History 372 Course Schedule Fall Semester 1998

Week 1:  August 31-September 4

Reading Assignments:

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 1-15
• John Haldon, "Pre-industrial States and the Distribution of Resources: the Nature of the Problem," in Averil Cameron (ed), The Byzantine and Early Islamic Near East, vol. III, States, Resources and Armies (Papers of the Third Workshop on Late Antiquity and Early Islam), The Darwin Press, Princeton, NJ, 1993, pp. 1-24.
• Study Guide for Haldon.
• Richard N. Frye, "Alexander and the Heritage of Hellenism," chpt. 6 in his The Heritage of Central Asia: From Antiquity to the Turkish Expansion, Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton, 1996, pp. 97-108.
• Study Guide for Frye.

Monday: Course Introduction -- Peoples of the Middle East before Alexander -- Introduction to the WEB, readings, assignments.

Wednesday: Alexander and Persia;  map reading

Friday: Repeat general intro for those who have added the course; setting up of the groups [5 or 6 in each group] for group essays in the exams.
 

• Here are a few WWW Sites of interest for the study of the Middle East B.C.E.:
• From Al Mashriq comes information on archaeological sites Lebanon, many Roman.
• Photo archives of ancient Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Sudan, from the  Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.

Week 2: September 7-11

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 15-17
• Fergus Millar, "Communal and Cultural Identities," chpt. 6 of his The Roman Near East, 31 BC - AD 337, Harvard University Press, 1993, pp. 225-235.
• Study Guide for Millar.
• David Kennedy and Derrick Riley, "Physical and Human Geography," chpt. 1 from their Rome's Desert Frontier. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1990.
• On the web, a brief  study guide to the reading in Kennedy and Riley.  We provide here, and for many of the readings, a study guide which you should consult prior to reading the item.  Each of the readings 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 "chucnks". At the end of most of these readings, we provide a FORM which asks you to respond to the reading -- often in the form of a question or questions. You should make your response after finishing the reading, and submit it to the instructors using the SUBMIT botton.  We will, in turn, distribute your responses to everyone else in the class. Please note on the grade page of this syllabus the importance of these FORMS.
• Whittaker, "Frontiers and Growth of Empire", chpt. 2 of his Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
• Study Guide for Whittaker.
• John Eadie, "The Transformation of the Eastern Frontier, 260-305," in Ralph Mathisen and Haguth Sivan (eds), Shifting Frontiers in Late Antiquity, Variorum, London 1996, 72-82.
• Study Guide for Eadie.

Monday: Holiday

Wednesday: Hellenization and Romanization

Friday: The Roman East
 

• An interesting article recently appeared in the New York Times about Middle Eastern Trade in this period, focusing on archeological discoveries in South Arabia and what they tell us about trade in  frankincense and myrrh .
• Another article from the New York Times on the archaeological work being undertaken in the harbor of  Alexandria
• Reports on archaeology at a famous Roman port city, in present-day Israel, Caesarea Maritima, are maintained by the  University of Maryland and at  Carleton University in Canada.
• A useful WWW site for  Rome in the East .

Week 3: September 14-19

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 17-18
• Cameron: 1-32, 57-80
• Judith Herrin, "Byzantium Confronted by Islam," from her The Formation of Christendom.   Princeton Univ Press. 1987.
• Study Guide for  Herrin .
• Joseph Patrich, "Church, State and the Transformation of Palestine - the Byzantine Period (324 - 640 CE)", in Thomas E. Levy (ed) Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land, Leicester University press, London 1995.
• Study Guide for Patrich .
  

Monday: Religions of the ancient Middle East

Wednesday: Emergence of Christianity

Friday: Discussion in class of the assigned readings up to now.

Week 4: September 21-25

Reading Assignments

• Cameron: 33-50, 81-103
• Richard Frye, "Heirs of the Achaemenids," in his  The Heritage of Persia.
• Study Guide for Frye, " Heirs ."
• or
• Richard Frye, "The Reforms of Chosroes Anushirvan ('Of the Immortal Soul'), in his The History of Ancient Iran.
• Study Guide for Frye, " Reforms ."
• Cyril Mango, "Peoples and Languages," chpt 1 of his  Byzantium: The Empire of New Rome. Scribner's, 1980.
• Study Guide for  Mango .
• Whittaker, "Collapse of the Frontiers", chpt. 6 of his Frontiers of the Roman Empire, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994.
• Study Guide for Whittaker.
• An interesting new archaeological discovery in Istanbul, possibly a section of the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors, is reported in Stephen Kinzer, "Is This the Secret Heart of the Byzantine Empire?" New York Times, July 27, 1998.

Monday: The Late Roman Army

Wednesday: The Collapse of the Roman West

Friday: Byzantium and Persia;  , handout of group essay question, group meetings.


• Two very interesting WWW sites relate to Byzantium and are worth brousing through:
• The Byzantium Web Site;
• The Kelsey Museum at the University of Michigan.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls research project is maintained at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  WWW sites relating to things Coptic can be found under "Search" at the top, typing in Copt or Coptic.
• Here is an interesting site relating to excavations at a 4th century Coptic Monastery, Wadi Natrum.
  
  
  

Week 5: September 28-October 2

Reading Assignments

• Cameron: 104-200
• Irfan Shahid. "Byzantinism and Arabism: Interaction," chpt. 7 of his  Byzantium and the Arabs in the Fifth Century, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Washington, D.C. 1989.
• Study Guide for Shahid .
• Warren Treadgold, "Two Fights for Survival: 610-668," Chapter 9 of his A History of the Byzantine State and Society, Stanford University Press, 1997, pp. 287-322.
• Study Guide for Treadgold.

 

Monday: Justinian

Wednesday: Continuity and Change: The Byzantine East before Islam

Friday: Mid Term Exam #1

Week 6: October 5-9

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 18-37; 75-82
• Salo Baron, "The Pre-Islamic World," sections of chpt. 16 of his Social and Religious History of the Jews.
• Study Guide for Baron.
• Patricia Crone, "The Rise of Islam," in her  Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton University Press. 1987.
• Study Guide for Crone .
• F. E. Peters, "The Family and City of Muhammad," chpt. 4 of his  Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. State University of New York Press, 1994.
• Study Guide for Peters .
• Maxime Rodinson, selections from his  Muhammad, Pantheon Books. 1980. Beg with pp. 38.
• Study Guide for Rodinson .
• W. Montgomery Watt, "Assessment," from his  Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, Oxford University Press, 1961.
• Study Guide for Watt .

Monday: Arabia in ca. 600 C.E.; Egypt, Levant; peoples and religions; trade and economics

Wednesday: Muhammad

Friday: Discussion of assigned readings.

• One of the major sources for our knowledge of Arabia at the time of and just prior to Muhammad is, of course, the Qur'an. There are a number of WWW sites which include full texts in English and/or Arabic of the Qur'an. Various translations of the Qur'an can be reached on-line through the Qur'an Database .

Week 7: October 12-16

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 38-63
• Fred Donner, "Conclusions," from his The Early Islamic Conquests, Princeton Univ Press, 1981.
• Study Guide for Donner .
• Moshe Gill, "The Political History of Jerusalem During the Early Muslim Period", in Joshua Prawer and Haggai Ben-Shammai (eds), The History of Jerusalem, the Early Muslim Period, 638-1099, New York University Press and Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1996, pp. 1-35.
• Study Guide for Gill.
• Oleg Grabar, "The Symbolic Appropriation of the Land," chpt. 3 of his The Formation of Islamic Art.Yale Univ Press.
• Study Guide for Grabar .
• Oleg Grabar, "The Umayyad Royal Idea and its Expression under Mu'awiyah I," chpt. 1 of his PhD Dissertation, Ceremonial and Art at the Umayyad Court, Princeton University, 1955.
• Study Guide for Grabar .
• F. E. Peters, " The Holy House: The Muslims Come to Jerusalem," chpt 5 of his Jerusalem.
• Study Guide for Peters .

Monday: Islamic conquests: Byzantium, Persia, Jerusalem

Wednesday: Establishment of Islamic state; Umayyads

Friday: Discussion of assigned readings; First Group Essay due [on disk, if possible]

• Some WWW sites for The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
• Photographic views of the Dome of the Rock ; you can click on each photo for larger view.
• Interior view of the Dome cupola.
• Photos of the Palestinian City of Jersualem .
• From the Hebrew University of Jersualem, information on the Dome .
• Some WWW sites for other Umayyad subjects:
• Landmarks in Damascus .
• Umayyad Palaces .

Week 8: October 18-23

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 64-74
• Richard Hodges and David Whitehouse, " The Abbasid Caliphate," chpt 6 from their Mohammed, Charlemagne & The Origins of Europe. London, Duckworth 1983.
• Study Guide for Hodges and Whitehouse .
• J. Schacht, "Law and Justice," from the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. II, pt. VIII/chpt. 4, beginning with pg. 539.
• Study Guide for Schacht .

Monday: Abbasid Revolution: Baghdad, Spain, North Africa

Wednesday: Abbasid political system: borrowings from Arab bedouin, Byzantine/Roman, and Iranian/Sassanian systems.

Friday: Discussion of assigned readings.

Week 9: October 26-30

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 83-108
• David W. Tschanz, "The Arab Roots of European Medicine," in Aramco World, May/June 1997.
• Study Guide for Tschanz.
• Seyyid Nasr , Science and Civilization in Islam.
• Study Guide for Nasr .

Monday: Abbasid civilizations: urban centers [with borrowings from Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Iranian pasts]; trade and commerce

Wednesday: Abbasid civilization: intellectual life, art and architecture [comparisons with Greek, Roman and Iranian pasts]

Friday: discussion of assigned readings; handout of group essay question, group meetings for last 20 minutes; group essay due on Monday, November 16, in class, on disk if possible.

Week 10: November 2-6

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 109-119
• C. E. Bosworth, "The Concept of Dhimma in Early Islam," in Benjamin Braude and Bernard Lewis (eds), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, vol. 1, New York, 1982, pp. 37-51.
• Study Guide for Bosworth .
• Bernard Lewis, "The Muslim View of the World," from his The Muslim Discovery of Europe, W.W. Norton, New York, 1982, chpt II, pp. 59-69.
• Study Guide for Lewis .
• Gaston Wiet, "The Golden Age of Arab and Islamic Culture," from his Baghdad: Metropolis of the Abbasid Caliphate, Univ of Oklahoma Press. Chpt. 5.
• Study Guide for Weit .

Monday: Abbasid civilizaton: peoples, religions; strengths and weaknesses

Wednesday: Abbasid civilization: relations with Europe, Asia; trade in goods and ideas

Friday: Mid-Term Exam #2.

Week 11: November 9-12

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 120-132
• Jonathan Berkey, "Instruction" from his The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo: A Social History of Islamic Education, Princeton Univ Press, 1992. chpt. 2.
• Study Guide for Berkey .
• Yacov Lev, "The Ruling Circles", from his State and Society in Fatimid Egypt, E. J. Brill. Leiden. 1991, Chapter 4.
• Study Guide for Lev .
• optional extra reading: Desmond Stewart, "Ibn Tulun: First Independent Rule of Egypt Since Cleopatra," from his Great Cairo: Mother of the World, American University in Cairo Press, 1996.

Monday: Successors of Abbasids: Fatimids in Egypt and North Africa

Wednesday: Successors of Abbasids: Turkomans, Iranians, Central Asians and Afghans

Friday: no class today; Kresge Art Museum is open at 9:30 a.m. if you wish to do your Kresge project today. The Project will be due on Friday, November 20 in class.

Week 12: November 16-20

Reading Assignments

• Peter Golden, "The World of the Steppes," from his An introduction to the history of the Turkic peoples: ethnogenesis and state-formation in medieval and early modern Eurasia and the Middle East. Wiesbaden 1992.
• Study Guide for Golden .
• David J. Wasserstein, "The Caliphal Institution in al-Andalus until 422/1031," from his The Caliphate in the West, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993, chpt. 1.
• Study Guide for Wasserstein .

Monday: Western/Christian Advances in Spain and Mediterranean; Second group essay due, in class, on disk if possible.

Wednesday: Turks in Iran, Anatolia, Syria

Friday: Discussion of assigned readings. Kresge Art Museum project due in class today.

Week 13: November 23-27

Reading Assignments

• Beha-ed-Din, "Selections," from his The Life of Saladin, published in Archibald R. Lewis (ed), The Islamic World and the West A.D. 622-1492, John Wiley & Sons, Ind., 1970, pp. 53-61.
• Hadia Dajani-Shakeel, "Some Medieval Accounts of Salah al-Din's Recovery of Jerusalem (Al-Quds)," in Hisham Nashabe (ed) Studia Palaestina: Studies in honour of Constantine K. Zurayk, Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut 1988.
• Study Guide for Dajani-Shakeel .
• "Richard the Lionheart in the Holy Land (1191-1192)" from Peter W. Edbury, The Conquest of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade: Sources in Translation, Scolar Press, 1996, pp. 175-182.
• Study Guide for Richard the Lionheart.
• John France, "The Roots of Victory," chpt. 1 of his Victory in the East: A Military History of the First Crusade, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 1-25.
• Study Guide for France.
• Maaloof, Crusades Through Arab Eyes - all.
• Study Guide for Maaloof, and Form for responses.

Monday: Crusades in the Middle East

Wednesday: Crusades versus Byzantium; Muslim reconquest of Middle East

Friday: Holiday

Week 14: November 30-December 4

Reading Assignments

• J. J. Saunders, "The Turkish Irruption," chpt. 9 of his A History of Medieval Islam, Routledge, London.
• Study Guide for Saunders.

Monday: New states and political entities; Seljuk Turks, Balkan states

Wednesday: New states and political entities: Mamluks in Egypt, North African emirates, Italians in the Middle East

Friday: Discussion of assigned readings.

Week 15: December 7-11

Reading Assignments

• Fisher/Ochsenwald: 133-144
• Arthur Goldschmidt, Jr., "Islamic Civilization," chpt. 8 of his A Concise History of the Middle East.
• Study Guide for Goldschmidt.
• Reuven Amitai-Preiss, "Mamluks and Mongols: an overview," Chapter 10 of his Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260-1281, Cambridge University Press, 1995, pp. 214-235.
• Study Guide for Amitai-Preiss.
• David Morgan, "Persian perceptions of Mongols and Europeans," chpt. VI of Stuart B. Schwartz (ed), Implicit Understandings: Observing, Reporting, and Reflecting on the Encounters Between Europeans and Other Peoples in the Early Modern Era, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 201-217.
• Study Guide for Morgan.

Monday: Mongols: China, Central Asia, Iran; handout of group essay question, meeting of groups during last 20 minutes.

Wednesday: Mongols in the Middle East

Friday: Course "wrap-up"; individual essays due; course evaluation.