DSBcB53 The Seleucid Empire

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Ondřej Kvapil (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Michal Habaj, PhD. (alternate examiner)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Ondřej Kvapil
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 18:00–19:40 A21, except Mon 13. 11.
Prerequisites
Basic overview of ancient Greek history.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The objective of this course is to introduce students more closely to the history of the Seleucid state, its functioning and its historical context, within which the state evolved and within which it functioned, and also to some of its more specific cultural aspects.
Learning outcomes
Students shall have knowledge of the history of the Seleucid empire above the usual frame of the history of Ancient Greece, they will be able to conceptualize the Seleucid state in a more concrete and accurate manner, and they will be able to understand it in the more broader context of the ancient world.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction, overview of sources and literature; history of the empire's founding
  • 2. History of the empire from Antiochus I to Antiochus III.
  • 3. History of the empire from Antiochus IV. to its fall
  • 4. King, Court and Administration
  • 5. Satrapies
  • 6. Economy
  • 7. Army to Antiochus III.
  • 8. Army: reforms of Antiochus IV.
  • 9. Enemies and neighbors of the empire
  • 10. Material and spiritual culture
  • 11. Religion
  • 12. Society
  • 13. Completion, final discussion
Literature
    required literature
  • SHERWIN-WHITE, S. a A. KUHRT. From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993.
  • APPIANOS. Zrod římského impéria (Římské dějiny I). Praha: Svoboda, 1986. info
  • POLYBIOS. Dějiny I. Translated by Pavel Oliva. 1. vydání. Praha: Arista, 2008, 216 stran. ISBN 9788090376175. info
  • A companion to the Hellenistic world. Edited by Andrew Erskine. First published in paperback. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005, xxviii, 59. ISBN 1405132787. info
    recommended literature
  • DIODÓROS. Griechische Weltgeschichte. Edited by Michael Rathmann, Translated by Otto Veh - Gerhard Wirth. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 2005, Strana 317. ISBN 3777205176. info
  • DIODÓROS. Griechische Weltgeschichte. Edited by Gerhard Wirth. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 2008, Strana 309. ISBN 9783777208039. info
  • DIODÓROS. Griechische Weltgeschichte. Edited by Michael Rathmann, Translated by Otto Veh - Gerhard Wirth. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann, 2005, 314 stran. ISBN 3777205168. info
  • BEVAN, Edwyn Robert. The house of Seleucus. London: Edward Arnold, 1902, viii, 333. info
  • The Hellenistic court : monarchic power and elite society from Alexander to Cleopatra. Edited by Andrew Erskine - Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones - Shane Wallace. First published. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales, 2017, xxx, 442. ISBN 9781910589625. info
  • Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones selectae : supplementum Sylloges Inscriptionum Graecarum. Edited by Wilhelm Dittenberger. Lipsiae: apud S. Hirzel, 1903, v, 658. info
  • Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones selectae : supplementum Sylloges Inscriptionum Graecarum. Edited by Wilhelm Dittenberger. Lipsiae: apud S. Hirzel, 1905, v, 750. info
Teaching methods
Learning activities will consist of the lectures on topics given in the course contents and of the presentation of tasks given to the students of the course (ie. mainly reports or presentations on topics of the source texts or academic articles, and also possibly on individual or specific topics connected related to the course content), along with discussion on the given topics.
Assessment methods
Written test, with conditional fulfilment of the given presentation and report tasks.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2023, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/autumn2023/DSBcB53