Schedule of Readings and Assignments
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.
BEGINNINGS
1 Introduction and Themes
Thursday, August 25
- Watch the Welcome and Orientation Video
- Read all of the following:
“Laying The Groundwork” (pp. 3-5) “The Palaeolithic Age (2,000,000–10,000 BCE)” (pp. 5-13)
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
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.