Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Peter Edwell
W6A 516
By appointment
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
39cp at 100 level or above or (6cp in AHIS or AHST units at 200 level)
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is an in-depth study of Rome's attempts to defend itself against a resurgent Iran in the late-third and early-fourth centuries CE. Students have the chance to study both military and diplomatic history of the two great empires, as well as religious change. Archaeological evidence is used extensively to help us to reconstruct our knowledge of Roman defensive systems.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Tutorial Essay | 15% | No | Week 6 |
Tutorial Essay | 15% | No | By Week 13 |
Tutorial Participation | 15% | No | Ongoing |
Major Essay | 35% | No | Week 13 |
Weekly quizzes | 20% | No | Ongoing |
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 15%
You must choose one of the tutorials in weeks 3-6 and write a 1,000-1,500 word essay which answers the questions for that particular week. The essay should include footnotes/endnotes and a bibliography and should conform with the requirements of undergraduate essays in the Department of Ancient History. Footnotes/endnotes and the bibliography are not included in the word count but should not be excessive.
All papers must be submitted in class in the week to which they are relevant. Internal students also need to submit this essay through turn-it-in.
Due: By Week 13
Weighting: 15%
You must choose one of the tutorials in weeks 8-13 and write a 1,000-1,500 word essay which answers the questions for that particular week. The essay should include footnotes/endnotes and a bibliography and should conform with the requirements of undergraduate essays in the Department of Ancient History. Footnotes/endnotes and the bibliography are not included in the word count but should not be excessive.
All papers must be submitted in class in the week to which they are relevant. Internal students must also submit this essay through turn-it-in.
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 15%
Contributions to tutorials will be assessed on the basis of both quality and quantity.
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 35%
What are the key features of the relationship between Rome and Sasanian Persia from ca. AD 224-363? How did the relationship between the two empires change during this period?
In your response you need to provide coverage of military, diplomatic, religious and economic (mostly trade) factors. The word limit is 3,000 words not including footnotes. Footnotes should not contain excessive amounts of content.
Due: Ongoing
Weighting: 20%
Weekly online quizzes will be available on the ilearn site and appear under the week heading for which they are relevant. There will be 10 quizzes in all. There is no quizz in weeks 1, 7 and 13. The quizzes require you to answer 10 multiple choice questions and there is a time limit of 15 minutes in which you are required to answer the questions. The quizzes are based closely on the material covered in lectures. It will be very difficult to successfully complete the quizzes without listening to the recorded lectures.
Quizzes will open on the Monday morning at 9am of the week for which they are relevant and close at 9pm on the following Sunday. Once the quiz closes it is not possible to attempt it and it is not possible for me or even IT to give access to it. Please be aware that once you start a quiz you have 15 minutes to complete it and you may only attempt each quiz once.
Staff Contact details
The convenor and main lecturer for this unit is Dr Peter Edwell (Rm. 516, W6A, e-mail address: peter.edwell@mq.edu.au).
Please note: Apart from the first lecture which will act as a brief introduction, lectures in this unit are recorded only and will not be delivered live. A live optional seminar is available in place of the Tuesday, 12 noon lecture. The seminar will be held in the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, W6A 308. This seminar will provide more detail on aspects of the material covered in the recorded lectures. This seminar will also be useful in writing the overall interpretative essay due at the end of the semester. It is very important to listen to the recorded lectures because weekly assessable quizzes are closely based on the material covered in the recorded lectures.
Required Unit Materials
The only compulsory book for this unit is M.H. Dodgeon & S.N.C. Lieu (eds), The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226-363, 2nd edition, Routledge, London & New York, 1994. It is essential to purchase this book because it contains most of the material which forms the basis of tutorial questions and discussions. Weekly tutorial questions and bibliographies are available on the unit's iLearn web page.
The co-op bookshop at Macquarie has ordered some copies of this book. You may also purchase it via online book stores such as Amazon. It also worth checking http://www.abebooks.com for second hand copies. The book is also available in a kindle edition. Be very careful not to accidentally purchase Volume II which is edited by Greatrex and Lieu and covers the period from 363 - 630.
Important dates
Semester Commences: Monday, 27 February
Semester Break: Monday, 17 April to Friday, 28 April
Semester recommences: Monday, 1 May – Friday, 9 June
Examinations commence: Tuesday, 13 June
Lecture and Tutorial Times
The first lecture will be given live and will be fairly brief and introductory. Please note (as also noted above), lectures in this unit are recorded only and will not be delivered live. A live optional seminar is available in place of the Tuesday, 12 noon lecture. This seminar will provide more detail on aspects of the material covered in the recorded lectures. This seminar will also be useful in writing the overall interpretative essay due at the end of the semester. It is very important to listen to the recorded lectures because weekly assessable quizzes are closely based on the material covered in the recorded lectures.
Optional seminar time and location: Tuesday, 12 noon. W6A 308.
Lecture_1 Recorded only except for first lecture |
Class_01 |
Tue |
12 |
W5C320 |
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Lecture_2 Recorded only |
Class_02 |
Fri |
11 |
W5C220 |
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Tutorial_1 |
Class_03 |
Tue |
14 |
X5B134 |
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Class_03 |
Tue |
15 |
X5B134 |
|||
Class_03 |
Fri |
12 |
W5C211 |
Technology Used
Students are required to have regular access to a computer and the internet. Mobile devices alone may not be sufficient.
The lectures for this unit will be recorded and the audio recordings will be available on the Echo 360 system. There is also an iLearn page for the unit which can be accessed at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/. Readings will be available via Multisearch and iLearn; other digital resources may also be placed on the iLearn site.
Lecture Schedule
Week 1
Lecture 1 Tuesday, 27 February Introduction & welcome
Lecture 2 Friday, 3 March Geography of the Eastern Frontier
No tutorials
Week 2
Lecture 3 Tuesday, 7 March Historical Background 1 (Rome)
Lecture 4 Friday, 10 March Historical Background 2 (Iran)
Tutorial 1 Introduction
Week 3
Lecture 5 Tuesday, 14 March The Sasanian “revolution”
Lecture 6 Friday, 17 March Rome’s early wars with the Sasanians – Severus Alexander & Gordian III
Tutorial 2 The Early Sasanians
Week 4
Lecture 7 Tuesday, 21 March The invasions of Shapur I
Lecture 8 Friday, 24 March The siege and capture of Dura Europos
Tutorial 3 Different traditions - Roman/Byzantine sources and the SKZ
Week 5
Lecture 9 Tuesday, 28 March Palmyra – 1st & 2nd centuries AD
Lecture 10 Friday, 31 March Palmyra – 3rd century and after.
Tutorial 4 The portrayal of Zenobia in ancient sources
Week 6
Lecture 11 Tuesday, 4 April The Persian Wars of Diocletian and Galerius
Lecture 12 Friday, 7 April The Strata Diocletiana
Tutorial 5 Sources on the wars of Diocletian and Galerius
Week 7 No lectures or tutorials. This is due to Good Friday falling on 14 April.
Semester Break Monday, 17 April – Friday, 28 April
Week 8
Lecture 13 Tuesday, 2 May Christianity & the Eastern Frontier
Lecture 14 Friday, 5 May Manichaeism & the Eastern Frontier
Tutorial 6 Christianity and Manichaeism on the Eastern Frontier
Week 9
Lecture 15 Tuesday, 9 May Frontier theory and the Eastern Frontier
Lecture 16 Friday, 12 May Constantine & Persia
Tutorial 7 Constantine and the Christians of Persia
Week 10
Lecture 17 Tuesday, 16 May The Role of Armenia between Rome and Persia
Lecture 18 Friday, 19 May The Role of the Arabs
Tutorial 8 Armenian Historiography
Week 11
Lecture 19 Tuesday, 23 May The Persian wars of Constantius II -1
Lecture 20 Friday, 26 May The Persian Wars of Constantius II-2
Tutorial 9 The eastern frontier under Constantius II
Week 12
Lecture 21 Tuesday, 30 May The Persian campaign of Julian-1
Lecture 22 Friday, 2 June The Persian campaign of Julian-2
Tutorial 10 Sources on the Persian invasion of Julian
Week 13
Lecture 23 Tuesday, 6 June Rome and Persia in Art & Coins
Lecture 24 Friday, 9 June Unit summary
Tutorial 11 Sasanian Rock Reliefs
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html
Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html
Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html
Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html
Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html
Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration
In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
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