The teaching is organized as follows:

Learning outcomes

The course consists of two different sections (1, 2), 6 CFU each (30 hours = 15 lectures each one); section 2 is addressed to students needing to gain 12 CFU of Roman history LM.

Section 2, i.e. “Rome and the near East: from Trajan to Julian”, aims to the acquisition of the essential knowledges and methods in order to reconstruct a part of the centuries-old history of the relationship and clash between the two largest ancient empires competing for the supremacy in Mesopotamia and neighboring areas. Students are expected to learn Near-Eastern ancient history in its correct chronological developments; at the end of the course, they will be able to: 1) make a proper use of the different sources and documents; 2) reconstruct the historical processes applying the correct methodology; 3) understand the variety of Near-Eastern cultures, as well as the complexity of both the geographic context and the ethnical background.

Program

part 2 - The ancient history of Middle-Eastern regions will be outlined in its main steps. Among the main subjects that will be considered, some crucial topics will be especially focused on: the Roman expansion under the Antonines and the Severians; the rise of the Sasanians and the Roman military crisis; Valerianus and the battle of Edessa; the military campaign and the death of Julianus.

Bibliography

Examination Methods

The oral exam will aim to check firstly the student’s knowledge of events, subjects and topics as outlined in the textbooks and by the lecturers; then, his ability to understand and comment on the inscriptions and/or on documents, putting them in their proper historical contexts; finally, his thorough study of one (minimum) topic/document by personal choice.