Bronze Age Civilisations of the Eastern Mediterranean

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No previous knowledge required.

Content of Course

1. Introduction and background to the place and period: What do we mean by ‘empire’ and ‘internationalism’? What preceded the rise of internationalism, the ‘dark ages’ of the Near East and Minoans.

2. Introduction to some past excavations and discussion on some of the problems involved in working with archaeology, texts and especially mythology.

3. Written evidence: including Amarna letters and texts from Hattusa and Ugarit.

4. Archaeological evidence: The Uluburun shipwreck and other evidence of internationalism - does the archaeology back up the texts?

5. Egypt: A study of the largest empire at the time, concentrating on the 18th dynasty and Ramses II.

6. The Hittite Empire: Egypt’s great enemy and other ‘world powers?’.

7. Levantine city states: Trapped between two great empires, the role of marine city states such as Ugarit.

8. Mycenaens and the Aegean: How does Greece and the Aegean fit into this wider network?

9. Cyprus: How does Cyprus go from small agricultural societies to large urban centres with rulers who are seen as equal by Pharaoh almost overnight?

10. The collapse of the international system: the invasion of the sea peoples, climate change and other theories. Conclusions.

11. Unseen assessment and credit essay workshop.

Teaching method(s)

Lecture based with class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students should be able to: 

• Demonstrate an appropriate understanding of relevant archaeological methods and techniques past and present;

• Understand the chronology and social developments in the Eastern Mediterranean;

• Critically evaluate both written and archaeological evidence, presenting a logical, reasoned argument;

• Contextualise how the Bronze Age set the framework for later Classical civilisations.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

• Mieroop, M. van de (2004) A History of the Ancient Near East ca 3000-323 BC. Blackwell, Oxford.

• Pulak, C. (1998) The Uluburun shipwreck: an overview. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 27.3: 188-224.

Recommended:

• Bryce, T. (2002) Life and society in the Hittite world, Oxford University Press: Oxford.

• Dickinson, O.T.P.K. (1993) The Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

• Moran, W.L. (1992) The Amarna Letters. The John Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.

• Renfrew, C. & Bahn, P. (2008) Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice. Thames & Hudson: London.

Web Sources

www.ancientcyprus.ac.uk

www.ulg.ac.be/archgrec/aegean

www.oi.uchicago.edu

www.sara.theellisschool.org/shipwreck/ulusplash

Class Handouts

Handouts will be provided.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.