Hand of the King - Book Review

Book review:
Hand of the King by Barbara E. Morgan, illustrated by Howard Simon

Published 1963 by Random House. 176 pages. Upper elementary through jr high level reading.

The author, Barbara E. Morgan, was a teacher and also served with the British Army in WW II. Her college degree from University of Manchester was in the history and archaeology of Southwestern Asia, Mari specifically. I can’t find any more info on her except this that was included on the dust jacket.

Here is the summary of the book from the dust jacket:

“Twelve-year-old Zak is tending his father’s sheep when two young men, badly wounded, come on the scene. Having escaped from the court of the hated Assyrian king, they hope to deliver a message to the prince of Mari, who is in hiding. If delivered in time, the message could touch off the long-planned revolt against the tyrant’s rule. Enlisting the aid of his friend La’um, Zak becomes deeply involved in the plot to restore the prince of Mari to his throne. Here are adventures and suspense in an authentic setting. For the Assyrian tyrant and the prince of Mari actually lived – 3700 years ago. Through the discoveries of archaeology, much is known about their palaces, their daily life, and even their correspondence. In Hand of the King, Barbara e. Morgan, a trained historian as well as a skilled storyteller, has re-created a thrilling episode from the ancient world.”

And here is the author’s note at the beginning of the book:

“The action of this story takes place in about the year 1750 B.C., roughly the time of Abraham. The story’s background, the site of the town of Mari, on the Middle Euphrates, was located in the 1930s and has been excavated by the French over a period of years. An enormous number of inscribed tablets was found in the palace, including the royal letter that has a place in the plot. All the royal characters mentioned existed. The short period of Assyrian rule in Mari apparently came to an abrupt end, but how Zimrilim, a prince of Mari, regained the throne or where he was during the previous twenty years is not known. This is the mystery which provided the idea for the main theme of the story. Zimrilim proved to be the last king of Mari. After a reign of between twenty and thirty years, the town was completely destroyed by the Babylonians under their great king, Hammurabi. Hence perhaps the richness of the excavated finds dating from the town’s last years. As far as possible, all the details of daily life given in the story are accurate. Little has been mentioned for which there is not direct evidence from Mari itself or which may not reasonably be inferred or vouched for by evidence from kindred sites.”

Mari is in ancient Mesopotamia, between Aleppo and Babylon on the Euphrates River, and the story takes place in the 18th century B.C. I seldom find children’s literature about this time period or about the Fertile Crescent so this one grabbed my interest.

You can read more about the king Zimrilim here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimri-Lim

And about the town of Mari in what is now Syria here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari,_Syria.

Excavations were made in the area beginning in the 1930s. Mari was known as the far-western outpost of the Sumerian civilization. Many of the archaeological finds are housed in the Louvre in France, in Aleppo and in Damascus. Excavations continued even to as recent as 10 years ago. Now, however, the area of Mari is occupied by armed gangs following the Syrian Civil War and much of the area has been looted.

The book does describe the character’s belief in the gods and mentions Ishtar, the goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power. Ishtar is mentioned in the Scriptures and also plays a role in the Gilgamesh epic. In this book by Morgan, none of Ishtar’s immoral behavior is mentioned. The main character prays to her for protection as he tries to outwit the forces of evil he is battling in the story line.

I highly recommend this book for your studies of ancient world history. The plot moves quickly from event to event, with just enough suspense and surprise twists to keep a young person reading and enjoying. The book tells enough details of daily life to help the reader learn about that era.

Other books to read for follow-up studies:

They Lived Like This in Ancient Mesopotamia by Marie Neurath

Mesopotamia, Calliope magazine from 2000

The Gilgamesh Trilogy by Ludmilla Zeman

Ishtar and Tammuz, A Babylonian Myth of the Seasons by Christopher Moore

The Tigris & Euphrates Rivers by Melissa Whitcraft

Buildings of Ancient Mesopotamia by Helen and Richard Leacroft, Ancient Architecture Series

The Sumerians: Inventors and Builders by Elizabeth Landing, Early Culture Series (this civilization was to the south of Mari but same time period)

Song of Abraham by Ellen Gunderson Traylor (same time period as this book)

Review and book list compiled by Sandy Hall. All rights reserved.