Introductory description

n/a.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

This module surveys seven hundred years of Roman rule in the region between the Euphrates river and the Mediterranean, from its annexation by Pompey the Great in 64 BC to the Muslim conquest in the seventh century AD. We look at the impact of Rome and its administrative systems on local societies and economies, examining many disparate sources of information: from calendars to pottery; from taxes to temple building; and from art and civic architecture to cult activities and codes of dress. The students will engage with the various debates surrounding these forms of evidence, and what they tell us about the cultural dynamics in a Roman province. Key themes explored are: the relationship between institutions and social identities, technologies of production; and the social functions of consumption.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Have enhanced their research, writing and communication skills
• Have gained an understanding of the availability, uses & limits of different types of primary source material
• Have gained knowledge and understanding of the impact of Roman imperialism on a distinct part of the Mediterranean through texts, material culture and social theory;
• be able to identify objects and buildings and comprehend the technologies involved in their production and the resources employed;
• to think critically about the value of various forms of evidence, literary and material, and how this evidence can be used.
• Have gained an understanding of how geography and resources have shaped settlement in the Near East, and how a variety of sources (historical narratives, inscriptions, architecture, art, coins, pottery etc.) can be employed in the construction of the social and economic history of Roman provinces, and the limitations of these sources.
• Show the ability to set their findings into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world
• show the ability to seek out appropriate secondary literature and show discernment in the types of primary evidence addressed.

Indicative reading list

Bowersock, G., Roman Arabia, Cambridge, MA, 1983. DS 154.2.B6
Butcher, K., Roman Syria and the Near East, London, 2003. DG 59.S9
Millar, F., The Roman Near East, Cambridge, MA, 1993.
Dignas, B., Winter, E., Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity: Neighbours and Rivals, Cambridge, 2007.
Dodgeon, M.H., Lieu, S.N.C., The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars, AD 226-363: A Documentary History, London, 1991.
Stoneman, R., Palmyra and its Empire: Zenobia’s Revolt against Rome, Ann Arbor, 1994.

Subject specific skills

By the end of this module students should expect to:

• Have enhanced their research, writing and communication skills
• Have gained an understanding of the availability, uses & limits of different types of primary source material
• Have gained knowledge and understanding of the impact of Roman imperialism on a distinct part of the Mediterranean through texts, material culture and social theory;
• be able to identify objects and buildings and comprehend the technologies involved in their production and the resources employed;
• to think critically about the value of various forms of evidence, literary and material, and how this evidence can be used.
• Have gained an understanding of how geography and resources have shaped settlement in the Near East, and how a variety of sources (historical narratives, inscriptions, architecture, art, coins, pottery etc.) can be employed in the construction of the social and economic history of Roman provinces, and the limitations of these sources.
  Show the ability to set their findings into a wider comparative context, drawing in other aspects of the study of the ancient world
  Show the ability to seek out appropriate secondary literature and show discernment in the types of primary evidence addressed.

Transferable skills

• critical thinking
• problem solving
• active lifelong learning
• communication
• information literacy
• professionalism