Ancient Egypt

Catalog description

This course will track the history of Egypt, the first nation state in the world, covering a time span of over 3,000 years. The investigation of the history will focus primarily on the major players (i.e. the pharaohs themselves) and the political events that shaped their reigns. Its history involves not only the Nile Valley, but also that of the entire northeast African continent and lands of Western Asia. The magnificent ruins and artifacts that have survived offer the student a visual examination of the ancients and will provide illustration to a great extent of the specific time periods and dramatic incidents. The student will also be confronted at every turn by textual sources (in translation) and the archaeological evidence. The latter will be addressed at length with introduction to archaeological expeditions. This will serve to teach the student the contribution of archaeological method and interpretation in the knowledge and understanding of the history of the Near East.