Ancient Mediterranean and Mesopotamia
Value 1.0
Duplication of this content means that this unit may not be studied in addition to The Land of
the Pharaohs, 1.0 and/or The Land of the Nile, 0.5
Prerequisites
Nil
Specific Unit Goals
A course
This unit should enable students to:
Demonstrate investigation and
interpretation skills necessary to analyse
historical information and achieve
independence in researching
Communicate a logically developed and
focused argument to convey historical
positions or ideas
Demonstrate knowledge, awareness and
understanding of significant individuals,
social groups, cultures, political systems,
places, events and technology (including
written scripts)
Demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship between ancient literary and
archaeological evidence
Examine the concept of change and
continuity as it relates to the landscape,
through the physical evidence from
ancient Sumer, Egypt, Palestine and
Greece of the Heroic Age
T course
This unit should enable students to:
Demonstrate investigation and
interpretation skills necessary to solve
problems of evidence and achieve
independence in researching
Communicate a logically developed,
articulate and focused argument to
convey historical positions or ideas
Demonstrate knowledge, awareness,
understanding and interpretation of
significant individuals, social groups,
cultures, political systems, places, events
and technology (including written scripts)
Interpret the differences between ancient
literary and archaeological evidence
Interpret change and continuity as it
relates to the landscape, through the
physical evidence from ancient Sumer,
Egypt, Palestine and Greece of the Heroic
Age
Content
A study of this unit should include a selection of the topics from both . There is scope for some areas
to be treated in more depth than others. Topics for study will be guided by teacher expertise and
student interest.
The cradle of civilization
 Sumerians:
o From 3500 to the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur c 2135 BC

Babylonians:
o From independence in 630 BC to Nebuchadnezzar’s death and the attacks of
Cyrus the Great.

Assyrians:
o From Tiglath Pileser to the Fall of Nineveh (c1115 to 312 BC)

Syria, Palestine & Anatolia:
o City states of the Early and Middle Bronze Age.
o The Hittite Empire.
o New States of the Iron Age: Phoenecians, Arameans, Philistines, Hebrews
(The Kingdom of Israel), Syro-Hittite kingdoms, Phrygian kingdoms, Uratu.

Particular attention will be given to:
o Religion and Mythology. The Epic of Gilgamesh.
o Development of Writing and modern decipherment.
o Economic and diplomatic relations with Egypt, Iran, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine
and India.
o Excavations at Ur, Nineveh, Nimrud, Balawat, Khorsabad, Asshur, Babylon,
Uruk and Lagash.
o Development of archaeological techniques.
Ancient Egypt
 Introduction to Ancient Egypt:
o Prehistory, political geography, religion, mythology and the power of the
pharaoh.

The Old Kingdom:
o Emphasis on the 3rd and 4th Dynasties.
o The development of the pyramid
o Religious beliefs and funerary practices

God Kings and the Administration Of Power
o The Middle Kingdom and the Hyksos

The New Kingdom:
o Emphasis on the 17th and 18th Dynasties
o Specific pharaohs – Akhenaten, Ramses the Great and Hatshepshut.
o The Valley of the Kings and New Kingdom funerary practices.
o The Great Temple complexes.
o Deir el Medina: a case study.

Crete and Troy
o The Minoans
o Society and Civlisation.
o Literature – “Theseus and the Minotaur” and Plato’s “Atlantis”.
o Thera.
o The Myceneaens.
o Society and Civlisation.
o The Trojans.
o Homer’s Iliad.
o Archaeological evidence for the war evaluation of the historicity of Homer’s
legend
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Relevant and effective strategies will focus on investigating and interpreting evidence in:






Primary sources – e.g. diaries, posters, graffiti, letters, photographs, artefacts
Secondary sources –e.g. biographies, texts, documentaries, film and historical novel
Statistical data – e.g. maps, charts, graphs.
Kinesthetic activities, e.g. role plays and imaginative reconstructions of key events,
model making and visits to institutions, films, artistic interpretations or historic sites
may also be used to investigate and interpret evidence
Visits to relevant museums, galleries, etc.
Guest speakers when available and appropriate.
Findings will be communicated through:
 Writing – e.g. essay writing, document studies, empathetic exercises
 Oral and aural activities – e.g. class discussions, debates, guest speakers, oral
histories, group work, quizzes
 ICT – e.g. web quests, spreadsheet analyses, computer games, PowerPoint
presentations, Internet searches.
See Teaching and Learning Strategies in the main document and the History Course
Framework for other teaching strategies.
Assessment Task Types
See pages 335-337 for assessment information
Student Capabilities
Creative and critical thinkers
Enterprising problem-solvers
Skilled and empathetic communicators
Informed and ethical decision-makers
Environmentally and culturally aware
citizens
Confident and capable users of technologies
Independent and self-managing learners
Collaborative team members
Evidence could be found in:
Goals Content Teaching Assessment
and
Learning
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
Specific Unit Resources
Aldred, C
Avi Yonah, Michael,
Barnett, RD
Bierbrier, ML
Calendar, Gae
Cremin, Aedien,
The Egyptians, 2nd ed, London, 1984.
Introducing Archaeology, Cassell and Company,
London, 1973.
Assyrian Palace Reliefs, British Museum Publications,
London, 1976.
Illustrations of Old Testament History, British Museum
Publications, London, 2nd edn, 1977.
The Tomb Builders of the Pharaohs, London, 1982.
Egypt in the Old Kingdom, Longman, South Melbourne,
1998
The Enduring Past: Archaeology of the Ancient World
for Australians, New South Wales, University Press,
Kensington, 1988.
Crawford, Harriet
Sumer and the Sumerians, C.U.P. Cambridge, 1991.
Frankfort, Henri
The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient, Penguin,
Harmondsworth, 1970, 1979 reprint.
Hallo, William W & James, An Introduction to Ancient Egypt, London, 1979.
TGH
Homer
The Illiad, Penguin
Homer
Pharaoh’s People, London, 1984
Koutsoukis, A.J.
Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia, Longman
Cheshire, Melbourne, 1990.
Lloyd, Seton,
The Archaeology of Mesopotamia, Thames and Hudson,
London, 2nd edn, 1978.
Luckenbill, DD,
Ancient Records of Babylonia and Assyria, Vols I and II,
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1926, 1927.
Montet, P
Everyday Life in the Days of Ramesses the Great,
London, 1958.
Pritchard, JB
The Ancient Near East. A New Anthology of Texts and
Pictures Vols I, II, Princeton University Press,
Princeton, 1973, 1975.
Reade, J,
Assyrian Sculpture, British Museum Publications,
London, 1983.
Simpson, William Kelly
The Ancient Near East: A History, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, San Diego 1971.
Audio Visual
Mesopotamian Art (The History of Western Art: 2)
News from Mesopotamia 1998
Iraq: The Cradle Of Civilisation 1993
Ancient Lives
The Pyramid Builders
The Great Pyramid – Gateway to the Stars 1994
Ghosts of Wonder 1996
Ancient Egypt 1998
These were accurate at the time of publication.
Please see the Bibliography on page 31 of part 1 of the course for further resources.