacy, as well as the judicious use of military force, to make Babylon into one of the most powerful nations in ancient Mesopotamia and a springboard for his later conquests.
Zuuthusu uses every trick in the book to frustrate Hammurabi€s ambitions until, defeated on the battlefield once more, he flees into the mountains and heads towards a final showdown.
This is the first of two novels by H A Culley about the fascinating life of Hammurabi, the first Emperor of Babylonia, who was also the creator of the first written code of laws in the ancient world, several hundred years before the Ten Commandments.