Undergraduate Course: Early Roman Egypt (ANHI10079)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | In 30 BCE, Octavian defeated Mark Antony and the last Ptolemaic ruler, Cleopatra VII. Egypt, the 'bread-basket of the empire' was annexed and became the wealthiest province in the Empire. Today, a rich amount of evidence survives from this region - archaeological, literary and papyrological alike - letting us write a history of Egypt in a way rarely paralleled elsewhere in the ancient world. This course will introduce students to aspects of the social, economic, cultural, religious and legal history of this remarkable province in the early Roman period. |
| Course description |
In 30 BCE, Octavian defeated Mark Antony and the last Ptolemaic ruler, Cleopatra VII. Egypt, the 'bread-basket of the empire' was annexed and became the wealthiest province in the Roman Empire. Today, a rich amount of evidence survives from this region, letting us write a history of Egypt in a way rarely paralleled elsewhere in the ancient world. In particular, the documentary record, preserved in the form of extensive bodies of papyri, give us access to aspects of the everyday lives of provincials which we would not necessarily find in the literary sources.
During this course, students will be introduced to the sources of this remarkable province: papyrological, archaeological and literary among them. The history of the region will be covered topically, though students will also develop an understanding of the changes that took place throughout the Roman period. As such, they will gain an insight into the particular subjects for which the Egyptian evidence is so valuable but will also tackle head on the question with which scholars still struggle today: 'How representative is Egypt as a Roman province?'
|
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
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework, class participation and examination, command of a range of sources relevant to Roman Egypt;
- demonstrate an ability to analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship, primary source materials, and conceptual approaches considered in the course during the class discussion, and in the examination and coursework-assessment;
- demonstrate an ability to understand and apply specialized research or professional skills, techniques and practices to the variety of variety of primary source material considered in the course (texts of different genres; papyri; art and archaeology);
- demonstrate, by way of seminar performance and coursework the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments, especially in written form, by independently formulating appropriate questions and utilizing relevant evidence considered in the course;
- demonstrate originality and independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others;
|
Reading List
Alston, R. 2003. Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt: A Social History. London.
Ashton, S-A. 2004. Roman Egyptomania. Ann Arbor, MA.
Bagnall, R. S. 1995. Reading Papyri, Writing Ancient History. London.
Bagnall, R. S. ed. 2009. The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology. Oxford.
Bowman, A. K. 1986. Egypt After the Pharaohs, 332 BC - AD 642: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest. London.
Capponi, L. 2005. Augustan Egypt: The Creation of a Roman Province. London.
Lewis, N. 1983. Life in Egypt under Roman Rule. Oxford.
Riggs, C. ed. 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt. Oxford.
Riggs, C. 2005. The Beautiful Burial in Roman Egypt. Oxford. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Kimberley Czajkowski
Tel: (0131 6)50 9110
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Rachel Ord
Tel: (0131 6)50 9110
Email: |
|
|
University Homepage