Ateneo - UPO

The conflicted relationship between the Romans, Parthians and Persians on the eastern border of Mesopotamia between the 1st and 6th centuries AD. Through the reading of documentary sources, especially historiographical and epigraphic, the profound institutional changes, border fluctuations, cultural and religious transformations of the imperial and late antique Near East and their reflections in the historical memory of the populations will be presented.

Beate Dignas, Engelbert Winter, Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity. Neighbours and Rivals, Cambridge University Press 2007. ISBN 9780521614078 The volume is also available at the following link: https://archive.org/details/RomeAndPersiaInLateAntiquityVahidddd/page/n7/mode/2up Additional bibliographic material will be provided by the instructor during the course.

In parallel with other curricular disciplines of antiquities, the teaching contributes to the achievement of the educational objectives of the course of studies by providing students with specific methodological tools for understanding the Imperial and Late Antique Roman History (space-time collocation of events, technical language; use of sources), in view of historical research, teaching and historical communication, educational and cultural dissemination.

Aver sostenuto in triennale un esame di Storia Romana (istituzionale). Chi non avesse sostenuto in triennale un esame di Storia Romana leggerà un manuale concordato con il docente.

Lessons lasting a total of 36 hours (6 CFU), which will take place in the classroom with the support of multimedia material. All lessons will be held in person. Non-attending students, in addition to the above reading, will read A. Pellizzari (ed.), Last(ing) Frontier. Power Display and Cultural Interference on the Limes between the 2nd and the 4th centuries CE, Rome 2025.

Students with DSA are asked to inform the lecturer at the beginning of the course in order to agree on a personal learning path tailored to their needs, even beyond the compensatory and dispensatory measures provided for the examination.

The course topics and the reading of the indicated bibliography will be verified through an oral examination for the evaluation of which (in thirtieths) the following parameters will be considered: knowledge and understanding of the required topics; relevance of the answers; organization, autonomy, clarity and effectiveness of the exhibition; ability to operate links, insights and synthesis; ability to refer to the historical sources.

Relations between Rome and the Iranian world span a period of over seven centuries, from the 1st century BC to the 7th century AD. Through the reading of significant ancient sources (in translation), the course will examine the complex, diplomatic and conflictual relations that characterised the relationship between Rome and the Eastern powers beyond the Mesopotamian border. The Near East was in fact characterised in those centuries by profound institutional changes and significant border fluctuations as a result of military campaigns conducted and suffered by the various actors operating in it (Romans, Parthians, Sassanids), which caused profound upheavals in societies, settlements, customs, culture, religion and technology, laying the foundations for long-lasting phenomena throughout the Near East in the following centuries and deeply affecting the historical memory of the populations.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING knowing the spatio-temporal coordinates of the considered period, the proposed problems and a suitable patrimony of specific terms of the discipline. APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING using the acquired data in order to contextualize topics, events and historical figures in space and time; being able to read, understand and contextualize an historical source. JUDGMENT AUTONOMY answering orally to questions that trigger inductive or deductive cognitive processes; reading, understanding and interpreting an unknown historical source from the acquired knowledge and skills. COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS using a language and a scientific terminology; organizing the topics effectively and clearly; making connections, details and synthesis. LEARNING SKILLS continuous learning ability by consulting an updated bibliography and sitography.