F1611 Intercultural Communication in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Land of Israel in Greco- Roman Times
Fischer Moshe
This course will examine intercultural communication in the Eastern Mediterranean in general and in Ancient Israel in particular during Classical times (general chronological frame: 5th century BCE – 8th century CE). Two leading cultural worlds meet, fight but also merge in the Near East, namely the Greco-Roman and the Oriental ones. The main theme proposed in this course is the presentation of various aspects of such interactions commonly termed 'Hellenization' and 'Romanization', as reflected by archaeological, epigraphical and artistic material which has been revealed by the archaeological research carried out in the region during recent decades. Main topics included in this course are the transition from 'Orientalism' to 'Hellenism', the Phoenician vis-à-vis the Greek culture during the Persian rule of the area, the Jewish-Greek and Jewish-Roman conflict seen through the Maccabean Wars and the First and Second Jewish War (Bar-Kokhba War) against the Romans. Epigraphic material will also be presented, reflecting the use of Oriental languages as overwhelmed by Greek and Latin in the area, as part of the cultural impact and interaction. One outcome of this process was the Hellenic/Hellenistic cultural heritage of Byzantine Palestine as reflected by artistic achievements such as mosaic pavements.
Priority will be given to material evidence and the historical background of the pluralistic societies which were typical of the region during these periods. Focus will be on the ethnic groups of the area during different periods such as Jews, Greeks, Phoenicians under Persian rule; Jews and Greeks in Hellenistic Palestine (the backdrop to the Maccabean wars) and the time of Herod the Great (the background for events of the first and second centuries CE). We will also be looking at the archaeology of the Holy Land in the first centuries of Christianity, in particular the impact of Christian pilgrimage on Palestinian society, and later the interaction with Early Islam.
Learning outcomes of the course:
knowledge of the archaeological and historical background of the development of the Near East in later antiquity.
Evaluation
Reading