The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation (U04038)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : HCA-3-U04038

The Hittites were the last of the large political formations of the Ancient Near East to emerge during the 2nd millennium BC. While the core area of the Hittite empire was situated on the Anatolian Plateau (in modern Turkey), their influence extended far into modern Syria and the Levant in the east, and to the Aegean littoral in the West. They were the main opponents of Egypt, the prominent power of the time. In Western Anatolia their interests clashed with those of the Mycenaeans; and the city of Troy was among the contested polities in this area. The course covers the factors that led to the formation of the state in Central Anatolia, and follows the history of the Hittite empire up to its fall towards 1200 BC. It discusses the economy of the Hittite state, its religion, social organisation, and ideology, as well as the nature of its interaction with neighbours in the east and in the west. The course ends by considering the legacy of the Hittites for later civilisations.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Archaeology 2A and 2B, or Honours entry to degrees in Classics, or equivalent

? Costs : None.

Variants

? This course has variants for part year visiting students, as follows

The Hittites: The Archaeology of an Ancient Near Eastern Civilisation (VS1) (Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2))

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Archaeology, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Other subject areas

Ancient History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Classical Art/Classical Archaeology, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
25/09/2008	09:00	10:50	Room 1.F01, Old High School	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	09:00	10:50	Central

? Additional Class Information : N.B. timetable is arranged annually. The above time applies to session 2008/9

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the course successfully will be able by the end of the course to demonstrate in written examination and course work as well as in class discussion:

? an understanding of the place of ancient Anatolia within the political configuration of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age.
? an understanding of the internal structure of a Near Eastern Late Bronze Age state polity, and the ability to distinguish between typical features and those special to the Hittite case only.
? an understanding of how our evidence consists of very different kinds of information, derived from archaeology, historical sources, linguistics, art and other sources.
? an understanding where our present knowledge is based on good empirical data and where there are still gaps and weaknesses in the record.
? an ability to use the mentioned sources to trace single developments within this general framework, and to evaluate their historical significance.

Transferable Skills:
Students will also demonstrate that they can:
? gather material independently on a given topic and organise it into a coherent data set;
? compare differing sets of data from varying situations and draw conclusions from them;
? evaluate different approaches to and explanations of material, and make critical choices between them;
? express clearly ideas and arguments, both orally and in writing;
? organise complex and lengthy sets of arguments and draw these together into a coherent conclusion;
? organise their own learning, manage their workload and work to a timetable.