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.

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

Tuesday, February 1

2 The Origins of Civilization

Thursday, February 3

  •  MATHISEN “The Neolithic World (8000–5500 BCE)” (pp. 13-24)
  •  MATHISEN “The Chalcolithic Period (5500–2000 BCE)” (pp. 24-33)

No Meeting (Friday Classes)

Tuesday, February 8

THE BRONZE AGE

3 Mesopotamia

Thursday, February 10

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

4 Sumer

Tuesday, February 15

  •  MATHISEN “Historical Sumer (3000–2300 BCE)” (pp. 52-60)
  •  GILGAMESH Tablet 2

5 Semitic Mesopotamia

Thursday, February 17

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

6 God-Kings of Egypt

Tuesday, February 22

  •  MATHISEN “Before The Pharaohs (5000–3000 BCE)” (pp. 77-84)
  •  MATHISEN “The Early Dynastic Period (3000–2700 BCE)” (pp. 84-92)
  •  GILGAMESH Tablet 6

7 Egyptian Empires

Thursday, February 24

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

8 The Bronze Age Aegean

Tuesday, March 1

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

THE IRON AGE

9 Dawn of the Iron Age

Thursday, March 3

  •  MATHISEN “The Iron Age In The Eastern Mediterranean (1200–800 BCE)” (pp. 125-131)
  •  MATHISEN “The Hebrews (2000–900 BCE)” (pp. 131-140)

10 How Not to Run an Empire: The Assyrians

Tuesday, March 8

  •  MATHISEN “The Assyrian Empire (850–605 BCE)” (pp. 142-155)
  •  MATHISEN “The Successors of the Assyrians (605–550 BCE)” (pp. 155-159)
  • Essay #1 due the night before

11 The Success of the Persian Empire

Thursday, March 10

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

12 The Greek Dark Age

Tuesday, March 15

  •  MATHISEN “The Greek Dark Ages (1100–776 BCE)” (pp. 175-180)
  •  MATHISEN “The Construction Of Greek Identity” (pp. 180-187)

13 Ancient Asia: China, India, and the Steppes

Thursday, March 17

  •  MATHISEN “The Eurasian Steppes” (pp. 296-301)
  •  MATHISEN “Eastern Asia” (pp. 301-310)

14 Midterm Exam

Tuesday, March 22

THE GREEK IDEA

15 Archaic Hellas

Thursday, March 24

  •  MATHISEN “The Archaic Age (776–500 BCE)” (pp. 187-202)
  •  CLOUDS Section 1

16 Sparta and Athens

Tuesday, March 29

  •  MATHISEN “The Spartan Way” (pp. 205-211)
  •  MATHISEN “The Rise Of Athens” (pp. 211-218)
  •  CLOUDS Section 2

17 The Persian Menace

Thursday, March 31

  •  MATHISEN “The Greeks And Persia (547–465 BCE)” (pp. 218-226)
  •  MATHISEN “The Golden Age Of Athens (465–431 BCE)” (pp. 226-231)
  •  CLOUDS Section 3

18 Wars Between the Greeks

Tuesday, April 5

  •  MATHISEN “The Peloponnesian War (431–387 BCE)” (pp. 231-246)
  •  CLOUDS Section 4

19 The Rise of Macedon

Thursday, April 7

  •  MATHISEN “After The Peloponnesian War (387–336 BCE)” (pp. 249-257)
  •  MATHISEN “The Age Of Alexander (336–323 BCE)” (pp. 257-265)
  •  CLOUDS Section 5

20 The Legacy of Alexander

Tuesday, April 12

  •  MATHISEN “The Hellenistic Kingdoms (323–120 BCE)” (pp. 265-279)
  •  CLOUDS Section 6

THE MIGHT OF ROME

21 Early Rome

Thursday, April 14

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

No Meeting (Spring Recess)

Tuesday, April 19

No Meeting (Spring Recess)

Thursday, April 21

22 The Roman Republic

Tuesday, April 26

  •  MATHISEN “The Early Roman Republic (509–246 BCE)” (pp. 349-356)
  • Essay #2 due the night before

23 The Acquisition of Empire

Thursday, April 28

  •  MATHISEN “Warfare And Expansion (390–133 BCE)” (pp. 356-371)

24 The Republican Crisis

Tuesday, May 3

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

25 Collapse of the Republic

Thursday, May 5

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

26 Augustus, Princeps, Imperator

Tuesday, May 10

THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS BEEN CHANGED AS OF MAY 6

  • NO READING ASSIGNMENT

27 The Roman Principate

Thursday, May 12

THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS BEEN CHANGED AS OF MAY 6

  •  MATHISEN “The Age Of Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE)” (pp. 415-430)

28 The Roman Peace

Tuesday, May 17

THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS BEEN CHANGED AS OF MAY 6

  •  MATHISEN “The Julio-Claudian And Flavian Dynasties (27 BCE–96 CE)” (pp. 430-440)
  •  MATHISEN “The Antonine Dynasty (96–192)” (pp. 440-451)
  • Essay #3 due the night before

Final Exam (8:30–10:30 a.m.)

Thursday, May 19