Study Guide: HIST 3840, Ancient History (Exam 1, Spring 2012)
Study chapters 8-14 in the textbook (Ralph W. Mathiesen,
Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations) and the assigned internet
readings (see syllabus), as well as your lecture notes.
You may bring in one 4x6 index card to the exam. You may
write/type whatever you want using both sides of the card, but cannot
bring magnifying glasses or other extraordinary aids to read
minuscule writing. I will initial your card before the exam starts and
will pick up your card with the exam. Please bring at least one blue
examination booklet in which to write the exam (available at the
Bookstore).
General tips:
• Be sure to review all material (textbook, internet readings,
class notes).
• Start with the big picture, then begin to narrow down to the
details.
• Plan on budgeting your time. You will have 120 minutes (2
hours) to take the exam (minus a few minutes for distributing
and collecting tests). If a section of the exam is worth 30% of
the total, budget 36 minutes (30% of 120 minutes), if a section
is worth 10%, then budget 12 minutes. If you want to have time
to plan and/or look over your answers, you should budget a
little less for each section.
• Before you begin writing, read over the whole exam. Note
where you have choices and mark which questions (terms or
essays) you are going to tackle.
• For essays, you should make an informal outline (on the back
of the exam paper or in the cover of the blue book–these will
not be read or graded by the instructor) before you start writing.
This will help you stay focused and prevent panic attacks if you
find yourself running short of time. The outline will go more
quickly if you study by preparing outlines for all of the essay
questions (and time yourself writing out at least one practice
essay).
I. Terms (4 out of 8 terms; 10% each; 30% total)
Terms will be taken from the lectures and readings. A good
start would be to study the hints for the essay questions below, but be
sure that you look at each day's readings and notes to make sure that
you are not missing any important terms. Write a substantial
paragraph on each term (5 sentences or longer). Be sure to address
the questions Who? What? When? Where? and Why? (both "why
important" and "why it happened").
II. Technical Terms (2 out of 4 terms; 5% each; 10% total)
Terms will come from the technical terms given at the beginning
of each class period; write a strong paragraph for each term. Half of
your credit will come from writing a short definition of the term or
description of the concept (1 or 2 sentences). The other half will come
from at least one specific example of how this concept can be used to
research or understand ancient history (3 or 4 sentences).
Terms: numismatics, palynology, prosopography, demography,
diplomatics, paleography, iconography, hagiography,
II. Essay (1 of 2 essays; 30% total)
TWO of the following will appear on the mid-term exam. You
will write on ONE of them. I will grade your essay based on coverage
of relevant historical facts, reference to appropriate primary sources,
understanding of historical debates and interpretations, overall
organization and argument, and writing ability (clear style, correct
grammar). The hints below are to aid you in studying, but will not
appear on the exam.
Primary sources (be prepared to discuss at least one primary
source in each essay and to be able to write a paragraph for the
Terms section): Anecdotes about Alexander (Plutarch and others);
Athanaeus, “Procession of Ptolemy”; Twelve Tables; Cicero against
Marcus Antonius; Tacitus, “Germania”; Eusebius on the Conversion
of Constantine; Athanasius, “Life of Anthony”; Ammianus Marcellinus;
Priscus on Attila the Hun. (Bonus: Sidonius Apollinaris and Salvian.)
1. Compare and contrast the empires of Alexander the Great
and Augustus Caesar. Consider how each man acquired the empire,
how he ruled it, and the fate of the empire after his death.
Hint: Macedonia, Greece, Philip of Macedon, Aristotle,
Alexander the Great, Greek city states, Persia, satrapies, Egypt,
India, Hellenistic culture, Stoic philosophy, Alexandria, civil wars,
successor states, Seleucids, Antigonids, Ptolemies, Mauryans,
Rome, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Roman Republic, Senate,
civil wars, consul, dictator, emperor, public works, aqueducts, roads,
temples, patronage of the arts, Vergil, Ovid, Julio-Claudian emperors,
Good Emperors
2. Discuss the geographical expansion of the Roman Empire.
To what extent was it the result of planning and to what extent the
result of happenstance?
Hint: Romans, Latins, Etruscans, Sabines, Celts, Germanic
tribes, Berbers and other Africans, Egyptians, Greeks and
Macedonians, Hebrews, Persians and other easterners; Italy, Gaul,
Spain, Britain, Numidia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Macedonia,
Greece; Punic wars, Social War, Marius and Sulla, Julius Caesar,
Cleopatra, Augustus, Diocletian, Constantine
3. Discuss the tension between family and state in the Roman
Republic and early Empire (through the death of Augustus).
Consider how this is reflected in myths and legends, laws, and
political developments.
Hint: Tarquin the Proud, rape of Lucretia, patricians, plebeians,
three types of marriage, Senate, Twelve Tables, Marius, Sulla, Social
War, Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus, Julius Caesar, first triumvirate,
Crassus, Pompey, crossing the Rubicon, Brutus, Octavian, Augustus,
second triumvirate, Lepidus, Marc Antony, Cleopatra, Octavia,
Augustus, Julio-Claudian Emperors
4. Trace Roman religion from the beginning of the Republic
until the fall of the western Empire in 476. Consider the impact of
various religious ideas from the Mediterranean and beyond (including
Christianity).
Hint: polytheism, syncretism, Greek religion, Etruscan religion,
Roman religion, superstitio and religio, household gods (lares and
penates), omens, offerings, temples, Sybiline books, Stoic and
Epicurian philosophies, Isis, mystery religions, household gods, epic
poetry, Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Judaism, Torah, Temple in Jerusalem,
Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Dead Sea Scrolls, apocrypha,
pseudepigrapha, Jesus, apostles, gospels, Paul, bishops, councils,
heresies, Monophysites, Donatists, Gnostics, Arians
5. Discuss the position of women in the Roman world from the
Republic until the end of antiquity (roughly 600 CE). Consider women
of all social classes, including both “Roman” and “foreign” women.
Hint: three types of marriage (conferreatio, coemptio, usus),
naming practices, political marriages, motherhood, Cornelia (mother
of the Gracchi), Julia (aunt of Julius Caesar), Livia (wife of Augustus),
Julia (daughter of Augustus), pater familias, (mater familias), law of
three (or four) children, household gods, Vestal Virgins, Cleopatra,
Christianity, agrarian households, urban households, slaves,
prostitutes
6. Discuss the different theories for the fall of the Roman
Empire in the west.
Hint: Edward Gibbon, lead pipes, bread and circuses,
debasement of coinage, wage/price controls, depopulation, Germanic
tribes, “billiard ball” theory, military organization, foederates
(confederates), Senate, succession, communications,
Constantinople, Christianity, civic engagement, Romulus Augustulus,
Huns, slavery
7. Discuss the problems facing the Roman Empire from the
death of Augustus until the reign of Diocletian.
Hint: Roman Republic, civil wars, Senate, emperor, Pax
Romana, imperial succession, Julio-Claudian line, provinces,
citizenship, army, confederates (foederati), Good Emperors, Crash of
the Third Century, debasement of coinage, military changes,
Diocletian, persecution of Christians, division of empire
8. Compare and contrast the successor states to Alexander the
Great’s empire with the successor states to the Roman Empire after
476.
Hint: Seleucids, Antigonids, Ptolemies, Mauryans, Hellenistic
culture, philosophy, Stoics, Epicureans, geometry, Euclid, geography,
Ptolemy of Alexandria, Alexandria, Justinian, Byzantine Empire,
Franks, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Anglo-Saxons, Christianity,
Roman law, Heraclius, Islam
III. Overall Essay (1 of 5; 20%).
This essay is modeled on the Major Field Assessment that the
History Department has developed to measure how well students
have mastered both the content and the theoretical framework of
history. Directions: In a full essay of at least five paragraphs, respond
to ONE of the following with specific reference to topics covered in
this course (HIST 3840, Ancient History). Be sure to make clear
which essay option you chose. YOUR ESSAY MUST BE ON A
DIFFERENT TOPIC FROM THE ESSAY CHOSEN IN SECTION II.
A. Periodization: Identify and discuss a question of historical
periodization. Why have historians identified the era in question
as a distinct historical period and what perspectives or
considerations suggest alternative patterns of continuity and
change?
B. Causation: Identify and discuss a significant event or
development attributed by historians to multiple short-term and
long-term causes. What approaches to understanding historical
change (political, economic, social, cultural, etc.) does each
factor represent, and how do you rank their relative
importance?
C. Context: Identify and discuss a historical subject for which
you believe considerations of context are especially important
in forming value judgments.
D. Primary Evidence: Identify and discuss an instance in
which the examination of a primary source (or sources) has
significantly challenged or changed your interpretation of a
historical subject.
E. Historiography: Identify and discuss a historical
interpretation that has changed significantly over time. What
factors, internal and external to the discipline of history,
contributed to this change?
IV. Map (1% each; 10% total)
Be able to find the following places on a map of the
Mediterranean and surrounding areas. See maps on inside covers of
the textbook. Places marked with a star (*) have been discussed in
class but are not labeled on the flyleafs of the book; many, however,
can be found in the smaller maps in the assigned chapters of the
textbook and in standard reference works.
Atlantic Ocean Greece
*Asia Minor
Aegean Sea Syria
Mediterranean Judea
Sea
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Adriatic Sea
Macedonia
Tyrrhenian
Sea
Arabia
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Gaul
Black Sea
Spain
English
Channel
Germania
*Britain
Danube River
Rhine River
Nile River
Sahara Desert Jerusalem
Arabian Desert
Rome
Crete
Milan
Cyprus
Sicily
Constantinople
Crete
Alexandria
(Egypt)
Sardinia
Naples
Corsica
*Pompeii
Caucasus Mts.
Balkans Mts. Athens
Carthage
Alps
Syracuse
Pyrenees Mts.