Students

AHIS8213 – Egypt: Alexander to Augustus

2026 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Richard Bott
richard.bott@mq.edu.au
Matthew Bailey
matthew.bailey@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MAncHist or GradCertAncHist or MA in (Ancient History or Coptic Studies)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
Theocritus wrote: '... there's no country so fruitful as the low-country of Egypt when Nile comes gushing up to soak the soil and break it, nor no country, neither, possessed of so many cities of men learned in labour ... and in them the lord and master of all is proud Ptolemy.' In this unit this powerful empire is studied. Its kings, fifteen of them, all had the name of Ptolemy. In their capital city of Alexandria, founded by and named after Alexander the Great, the kings of the Ptolemy family built the Museum and Library which made their empire the beating heart of the Greek intellectual world. Theirs was the longest-lasting of the successor kingdoms which took over the lands conquered by Alexander, lasting until Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus) defeated Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony in a sea-battle at Actium in 31 BC.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Apply and assimilate information in a context appropriate to postgraduate study.
  • ULO2: Demonstrate understanding orally and in writing, by deduction and argumentation.
  • ULO3: Develop and apply techniques of understanding ancient sources of differing kinds.
  • ULO4: Relate understanding of the ancient world to broad conceptual frameworks and modern contexts.
  • ULO5: Show in writing critical understanding of factual questions and judgements of likelihood and value.
  • ULO6: Create texts which reason persuasively from a historical question to a provisional answer, citing relevant evidence.

General Assessment Information

Deadlines, Extensions and Late Penalties

Assessments are due in weeks 3, 8, and 14. You can apply for an extension to a deadline for an assessment - this is known at Macquarie University as Special Consideration - if you foresee an interruption to your studies at the time of submission of an assessment, you should make an application for an extension or Special Consideration.

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.

This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Minor essay 20% No 15/03/2026 Individual No Open AI
Major essay 40% No 03/05/2026 Individual No Open AI
Short-answer summaries 40% No 14/06/2026 Individual No Open AI

Minor essay

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 15/03/2026
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI

Students will write an essay (word-limit 1000 words including footnotes but not including bibliography list) on one of the titles given in iLearn.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply and assimilate information in a context appropriate to postgraduate study.
  • Demonstrate understanding orally and in writing, by deduction and argumentation.
  • Develop and apply techniques of understanding ancient sources of differing kinds.
  • Create texts which reason persuasively from a historical question to a provisional answer, citing relevant evidence.

Major essay

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 03/05/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI

Students will write an essay (word-limit 2000 words including footnotes but not including bibliography list) on one of the titles given in iLearn.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply and assimilate information in a context appropriate to postgraduate study.
  • Demonstrate understanding orally and in writing, by deduction and argumentation.
  • Develop and apply techniques of understanding ancient sources of differing kinds.
  • Create texts which reason persuasively from a historical question to a provisional answer, citing relevant evidence.

Short-answer summaries

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: 14/06/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI

A choice of short-answer summaries will be set. Four summaries must be given. The word-length for the short-answer summaries document as a whole is 2,500 words, so that each summary should be approximately 625 words long. Some leeway is allowed on length, but there will be no extra marks for long answers. These summaries are not another essay. Footnoting should not be used, and bibliographies should not be given. What is required is a set of well thought out but relatively brief answers to analytical questions drawn from across the ideas and events dealt with in the unit. The idea is that it should be possible to write the full set of summaries in three hours, although there is no way of checking that a student does not spend four or five hours writing: note again that there will be no credit for extra length. The questions for the short-answer summaries will be made available in the iLearn unit during Weeks 13 and 14. Answers must be submitted at the end of Week 14.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply and assimilate information in a context appropriate to postgraduate study.
  • Demonstrate understanding orally and in writing, by deduction and argumentation.
  • Develop and apply techniques of understanding ancient sources of differing kinds.
  • Relate understanding of the ancient world to broad conceptual frameworks and modern contexts.
  • Show in writing critical understanding of factual questions and judgements of likelihood and value.
  • Create texts which reason persuasively from a historical question to a provisional answer, citing relevant evidence.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • Academic Success for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Lectures will be online each week. Students are also expected to participate in the online weekly forums, where they will have the opportunity to engage more critically with the readings and lectures.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook