History 508:200 ANCIENT NEAR EAST (=685:200) Spring 2007              Jack Cargill 

MTh2 (9:50-11:10), Murray Hall 212 (CAC) [room no. changed from 111]

Office Van Dyck 103 (CAC); Office Hours Mondays 11:30-12:30 & by Appt.; Phone (732) 932-6740

E-Mail Address  jcargill@rci.rutgers.edu; Website  http://fas-history.rutgers.edu/jcargill

 

Required paperbacks to purchase at New Jersey Books (only):

HB    =   Jack CARGILL, Handbook for Ancient History Classes (Paige Press 1997)

Text  =   William H. STIEBING, Jr., Ancient Near Eastern History & Culture (Longman 2003)

P1     =   James PRITCHARD, The Ancient Near East, vol. 1 (Princeton 1958+)

P2     =   James PRITCHARD, The Ancient Near East, vol. 2 (Princeton 1975+)

Merc =   Jack CARGILL, Mercenary of the Gods (Regina Books 2004)

 

HB is assigned by Sections and/or Parts. 

Text is assigned by Chapters and (if necessary) Page numbers (breaks are all at subheadings).

P1 and P2 are assigned by Page numbers (the reader must figure out where an item begins or ends on a given page; when in doubt, read the entire page). Marginal references in P1 and P2 to figures refer to illustrations at the back of each volume that are associated with particular readings: look at these, too.

Merc is assigned by its Major Textual Divisions.

 

Not assigned but recommended for seriously-interested students, and mentioned in lectures:

Bible passages: Accessible online at http://worldenglishbible.org/bible/web

BAR = Biblical Archaeology Review, accessible online at http://www.basarchive.org/bswbBrowse.asp

COS = Context of Scripture, 3-vol. collection (1997-2002) of ANE sources in translation that partially supersedes the collection (ANET) from which P1 and P2 are taken; no comparable selections from COS have been published. I will put the COS volumes on Reserve, and also the following books:

Chavalas, ANE and Simpson, LAE = Mark W. Chavalas (ed.), The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation (2006) and William Kelly Simpson (ed.), The Literature of Ancient Egypt (2003), recent and large-scale paperback selections that will in effect supersede the Pritchard volumes, but which I have not yet had the time to read carefully and incorporate into this course.

 

Visual Aids will be considered part of the lectures, and students will be responsible for them on tests:

Transparencies of maps, charts, and photos will be used with most lectures.

Videotapes & DVDs, a few long ones (50-55 minutes) and several short ones (ca. 25 minutes), will be shown in class. When the RU Media Center owns a tape, students who miss its in-class showing can make personal arrangements with the Center (basement of Kilmer Library, Livingston Campus) to see the tape at their convenience. Certain categories of RU-owned tapes may be broadcast over RU-TV, in addition to or instead of being shown in class (such showings will be announced in advance). But be warned: Some tapes shown in class will NOT be RU-owned tapes, and the ONLY chance to see such a tape is its scheduled in-class showing.

 

GRADING will be based on two 80-minute tests during the semester and a 90-minute Final Exam, each of which counts as 1/3 of the course grade. Each test (including the Final) will cover only readings, lectures, videotapes, etc. since the preceding exam. No one may take a Make-Up Test for any exam (again including the Final) who has not signed in as attending at least half the lectures since the preceding exam; a Make-Up Test also requires a valid medical excuse, or something equivalent (see HB for details).

Students who have taken both in-semester tests as scheduled, with the class (not as Make-Ups), have signed in as attending at least half the class meetings between the second in-class test and the due date, and who follow other detailed rules exactly (these will be distributed to the class), may be eligible to do an Optional Writing Assignment based on Merc, whose grade (a maximum of 85 out of 100) can replace the lower of the two Test grades. Such optional assignments are not accepted late for ANY reason, and are not graded if ANY requirement is ignored. No exceptions will be made.

 

No special permissions to enroll will be given before Monday, Jan. 29. On that day they will be given (up to the room’s capacity) on the basis of two criteria: (1) Good work in a previous class with me, or (2) Attendance at the first four class meetings.

 

 

Day   Date      LECTURE TOPIC

Readings Assigned (one line per assigned book)

 

Part I: Early Dynastic Sumer through the Expulsion of the Hyksos         

 

Th   Jan. 18   INTRODUCTION to Text and Course:  Organization, Books, Attendance, Grading, etc.

Text ch. 1 (do readings by 2nd meeting)

P1 40-75 (Epic of Gilgamesh), or read a more reader-friendly online version:

http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/index.html or

http://www.unf.edu/classes/freshmancore/halsall/gilgamesh-temple.htm    

DVD on Gilgamesh

 

M  Jan. 22   VIDEO on Iraq               

(Finish readings above)

 

Th  Jan. 25   EARLY DYNASTIC SUMER AND CONTEMPORARY CULTURES

Text ch. 2     

P1 28-30, 75-85      

P2 5-28, 123-5, 136-41

 

M  Jan. 29   AKKADIAN & UR III PERIODS

Text ch. 3 (to p. 85)   

P1 85-6 (cf. Doc. 3.1)    

P2 31-4, 126-35, 142-8, 195-217

VIDEO on Ur

 

Th  Feb. 1   OLD BABYLONIAN RISE & APEX

Text ch. 3 (pp. 85-94 only)     

P1 31-9, 133-67 (cf. Doc. 3.3), 231-3, 244-5, 250-2, 260-2    

P2 1-5, 35-41, 70-8, 94-6, 174-8, 180-6, 188-96

 

M  Feb. 5   AFTER HAMMURABI’S DYNASTY FALLS: HITTITES,  HURRIANS, KASSITES

Text ch. 3 (p. 94 to end)    

P2 45-9, 78-9, 96-9, 148-67, 171-3

 

Th  Feb. 8    GUEST LECTURE: Prof. Gary Rendsburg presents his SLIDES ON EGYPT

 

M  Feb. 12   EGYPT, PREHISTORY - OLD KINGDOM & 1ST intermediate PERIOD

Text ch. 4 & ch. 5 (to p. 143)     

P1 1-5, 12-6, 24-7, 234-7

 

 

Th  Feb. 15   MIDDLE KINGDOM - EXPULSION OF HYKSOS

Text ch. 5 (p. 143 to end)

P1 5-11, 173-5, 225-6, 252-7

P2 87-93 (cf. Doc. 5.3)

 

M  Feb. 19   CATCH-UP, REVIEW FOR 1st TEST

HB Secs. T3, M1 (see added Make-up requirement, above), G1-2, G4-8, G10-1, G14; Part Q; Part W; Part E; XT2.1-5

 

***Th  Feb. 22    TEST # 1***

 

 

Part II: Bronze-Age Empires Rise and Fall; Recovery

 

M  Feb. 26   NEW KINGDOM (IMPERIAL) EGYPT BEFORE AMARNA AGE

Text ch. 6 (to p. 178)   

P1 175-82    

 

Th  Mar. 1   AKHENATON, AMARNA, & AFTERMATH

Text ch. 6 (p. 178 to end)    

P1 226-30 (cf. Doc. 6.1), 262-77

 

M  Mar. 5    DVD on HITTITES, MILETOS, TROY?

 

Th  Mar. 8    HITTITES RISE TO GREATNESS

Text ch. 7 (to p. 205)    

P1 87-91

P2 42-5    

 

………………Spring Break…………………

Drop with “W” deadline is Monday March 19.

 

M  Mar. 19   19th DYNASTY TO END OF BRONZE AGE

Text ch. 7 (p. 205 to end)

P1 92-132, 182-7 top, 231 (cf. Doc. 7.2), 257-9     

P2 29-30, 79-81

 

Th  Mar. 22   RECOVERY & TRANSFORMATIONS

Text ch. 8 (except pp. 241-51)    

P1 16-24, 187-93 (cf. Doc. 8.1), 209-10, 215-20, 237-43

P2 49-51, 99-104, 113-8, 221-6, 230-9

 

***M  Mar. 26   TEST # 2***

Review Feb. 19 Assignment

 


Part III: Assyrian, Babylonian, & Persian Empires; ANE Legacies (including Biblical)

 

Th  Mar. 29   NEO-ASSYRIAN DOMINATION

Text ch. 9 (to p. 278)

P1 193-202 (cf. Doc. 9.1), 212 top, rev. 218-9    

P2 17-26, 52-69, 168-71, 178-80 (j only), 186-8, 227 top

VIDEO on Assurnasirpal II

 

M  Apr. 2    NEO-BABYLONIAN (CHALDAEAN) EMPIRE 

Text ch. 9 (pp. 279-86 only)   

P1 202-5, bot 212-4   

P2 81, 104-13, 118-9, 122

VIDEO on Babylon

 

Th  Apr. 5   TEXT ON ISRAEL, JUDAH, & RELIGION

Text ch. 8 (pp. 241-51 only); ch. 9 (p. 286 to end); ch. 11 (pp. 327-8 only)

P1 209, 211

P2 121

 

Three Meetings devoted to Reading & Discussing Cargill article and book, sandwiched around an in-class VIDEO:

 

M  Apr. 9   Read Cargill article on Website: “Ancient Israel in Western Civ Textbooks” and

                   Merc  Preface, Chronology, King Lists, Conventions…, glance at Notes

                   OWA (due Th Apr. 26: see below) discussed

 

Th  Apr. 12   VIDEO on Biblical Archaeology

 

M  Apr. 16   Merc  Prologue & Part I (chs. 1-11)    

 

Th  Apr. 19   Merc  Part II (chs. 12-23) & Epilogue

 

M  Apr. 23   PERSIAN EMPIRE: ESTABLISHMENT, HEIGHT, CULTURE

Text ch. 10, pp. 293-303, 305-8, 310-13

P1 206-8 (=Doc. 10.1)

P2 227mid-229

DVD on Persepolis

 

Th  Apr. 26  PERSIAN EMPIRE: RELIGIONS (Zoroastrianism & Judaism) AND WARS (with Greeks, Egyptians, & Macedonians)

Text ch. 10, pp. 308-10, 313-18, then 303-5, 318-20

P1 170-2, 220-4, 245-9, 278-82 (=Doc. 10.2)

P2 83-6

OPTIONAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT due (not accepted after today; no excuses).

I will supply a Cover Sheet that differs from HB XR1 (use of the one I supply is required).

HB (with some modifications) Secs. G3, G5, G12; Part W


M  Apr. 30  ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN LEGACIES

Text ch. 11

P1 fig. 72 (Rosetta Stone)

P2 119-20, 220-1

Review for Final Exam (see Feb. 19/Mar. 26 Assignments).

 

***WED.  May 9, Noon to 1:30 PM   FINAL EXAM***

            (Note that Final ends at 1:30, not at 3:00; exam ends promptly at 1:30, no one may stay late)