- Kennedy , Rome's Desert Frontier:
24-46. Brief study guide to
the reading in Kennedy. I provide here, and for each of the assigned
readings, a study guide which you should consult prior to reading the item.
All of the readings I make available on the WEB should be read IN ONE SITTING--they
are about one particular issue, or are providing a well-presented point
of view on one issue. They cannot be well understood if read in small "chunks".
When you have finished with the readings for the week, you should answer one of the questions that I ask about them - and send to me via email by the due date. For this week, it is Sunday, January 13, by 6 pm. Questions:
1. Why was Rome interested in the Middle East?
OR 2. Did either Rome or Middle Eastern peoples benefit from Roman presence? How?
- Millar , The Roman Near East: selections from Chapter 6. Brief Study Guide to the reading in Millar. 1. Millar says in several places that the sources available do not give us a clear answer to the question: Why was Rome interested in expanding into and dominating the Middle East? What do you think?
- Whittaker , "Frontiers and Growth
of Empire," chpt. 2 of his Frontiers of the Roman Empire, 1994.
Study guide for Whittaker .
1. How did the western/eastern frontiers differ? Did the Romans evolve "a different policy and a different concept of frontier in the East than in the West"? - Mango , Byzantium:
The Empire of New Rome: 13-31 study guide.
1. What held the Byzantine state together, given its religious controversies and linguistic diversity?
OR 2. What were the relationships between language and religion, and between religion and ethnicity in Byzantium?
- An interesting article appeared in the New York Times a few years ago about Middle Eastern trade in this period, focusing on archeological discoveries in South Arabia and what they tell us about the trade in frankincense and myrrh .
- Another article from the New York Times on the archaeological work being undertaken in the harbor of Alexandria .
Introduction: Rome and Persia
The Middle East Before Muhammad
Cardo Maximus, Palmyra, Syria |
Ctesiphon (photo, 1932) |
Read: Ochsenwald/Fisher, pp. 1-18
Read any two pieces below - then send me an email (fishera@msu.edu) with your answer to one of the following questions. It is due Sunday January 13, by 6 p.m. I expect 3-5 paragraphs.).
Oriental Institute, University of Chicago - Persepolis
2500th Anniversary of Persian Dynasty (1971)