Amanda H. Podany is a professor of history at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, who specializes in the study of ancient Mesopotamia and Syria. Her most recent project is an audio and video lecture series for The Great Courses called Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization. She is also the author of The Ancient Near East: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2014) and the award-winning Brotherhood of Kings: How International Relations Shaped the Ancient Near East (Oxford University Press, 2010). The latter explores the relationships between kingdoms and individuals across the Near East and beyond, from 2300 to 1300 BCE. Her previous books include The Land of Hana: Kings, Chronology, and Scribal Tradition (CDL Press, 2002), about the chronology of an ancient Syrian kingdom, and The Ancient Near Eastern World, co-written with children's book author Marni McGee (Oxford, 2004), which is a general work designed for secondary school students.