ClassMeeting: 6 January: Agenda

Introductions

Your instructors: Professor Mary Jaeger, Classics; Nathanael Andrade & John Nicols, history; and Hartmut Blum, history University of Tuebingen [and email access: Jaeger, Andrade, Blum, Nicols]

Review of Syllabus and Course Plan. Expectations, themes, key questions, sources; examinations, papers.

Themes for the first part of the course:

Week2: Rome and the Semitic Peoples of the Ancient Mediterranean: Comments and Overview by Andrade:

We will examine the following topics and themes in Mediterranean history:

• The settlement of Phoenicians in various parts of the western Mediterranean and even the Atlantic coast.
• The foundation of Carthage and the eventual formation of a Carthaginian empire before 264 BCE
• The basic features of Carthaginian government and of Punic/Carthaginian religion and culture and the sources of evidence for them
• Ethnicity, language, culture, and urban life in north Africa and the western Mediterranean before 264 BCE, in particular those pertaining to Punic and Berber peoples
• Carthaginian and Greek relations, particularly antagonisms between Carthage and Syracuse in Sicily before 264 BCE *Greek and Roman perceptions and literary representations of Carthaginians and Punic peoples
• The political and cultural aftermath of Carthage and North Africa after their conquest by the Romans

Key Questions: The settlement of Phoenicians in various parts of the Mediterranean and the establishment of Punic polities and culture in North Africa were pivotal episodes in Mediterranean history. But much of our textual information for Punic North Africa and the Carthaginians comes from Greek and Roman authors. For our meeting, please consider the following questions: What are the limits of our textual sources? In which instances do you deem them accurate? In which instances do you deem them problematic? Why? In your opinion, what kinds of sources and evidence give us the best insights into the history of the Carthaginians and Punic peoples in north Africa? Why?

Week3: History and Literature on the Wars. Comments and Overview by Jaeger. An overview of ancient historiography

• An overview of the historiography of Rome and the Punic wars
• Specific discussion of Polybius and the Punic wars
  
• The Second Punic War as a literary topic, with a focus on Livy 21-30.

Weeks4 & 5: Rome and the Mediterranean World. Comments and Overview of Roman Expansion by Nicols.

• The wars were were long [the first two went some 20 years] and expensive in terms of human [casualties in single battles as high as those of early WW1] and fiscal resources [extraordinary taxation,etc.]. On both counts probably the most 'expensive' of the pre modern period. Why did both sides persist? Why did the allies of Rome remain loyal when faced with heavy losses? What were the goals of each?
• We will in week three examine
  • the Roman alliance system, the level of security of life and property in Italy,
  • the dangers faced by Italian cities confronting semi-nomadic peoples of Italy and from beyond. Italy was not a safe place. And walled cities testify to the insecurity.
  • Given this reality how can one explain Roman expansition through Italy? Was Rome an aggressive annexational imperialist from the beginning? or a practioner of defensive imperialism?
  • And Rome's enemies: Samnites, Greek and Etruscan city-states, and Pyrrhus, the Hellenistic king: what were their intentions and were they a threat to Rome and to the members of her alliance?
  • And what caused the wars [aka 'war guilt']? Who was the aggressor? What were the respective complaints?

Week5: Midterm Examination: Short answer essays either on Tu or on Th [tba, depending on where we are at the end of Week 4]

Weeks6-10: Professor Blum writes:

Please allow me to introduce myself: My name is Hartmut Blum, and I have been teaching Ancient History at the University of Tuebingen [the partner university of the University of Oregon in Germany) since 2002. My email address is linked above.

My visit marks part of the exchange that brought Professor Nicols to Tuebingen to teach in the Spring Term of 2013.

Through February and March this year, I will stay at the University of Oregon at Eugene as a so-called "Distinguished Visiting Professor" (i.e. a short term visiting guest as part of an international exchange program) and take part in teaching the class "HIST 414/514 Rome & Carthage" which you have registered for.

From 10 February onwards, we will meet twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, until the end of the semester. My intention is to give you reading assignments in advance (most of this as pdf) and to discuss this material in class.

There will be no lecture on my side or oral presentations on your side. The assigned reading may amount up to ca. 50 pages in English for each meeting, and it is absolutely essential for the success of our course that you prepare this. I will send you the assignment for Feb 10th at the beginning of February. From what I understand, there may also be classroom exercises once a week, a midterm and a final examination.

Students seeking seminar credit should contact Prof. John Nicols.

I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.

Best regards, and see you in February, Hartmut Blum