Contenau, Georges, Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria (NY: The Norton Library, 1966).
This classic study focuses in on the period 700-530 BCE, both as an era, in itself, “so pregnant with events that shaped the face of the ancient world” (p.2) and as somewhat representative of two and a half millenia of the region’s history. The chosen period is also, more pragmatically, a period about which more is known that other eras of Mesopotamian history.
Originally published in French, 1950. More on Contenau.
"A Song Every Day" 