Course Catalogue

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This course will explore war in the ancient world through literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence across a chronological span running from the period of Classical Greece to the later Roman Empire (5th century BC - 4th century AD). It will charge the evolution of military practice and explore some of the most important conflicts of this extensive period as historical events, introducing students both to traditional military history (campaign narratives and institutional histories) and more modern studies of battle itself as a social and psychological phenomenon. The course will consider the problems of representing warfare in literary and figurative media, will explore ancient military theory, and will look at representations of ancient warfare in the modern world.

One lecture and one seminar per week across the 10 week semester

Standard entry to Masters at College level

Ancient Warfare (Honours)

None

Essay (5000 words) on a research topic determined by the student

This course aims to:

■ Introduce students to the military history of the fifth century BC to fourth century AD, exploring key battles and wars within this period

■ Introduce some of the most important military historians of the period (Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Arian, Polybius, Caesar, Ammianus Marcellinus), key works of military theory (Onosander, Vegetius), and artistic and literary sources that pertain to the subject of warfare and battle)

■ Familiarise students with the mechanics of ancient battle and the logistics of ancient warfare, as well as basic concepts of the ancient military (phalanx, maniple, etc)

■ Examine the question of whether warfare is a social product, primarily determined by cultural values, or whether it character is driven by technological change, by exploring both the rituals of warfare and the equipment of the soldier

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Examine critically the historiography of ancient writing and warfare and be able to comment upon topoi, features of the genre, and the character of ancient military thinking

■ Analyse how technology, social and political structures, and cultural constructs dictate how war is fought, whom it is fought by, and to what purpose it is fought.

■ Think critically about the modern historiography of ancient warfare and how study of warfare relates more generally to our understanding of ancient society

■ Apply insights drawn from historical and psychological studies of modern battle to understand the physical and psychological forces at work on soldiers in ancient battles

■ Develop an independent research project exploring some aspect of ancient military history

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.