Egypt in its Mediterranean and Near Eastern Context
Code: 44506 ECTS Credits: 10| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 4315555 Egyptology | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jose Lull García
- Email:
- jose.lull@uab.cat
Teachers
- Joan Oller Guzman
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Previously the students must have completed the "History of Egypt I" and "Archeology and Egyptian Art" modules, from the first year of the master's degree.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objective of the module is for the student to specialize in Egyptian history and civilization based on the critical study of epigraphic, archaeological and iconographic sources. The use of the main repertoires and bibliographical instruments and technicians of the Egyptological discipline, and from the knowledge of the main methods and theoretical currents of analysis in Egyptology.
As general objectives:
1) Know the history and archaeology of Egypt from the Persian period to the Roman period, based on the interpretation of archaeological, iconographic and textual sources.
2) Know the relationship of Egypt with the main political entities of the Middle East.
3) Analyze the theoretical and methodological assumptions with which the study of these contents is approached.
Competences
- Act in a creative and original way with solidarity and spirit of scientific collaboration.
- Assess the quality, self-imposed, rigor, responsibility and social commitment, both in training and in the scientific and informative work.
- Contextualize the historical and cultural evolution of Egypt in the wider framework of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East and evaluate the synchronicity between the Egyptian civilization and other civilizations of antiquity.
- Critically analyze a given scientific problem based on historical and cultural sources.
- Critically interpret texts as historical and cultural sources.
- Describe the historical and cultural evolution of ancient Egypt, from the critical analysis of the textual, archaeological and iconographic sources.
- Describe, interpret and dating an archaeological site, a building or an artifact of ancient Egypt.
- Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
- Teaming up with special sensitivity interdisciplinarity.
- That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
Learning Outcomes
- Act in a creative and original way with solidarity and spirit of scientific collaboration.
- Apply critical analysis from text, archaeological and iconographic sources to the reconstruction of the history of Egypt in the Greco-Roman Period.
- Assess the quality, self-imposed, rigor, responsibility and social commitment, both in training and in the scientific and informative work.
- Critically analyze a given scientific problem based on historical and cultural sources.
- Critically interpret text sources from the history of Egypt from the Greco-Roman Period.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the history of Egypt in the Greco-Roman period.
- Describe, interpret and date an archaeological site, building or artefact from Ancient Egypt in the Roman period.
- Knowledge and understanding that provide a basis or opportunity for originality in developing and / or applying ideas, often in a research context.
- Relate the history of Egypt to the cultures in its geographical area in the Greco-Roman Period.
- Teaming up with special sensitivity interdisciplinarity.
- That students are able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity and formulate judgments based on information that was incomplete or limited, include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
Content
Module 10. EGYPT IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND NEAR-EASTERN CONTEXT
(10 ECTS credits; code: 44506)
Subject 1. History and archeology of the ancient Near East
5 ECTS credits
Contents:
1 - The Neolithic and Mesopotamian civilizations of the IV and III millennium.
2 - Asians and Hyksos in the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period. Possible relationships between Amorites and Hyksos.
3 - Amarna: the great kings and diplomacy. Study of international relations in the Near East in the Late Bronze Age through Amarna documentation.
4 - Shared epidemics in the fourteenth century BC.
5 - The Hittite world and its interaction with Egypt
6 - The Crisis of 1200 and the Peoples of the Sea
7 - Cities of the Near East in the second millennium BC.
8 - Israel
9 - Assyria and Babylon
10 - Medes and Persians
Subject 2. History and Archeology of Greco-Roman Egypt
First part. From Persian Egypt to Ptolemaic Egypt
2.5 ECTS credits
Contents:
1 - The First Persian Domination (Dynasty XXVII)
2 - The last indigenous dynasties (Dynasties XXVIII-XXX)
3 - The Second Persian Domination (“Dynasty XXXI”)
4 - The conquest of Alexander the Great and the Argéada Dynasty
5 - Ptolemaic Egypt
6 - Matters of Ptolemaic Archeology
Second part. Roman and Byzantine Egypt
2.5 ECTS credits
Contents:
1 - Introduction to the study of Roman Egypt
2 - Brief history of Roman and Byzantine Egypt
3 - Landscape, territory and settlements of Roman Egypt.
4 - The granary of Rome: economy of Roman Egypt.
5 - Society and population of Roman Egypt.
6 - Culture and religion of Roman Egypt.
7 - The Egyptian deserts in Roman times
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Exams | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 13, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 3 |
| Theoretical and practical face-to-face classes with the support of the TIC | 80 | 3.2 | 4, 2, 6, 13, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials, seminars, interventions and exhibitions in class | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 13, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 10, 3 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study and personal work of the student | 145 | 5.8 | 4, 8, 12, 11, 3 |
Specification of what the STUDENT'S AUTONOMOUS ACTIVITY consists of
a) Study (studying is that process or set of personal or group activities that lead to knowing things and being able to explain them in a coherent and orderly manner, orally or in writing).
b) Personal work: critical reading of the bibliography; realization of treballs and practices; preparation of presentations in class, seminars and debates; textual source analysis exercises; exercicis d'interpretation of iconographic and archeological sources; case studies; update the student's folder; preparation of exams.
Important: The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may experience some modification depending on the restrictions on attendance imposed by the health authorities.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery and exhibition of work - Subject 1 | 10 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 13, 5, 8, 12, 11, 10, 3 |
| Exam - Subject 1: first part | 12,5 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 3 |
| Exam 1 - Subject 1 | 20 % | 0 | 0 | 4, 13, 8, 12, 11, 9, 3 |
| Exam 2 - Subject 1 | 20 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 13, 8, 12, 11, 3 |
| Examen - Subject 2: second part | 15 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 3 |
| Practical activity: text commentary on primary source - Subject 2: second part | 10 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 3 |
| Practical activity: translation of an Egyptian text and commentary - Subject 2: first part | 5 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 3 |
| Presence and participation in class / compulsory reading comments - Matèria 2: first part | 2,5 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 10, 3 |
| Tutoring in small groups: study and discussion of the real titles of the Ptolemies - Subject 2: first part | 5 % | 0 | 0 | 1, 4, 2, 6, 7, 5, 8, 12, 11, 9, 10, 3 |
Subject 1. History and archeology of the ancient Near East
5 ECTS credits
Exam 1 – December 17, 2024 (40%)
Exam 2 – April 8, 2025 (40%)
Delivery and exhibition of work – March 11, 2025 (20%)
Subject 2. History and Archeology of Greco-Roman Egypt
First part. From Persian Egypt to Ptolemaic Egypt
2.5 ECTS credits
- Attendance and participation in class / comment on compulsory reading (Johnson, 1974) (10%)
[The reading must be done before the beginning of the school period.]
- Practical activity: translation of an Egyptian text and commentary (20%)
[The instructions for this activity will be detailed on the first day of class and the student will have one week to complete it (delivery date: April 7, 2025).
- Tutoring in small groups: study and discussion of the royal titles of the Ptolemies (20%)
[On the first day of class the groups for the tutoring will be established and it will be explained how it should be prepared and how it will be developed; tutorials will take place throughout the second school week.]
- Final exam (50%): 28th May
Second part. Roman and Byzantine Egypt
2.5 ECTS credits
- Practical activity: text comment on primary source (40%)
[The instructions for this activity will be detailed on the first day of class and the student will have one week to complete it.
- Final exam (60%): 28th May
Each of the two subjects that make up the module is evaluated independently. The final mark of the module results from the arithmetic mean of the final marks of the two subjects.
To pass the module it is necessaryto pass the evaluation of the two subjects that compose it.
In the table, the hours of dedication to each activity are not specified because they may vary from one student to another. The approximate total hours of student personal work are specified in the table in the "Methodology" section.
The evaluation will consist of three types of activities:
1) Exams (see "Contents" section). Except for justified reasons, the students of the virtual modality will take the exams in synchrony with the students of the face-to-face modality, in connection with Microsoft Teams and with the camera activated. When this is not possible, they will agree with the professor the day and time of the exam, which will be as close as possible to those of the original exam.
2) Interventions and presentations in class; active participation in tutorials and seminars.
3) Individual or group papers.
In the event that some of these activities cannot be taken on-site for sanitary reasons, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB's virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities, and class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussionon Teams. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.
Regarding the mark review procedure, lecturers will inform the students about it at the time of each evaluation activity.
Regarding the make-up exams, the lecturer will agree with the students the dates, which must be within the monthfollowing the original exam. Students who have passed an exam but wish to improve their mark mayalso take the make-up exam. In principle, the work and activities that the student performs autonomously are not subject to recovery.
Bibliography
Subject 1. History and archeology of the ancient Near East
Beaulieu, Paul-Alain, 2013: History of Babylon. Toronto.
Briant, Pierre, 2002: From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the Persian Empire. Winona Lake
Bryce, Trevor, The kingdom of the Hitites (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005)
Cline, Eric H., 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Woodstock: Princeton University Press, 2014)
Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher, The Bible Unearthed. Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Text (New York: Simon & Shuster, 2002)
Fales, Frederick Mario, 2009: Guerre et paix en Assyrie. Religion et impérialisme. Paris.
Foster, Benjamin R., 2016: The Age of Agade. New York.
Liverani, Mario, 2005: Más allá de la Biblia. Barcelona.
Marée, Marcel (ed.), The Second Intermediate Period (Thirteenth-Seventeenth Dynasties). Current Research, Future Prospects, OLA 192 (Lovaina: Peeters, 2010)
Moran, William L. The Amarna Letters (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1992).
Redford, Donald B. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993)
Woods, Christopher, 2010: "The Earliest Mesopotamian Writing". En C. Woods (ed.): Visible Languages. Chicago, pp. 33-51.
Yasur-Landau, Assaf. The Philistines and Aegean Migration at the End of the Late Bronze Age, (Cambridge-New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Subject 2. History and Archeology of Greco-Roman Egypt
First part. From Persian Egypt to Ptolemaic Egypt
Baines, John y Málek, Jaromir, Atlas cultural de Egipto. Dioses,templos y faraones, Barcelona: Folio, 2000 (ed. orig. Oxford: Phaidon, 1980).
Bosch Puche, Francisco, La ocupación macedónica y la Dinastía Lágida. Impacto político, económico y social, Trabajos de Egiptología – Papers on Ancient Egypt 8, 2017 (publ. 2018), pp. 33-73.
Bowman, Alan K., Egypt after the Pharaohs, 332 BC – AD 622: From Alexander to the Arab Conquest, Londres: British Museum Publications, 1986.
Bresciani, Edda, La satrapia d’Egitto, Studi Classici e Orientali 7, 1958, pp. 132-188.
Bresciani, Edda, The Persian Occupation of Egypt, en: Gershevitch, I. (ed.), The Cambridge History of Iran, vol. II: The Median and Achaemenian Periods, Cambridge - Londres - Nueva York - New Rochelle - Melbourne - Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 1985, cap. 9, pp. 502-528.
Herodotus, [The Persian Wars], vol. I: Books I-II (Trad. A.D. Godley) (Loeb Classical Library [117), Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press y Londres: W. Heinemann, 1920 (edición bilingüe griego-inglés).
(Traducción española: Biblioteca Clásica Gredos 3)
(Edición bilingüe griego-catalán: Col·lecció Bernat Metge 324)
Hölbl, Günther, A History of the Ptolemaic Empire, Londres - Nueva York: Routledge, 2001 (ed. orig. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1994).
Lloyd, Alan B., Herodotus, Book II, 3 vols. [vol. I: Introduction, vol. II: Commentary 1-98 y vol. III: Commentary 99-182](Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l’Empire romain 43), Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1975, 1976 y 1988.
Lloyd, Alan B., The Late Period (664-332 BC) y The Ptolemaic Period (332-30 BC), en: Shaw, I. (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000, caps. 13 y 14, pp. 369-394 y395-421, respectivamente (ed. española Madrid: La Esfera de los Libros, 2007).
Lloyd, Alan B. (ed.), A Companion to Ancient Egypt, 2 vols., Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010 (distintos capítulos).
Serrano Delgado, José Miguel, La Baja Época, en: Parra, J.M. (coord.), El antiguo Egipto. Sociedad, economía, política, Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2009, cap. 10, pp. 463-493.
Second part. Roman and Byzantine Egypt
Bagnall, Roger S. (ed.), Roman Egypt: A History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
Vandorpe, Katelijn (ed.). A Companion to Greco-Roman and late antique Egypt. Hoboken: Blackwell (2019).
Riggs, Christina (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Software
For face-to-face students, only access to the UAB virtual campus is necessary to be able to access the moodle classroom. In the case of virtual students, it will also be necessary to use the Microsoft Teams program during connections to classes.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TEm) Theory (master) | 1 | Spanish | annual | afternoon |