Achaemenid Persian Empire and
Alexander the Great
• Research papers (essays):
• For 3 ECTS points: without essay this class is 3
ECTS points worth
• ca. five pages-long (ca 1500 words)
• including footnotes and bibliography
• first draft to be handed over by 21.12.2012 (via
e-mail): krzysztof.nawotka@gmail.com
• to be handed over by the last classroom meeting
Research papers 1
• Your independent research based on
sources in translation and on secondary
literature
• Structure:
- Introduction: statement of research
question to be handled in the paper
- Main body of paper
- conclusions
Research papers 2
• Paper is to be analytical, not narrative
• Internet:
- Useful links: www.perseus.tufts.edu (for
collection of ancient authors),
http://www.bu.uni.wroc.pl/en (Library Univ. of
Wroclaw for e-journals)
• Topics: either from the list or cleared with me
• No copying allowed
• Always mark your source in footnotes
First draft
• Contents:
- You state your what sources and
secondary literature you are going to use
- Outline of contets of your paper
- Ca. 2 page long
• To be e-mailed to me
(krzysztof.nawotka@gmail.com) by 21
December 2012
Suggested essay topics
Persian Empire on the brink of war with
Alexander the Great
Orientalizing policy of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great and the Greeks
Alexander the Great and tradition of Philip II
Court of Alexander the Great
Cavalry of Alexander the Great
Siege warfare of Alexander the Great
Suggested essay topics
Infantry of Alexander the Great
Oriental troops in Alexander’s army
Athens in the age of Alexander the Great
Religiosity of Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great and Iranian elite
Career tracks under Alexander the Great
(selected examples)
Alexander the Great and alcohol
Suggested reading
• C.W. Blackwell, In the Absence of Alexander, 1999.
• E.N. Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus: The Emergence
of Macedon, Princeton UP 1990.
• A.B. Bosworth, “Alexander and the Iranians,” Journal of
Hellenic Studies 100 (1980): 1-21.
• A.B. Bosworth, Conquest and Empire: The Reign of
Alexander the Great, Cambridge UP 1988.
• A.B. Bosworth, E.J. Baynham (eds.), Alexander the
Great in Fact and Fiction, Oxford UP 2000.
• A. Cohen, The Alexander Mosaic: Stories of Victory and
Defeat, Cambridge UP 1997.
Suggested reading
• R.M. Errington, A History of Macedonia,
Berkeley and Los Angeles 1990.
• R.N. Frye, The History of Ancient Iran, Munich
1984.
• I. Gershevitch (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran,
ii, Cambridge 1985.
• N.G.L. Hammond, Alexander the Great: King,
Commander and Statesman3, London 1996.
• W. Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander
the Great, Blackwell 2006.
Suggested reading
• S. Hornblower, “Persia,” [in:] Cambridge Ancient
History, vi2, Cambridge 1994: 45-96.
• R. Lane Fox, Alexander the Great, London 1973.
• K. Nawotka, Alexander the Great, Cambridge
Scholars Publishing 2010.
• K. Nawotka, “Freedom of Greek Cities in Asia
Minor in the Age of Alexander the Great,” Klio 85
(2003): 15-41.
• K. Nawotka, “Alexander the Great in Persepolis,”
Acta Antiqua Aacademiae Scientiarum
Hungaricae 43 (2003): 67-76.
Suggested reading
• K. Nawotka, “Alexander the Great and
Kingdom of Asia,” Eos 91 (2004): 34-43.
• J.M. O’Brien, Alexander the Great: The
Invisible Enemy, London 1992.
• J. Wiesehöfer, Ancient Persia from 550
B.C. to 650 A.D., London and New York
1996.
• I. Worthington, Philip II of Macedonia, New
Haven and London 2008.