HIST 311
ANCIENT NEAR EAST

1. Catalog Entry

History 311. Ancient Near East (B, C)
Three hours lecture (3)

Prerequisite: 3 hours of History at the 100-level

A study of the cultural, intellectual, and political development of the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, Asia Minor, Iran, the Indus Valley, and the Aegean world.

2. Detailed Description of Content of Course

I. The Preliterate Age

A. Definition of History
B. The Processes of the Ancient Historian
C. Early Man

II. The Greater Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, Asia Minor, Iran, and the Indus Valley)

A. The Birth of Civilization
B. Egypt

1. Geography
2. Sources of Egyptian history
3. The classical age

a. Political history
b. Cultural history

C. Mesopotamia

1. Sumerian civilization
2. Akkadian civilization
3. The Old Babylonian Empire

D. Civilization of the Indus Valley

1. The Indus civilization
2. The emergence of Hinduism

E. Early Chinese Civilization
F. The Invasions of the Near East in the 2^nd Millennium B.C.

1. Hittites
2. Hurrians
3. Mycenaeans
4. Phrygians
5. "Sea" peoples

G. The Development of the Mitannian and Hittite Kingdoms
H. The "Minor" Peoples of the Near East

1. Phoenicians
2. Philistines
3. Syro-Hittites
4. Hebrews
5. Aramaeans

I. The Assyrian Empire
J. The Successor States of Assyria

1. Egypt

a. Third Intermediate Period
b. Saite Renaissance
c. Late Dynastic
d. Conquests of Egypt

2. Median Kingdom
3. Lydian Kingdom
4. Chaldean Kingdom

K. Persian Empire--Synthesis of Ancient Near Eastern Civilization.

III. Aegean Civilization

A. Geographical Setting
B. Minoan Civilization
C. Mycenaean Civilization
D. The Dorian Invasions
E. The Greek Dark Ages
F. The Greek Age of Colonization

3. Detailed Description of Conduct of the Course

The class meets three hours a week. The course is taught primarily using a lecture format with considerable time devoted to discussion of ideas from the lectures. All students are required to read several (usually four) textbooks. The class discussions of the books are an important element of the course.

4. Goals and Objectives of the Course

1). Students will demonstrate an understanding of the current problems in the Middle East.
2). Students will describe the geographical setting of this strategic area of the world.
3). Students will study other cultures and develop an awareness of the complexity of cultural change.
4). Students will discuss the relationship of the past to the present by showing the influences of the Ancient Near East on today's world.

5. Assessment Measures

Assessment of the student's success in the course is based on the grades for written book reviews, two major tests, and a comprehensive final exam.

6. Other Course Information

None.

7. Review and Approval

Date Action Reviewed by
January 2005 Reviewed and Approved by Charles McClellan