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The River Nile catchment is considered the major source of nutrient-rich freshwater and sediment draining into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Thus, exceptional high-resolution record from the Nile Littoral Cell likely traces changes in the Nile outflows related to climatic changes driven by the monsoonal system. This study used multi-proxy analyses combining sedimentological, geochemical and organic stable isotope data along with foraminiferal data in a southeastern Levantine inner shelf sedimentary sequence to understand Mid-to Late Holocene northeast African climate variability. The palynological record is used to reconstruct local scale changes in the regional vegetation related to the Mediterranean climate system. The analyzed records reveal multi-decadal to centennial pacing of paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes, with most prominent events recorded at 4.28,~3.6 and at 2.9 kyr BP. These transitional periods characterized by simultaneous high d 15 N values and low total organic carbon (TOC) suggest drier climatic conditions, decrease in Nile discharge, leading to lower nutrient supply. A stable and arid climate during Mid-Late Holocene (~4.5e3.6 cal kyr BP) associated with a weaker monsoon system as well as with a weaker Mediterranean climate system is indicated based on high and constant sedimentation rates (~400 cm kyr À1), along with relatively stable values and only occasional weak fluctuations documented in all of the proxies. This climatic pattern is punctuated by a peak in maximum aridity at 4.28 kyr BP evidenced by low TOC value and low arboreal pollen (AP) and Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) pollen ratios and the sharp decline in the abundance of benthic foraminifera Cribroelphidium poeyanum and Valvulineria bradyana. This change corresponds with the wellstudied 4.2 kyr BP drought event in the Middle East, Mesopotamia and south Asia. During the late Holocene (~3.6e2.8 cal. Kyr BP) the climate became unstable characterized by shifts between relatively wetter and drier conditions as evident in considerable fluctuations in all proxies. Maximum positive excursions of TOC values, C/N ratio along with high dominance of opportunistic foraminiferal species (e.g., Ammonia tepida) indicate northeast African wetter conditions and increased Nile discharge at 3.5, 3.3, 3.2 and 3.0 kyr BP. The distinct and abrupt transition from a stable to an unstable climate regime around 3.6 kyr BP may have been influenced by the Thera volcanic eruption. Thus, the sedimentary record investigated in this study may provide evidence for the impacts of this wellknown volcanic eruption not just on the climate regime in the Levant but also on the ancient Near East and Egypt.

In this book, Aaron A. Burke explores the evolution of Amorite identity in the Near East from ca. 2500–1500 BC. He sets the emergence of a collective identity for the Amorites, one of the most famous groups in Ancient Near Eastern history, against the backdrop of both Akkadian imperial intervention and declining environmental conditions during this period. Tracing the migration of Amorite refugees from agropastoral communities into nearby regions, he shows how mercenarism in both Mesopotamia and Egypt played a central role in the acquisition of economic and political power between 2100 and 1900 BC. Burke also examines how the establishment of Amorite kingdoms throughout the Near East relied on traditional means of legitimation, and how trade, warfare, and the exchange of personnel contributed to the establishment of an Amorite koiné. Offering a fresh approach to identity at different levels of social hierarchy over time and space, this volume contributes to broader questions related to identity for other ancient societies.

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