A German specialist in ancient Anatolian languages, Payne transliterates and translates inscriptions in the regional hieroglyphic script used by several neo-Hittite states in what is now Syria about 1200-700 BCE. The hieroglyphs are surprisingly uniform considering how many peoples used them and over so large a territory, she says. Her introduction discusses the discovery of the Luwian inscriptions, the historical background of the Hittite Empire 1680-1200 and successor states, biblical Hittites, the hieroglyphic script, hieroglyphic scholarship, texts, and kingship. The texts themselves are divided into sections on bilinguals, funerary and commemorative inscriptions, building inscriptions, dedicatory inscriptions, and miscellanea. There is no index. The Society of Biblical Literature publishes the paperbound edition; Brill publishes the hardbound. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)