This work presents papers from a January 2010 international workshop held within the framework of the Topoi Excellence Cluster at the Freie University of Berlin. Papers present recent archaeological research in the upper Mesopotamian piedmont regions. Seeking to understand how politics, territoriality, and material culture relate to one another, the contributors ask to what extent the archaeological data reflect the creation or re-creation of political space, within a geographical area that exhibits very different patterns of governance over time. An introduction describes the regions landscape, gives background on archaeological research in the region, and discusses the creation of political space in the region. Papers are grouped by region: the Khabur Headwater Region and the Upper Tigris Region. Several papers are in German. Some topics are governance and the geography of political space according to Middle Assyrian administrative documents, and ritual practices and the emergence of social complexity. B&w photos, maps, and images are included, with a few in color. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)