Annotation
The course aims to provide the students with an overview of the history and material culture of Egypt in Macedonian, Ptolemaic and early Roman times (ca. 332 BC – 150 AD) with the occasional inroad into further developments in the Roman period.
The course is divided into five main segments, focusing first on the history of Ptolemaic Egypt (1), the organisation and administration of the land (2), and cultural and scientific developments (3). Following a general overview, the course aims to pay specific attention to a number of historical documents, such as a variety of Ptolemaic royal decrees and dedication stelae, as well as the developing relationship between the Ptolemaic royal house and the Egyptian priesthood on the hand and the evolving contacts between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman state on the other. The fourth segment concentrates one very specific region in Ptolemaic and Roman times – the Theban religious landscape, with a focus on characteristic features of and local developments in architecture, art, burial practices etc. (Lecturer: Filip Coppens, 10 weeks)
The last segment (5) is dedicated to the history, architecture and art of Egypt in Roman times. At this time Egypt lost its independence and became one of the provinces of the Roman Empire, which brought changes in the administration of the country. After a short historical overview mainly on the basis of reports of classical authors, the lectures will focus on how Egypt was administered, the structure and legal rights of its citizens and why and how was it important to Rome. The last lecture will concentrate on the architecture and art of this period, with an emphasis on the fusion of classical and Egyptian traditions as one can find in the archaeological context. (Lecturer: Alexandra Pastoreková, 3 weeks)
Literature
* D. Arnold, Temples of the Last Pharaohs, New York–Oxford 1999.
* R. S. Bagnall, The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, Oxford 2009.
* R. S. Bagnall, Egypt in Late Antiquity, Princeton 1993.
* R. S. Bagnall – D.W. Rathbone (eds.), Egypt from Alexander to the Copts. An Archaeological and Historical Guide, London 2004.
* K. A. Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, London 1999.
* A. K. Bowman, Egypt after the Pharaohs. 332 BC – AD 642. From Alexander to the Arab Conquest, Berkeley 1986.
* L. Capponi, Roman Egypt, London 2011.
* P. Green, Alexander to Actium. The Hellenistic Age, London 1990.
* G. Hölbl History of the Ptolemaic Empire, London–New York 2001 (= translation with updated bibliographical references of the original German version G. Hölbl, Geschichte des Ptolemäerreiches. Politik, Ideologie und religiöse Kultur von Alexander dem Grossen bis zum römische Eroberung, Darmstadt 1994).
* N. Lewis, Life in Egypt under Roman Rule, Oxford 1983.
* D. Peacock, “The Roman Period (30 BC – AD 311)”, in I. Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford 2000, p. 422–445 and 471–472 (further reading).
* C. Riggs (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt, Oxford 2012.