Undergraduate Course: Crowns and Concubines: Court Society in the Ancient World (ANHI10032)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This unique and fascinating course explores life at the courts of the monarchs of the ancient Near East, with a special focus on the court of the Great King of Persia. It utilizes cross cultural comparatives with later Oriental monarchies to discuss the nature and meaning of court society in antiquity. |
| Course description |
The course aims to demonstrate the centrality of palace institutions in the cultural and political milieu of ancient empires, and will re-establish the importance of studying court and society in contemporary historical studies. Taking the court of ancient Persia as a starting point for investigation, this course will explore the court societies of Egypt and the Near East as well as later examples drawn from eastern monarchies (the Mughals, Safavids, Ming and Qing) to understand the nature of the court as the hub of political, economic, social and cultural life in antiquity.
Themes for exploration will include:
Palace architecture (public & private space, the inner court, architecture and ceremony, temporary spaces - tents and pavilions);
Images of power (art and text);
Courtiers (viziers, king's relatives, foreign dignitaries & ambassadors, princes, eunuchs and the 'inner court');
Ceremony and ritual (audiences, gift-giving, birth-death-marriage rituals, executions, tribute);
Protection (warfare, the military elite, bodyguards, tasters, poison, death);
Religion (monarchic cult, court cults, ancestor worship, sacrifice, burial rites and rituals);
Spectacle, pastimes and entertainment (hunting, boating, feasting, theatricals, dancing);
Harem (polygamy, queen mothers, royal wives, concubines, courtesans, female power at court);
Bureaucracy (scribes, administrators, rations, workers, servants, slaves, edicts);
Succession (designated heirs, rivalries at court, coups).
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics related subject matter(at least 2 of which should be in Ancient History) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
50 %,
Coursework
50 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Coursework - 50%;
One (2-hour) Degree Exam - 50%.
Coursework assessment type will vary annually and might include essay, logbook, critique, research project(s), group work, or presentation(s). Exact requirements will be published in the Course Handbook for the relevant delivery year.
Part-Year Visiting Student (VV1) Variant Assessment:
Coursework - 50%;
Subject-Area administered Exam/Exercise in lieu of Degree Examination - to take place in Week 12 (see the current course handbook for further details) - 50%. |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Allsen, T.T. (2006) The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History. Philadelphia.
Bahrani, Z. (2003) The Graven Image. Representation in Babylonia and Assyria. Philadelphia.
Jacobs, B. & Rollinger, R. (eds.). (2010) Der Achämenidenhof / The Achaemenid Court. Wiesbaden.
Kuhrt, A. (1995) The Ancient Near East c. 3000-330 BC. II Vols. London.
Llewellyn-Jones, L. (2013) King and Court in Ancient Persia 559-331 BCE. Edinburgh.
Redford, S. (2002) The Harem Conspiracy. The Murder of Ramesses III. Deklab.
Root, M.C. (1979) The King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art: Essays on the Creation
of an Iconography of Empire. Leiden.
Salvesen, A. (1998). 'Trappings of Royalty in Ancient Israel' in J. Day (ed.), King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near East. Sheffield. 119-41.
Scheidel, W. (2009) 'Sex and Empire. A Darwinian Perspective' in I. Morris & W. Scheidel (eds.), The Dynamics of Ancient Empires. Sate Power from Assyria to Byzantium. Oxford. 255-324.
Solvang, E.K. (2003) A Woman's Place is in the House. Royal Women of Judah and their Involvement in the House of David. Sheffield.
Ziegler, C. (2002) The Pharaohs. Oxford
-(2008) Queens of Egypt. From Hetepheres to Cleopatra. Monaco.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled, contact must be made with a Classics Secretary on 50 3580 for approval to be obtained. |
| Keywords | Crowns and Concubines / Ancient World |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
Tel: (0131 6)50 3585
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Elaine Hutchison
Tel: (0131 6)50 3582
Email: |
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