Civilizations of the Ancient World

Schedule of Readings and Assignments

For each meeting, please come into class having read and thought about the readings assigned for that class.

Readings listed with the book icon () are from the assigned textbook, Mathisen, Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations, 3d Edition.

Everything listed under each meeting—the textbook readings, Gilgamesh, and Clouds—is fair game for the quizzes we’ll have at the start of some meetings.

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BEGINNINGS

1 Introduction and Themes

Thursday, August 25

2 The Origins of Civilization

Tuesday, August 30

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Neolithic World (8000–5500 BCE)” (pp. 13-24)
    • “The Chalcolithic Period (5500–2000 BCE)” (pp. 24-33)

THE BRONZE AGE

3 Mesopotamia

Thursday, September 1

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Origins Of Mesopotamian Civilization (6000–3000 BCE)” (pp. 37-45)
    • “The Rise Of Sumerian Civilization” (pp. 45-52)
    •  GILGAMESH Introduction (at least pages xiii-xvi, xxxi-xxxii)
    •  GILGAMESH Tablet 1

4 Sumer

Tuesday, September 6

  • Read all of the following:
    • “Historical Sumer (3000–2300 BCE)” (pp. 52-60)
    •  GILGAMESH Tablet 2

5 Semitic Mesopotamia

Thursday, September 8

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Semitic Peoples and the First Near Eastern Empires (2300–1200 BCE)” (pp. 60-75)
    •  GILGAMESH Tablet 5

6 God-Kings of Egypt

Tuesday, September 13

  • Read all of the following:
    • “Before The Pharaohs (5000–3000 BCE)” (pp. 77-84)
    • “The Early Dynastic Period (3000–2700 BCE)” (pp. 84-92)
    •  GILGAMESH Tablet 6

7 Egyptian Empires

Thursday, September 15

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Old Kingdom (2700–2200 BCE)” (pp. 92-97)
    • “The Middle Kingdom (2050–1786 BCE)” (pp. 97-103)
    • “The New Kingdom (1534–1070 BCE)” (pp. 103-109)
    •  GILGAMESH Tablet 7

8 The Bronze Age Aegean

Tuesday, September 20

  • Read all of the following:
    • “Early Civilizations of the Levant (2500–1500 BCE)” (pp. 111-113)
    • “Aegean Civilizations (3000–1100 BCE)” (pp. 113-125)
    •  GILGAMESH Tablet 11

THE IRON AGE

9 Dawn of the Iron Age

Thursday, September 22

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Iron Age In The Eastern Mediterranean (1200–800 BCE)” (pp. 125-131)
    • “The Hebrews (2000–900 BCE)” (pp. 131-140)

No Meeting

Tuesday, September 27

No Meeting (Monday classes)

Thursday, September 29

No Meeting

Tuesday, October 4

10 How Not to Run an Empire: The Assyrians

Thursday, October 6

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Assyrian Empire (850–605 BCE)” (pp. 142-155)
    • “The Successors of the Assyrians (605–550 BCE)” (pp. 155-159)

11 The Success of the Persian Empire

Tuesday, October 11

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Persian Empire (550–331 BCE)” (pp. 159-163)
    • “Darius and the Operation of the Persian Empire” (pp. 163-171)

12 The Greek Dark Age

Thursday, October 13

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Greek Dark Ages (1100–776 BCE)” (pp. 175-180)
    • “The Construction Of Greek Identity” (pp. 180-187)

13 Midterm Exam

Tuesday, October 18

14 Ancient Asia: China, India, and the Steppes

Thursday, October 20

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Eurasian Steppes” (pp. 296-301)
    • “Eastern Asia” (pp. 301-310)

THE GREEK IDEA

15 Archaic Hellas

Tuesday, October 25

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Archaic Age (776–500 BCE)” (pp. 187-202)
    •  CLOUDS Section 1

16 Sparta and Athens

Thursday, October 27

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Spartan Way” (pp. 205-211)
    • “The Rise Of Athens” (pp. 211-218)
    •  CLOUDS Section 2

17 The Persian Menace

Tuesday, November 1

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Greeks And Persia (547–465 BCE)” (pp. 218-226)
    • “The Golden Age Of Athens (465–431 BCE)” (pp. 226-231)
    •  CLOUDS Section 3

18 Wars Between the Greeks

Thursday, November 3

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Peloponnesian War (431–387 BCE)” (pp. 231-246)
    •  CLOUDS Section 4

19 The Rise of Macedon

Tuesday, November 8

  • Read all of the following:
    • “After The Peloponnesian War (387–336 BCE)” (pp. 249-257)
    • “The Age Of Alexander (336–323 BCE)” (pp. 257-265)
    •  CLOUDS Section 5

20 The Legacy of Alexander

Thursday, November 10

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Hellenistic Kingdoms (323–120 BCE)” (pp. 265-279)
    •  CLOUDS Section 6

THE MIGHT OF ROME

21 Early Rome

Tuesday, November 15

  • Read all of the following:
    • “Carthage” (pp. 319-326)
    • “Cultural Encounters of the Early Romans” (pp. 339-341)
    • “Rome of the Kings (753–509 BCE)” (pp. 341-349)

22 The Roman Republic

Thursday, November 17

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Early Roman Republic (509–246 BCE)” (pp. 349-356)

23 The Acquisition of Empire

Tuesday, November 22

  • Read all of the following:
    • “Warfare And Expansion (390–133 BCE)” (pp. 356-371)
    • Essay #2 due the night before

No Meeting

Thursday, November 24

24 The Republican Crisis

Tuesday, November 29

  • Read all of the following:
    • “From One Crisis to the Next (150–88 BCE)” (pp. 379-390)
    • “An Age Of Generals (88–60 BCE)” (pp. 390-399)

25 Collapse of the Republic

Thursday, December 1

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Triumvirates (60–31 BCE)” (pp. 399-409)
    • “The Establishment of the Principate (31–21 BCE)” (pp. 409-414)

26 Augustus, Princeps, Imperator

Tuesday, December 6

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Age Of Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE)” (pp. 415-430)

27 The Roman Principate

Thursday, December 8

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The Julio-Claudian And Flavian Dynasties (27 BCE–96 CE)” (pp. 430-440)
    • “The Antonine Dynasty (96–192)” (pp. 440-451)

28 Christianity and Rome

Tuesday, December 13

  • Read all of the following:
    • “The World of the Pax Romana” (pp. 451-464)
    • “Religion and the Rise Of Christianity” (pp. 464-471)
    • Essay #3 due the night beforeREVISED

Final Exam

Tuesday, December 20, 2:30–4:30 p.m.