HIST 1134

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  • Schedule of Classes - January 19, 2016 6:14PM EST
  • Course Catalog - January 19, 2016 6:21PM EST

HIST 1134
FWS: Imperial Transitions in the Ancient Mediterranean World

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2015-2016.

The ancient Mediterranean world was home to some of the world's most famous empires: Achaemenid Persia, Athens, Macedonia, and Rome. Renowned for their cultural and intellectual achievements, each state pursued policies that brought their citizens and subjects into a war of some kind almost every year. Through comparative history, this course will explore how, and why, all four empires rose and fell in succession. It will focus on the expansion and breakdown of empires, based on primary sources including the Behistun inscription, Herodotus, Thucydides, Arrian, Polybius, Caesar, and Livy. By engaging directly with the ancient sources, writing assignments will explore theories of imperialism, political and military institutions, approaches to state formation, relationships with subject peoples, the strains of war on society, and how empires interact with one another.

When Offered Fall.

Satisfies Requirement First-Year Writing Seminar.

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Syllabi: none

  •   FWS Session. 

  • 3 Credits Graded

  • 18297 HIST 1134   SEM 101

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  • For more information about First-year Writing Seminars, see the Knight Institute website at http://www.arts.cornell.edu/knight_institute