This book traces the earliest history of architecture at its birthplace in the ancient Middle East (primarily the current Iran and Iraq) and ancient Egypt, and covers archeological sites, temples, tombs, and early dwellings - several of which have been the subject of recent news coverage on sites and treasures threatened by the Iraq war and political instability. The History of World Architecture is one of Electa's most popular architecture series, with each book in the series providing a comprehensive overview of its subject by a world-renowned expert in the field, accompanied by 200-300 black-and-white photographs, plans, and drawings and 24 colour plates. First published in the 1970s and 1980s, the Italian editions of these books remain standard reference works in architecture history and continue to sell well due to the authority of their authors, their judicious combination of text and illustrations, and careful use of accurate yet accessible terms.