CL3ET: Ancient Ethiopia: The Aksumite Kingdom

Module code: CL3ET

Module provider: Classics; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Rachel Mairs, email: r.mairs@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module introduces one of the most fascinating and significant ancient African civilisations, the Aksumite kingdom of the Ethiopia and Eritrea in the period c. 1-500 AD. Students will learn how the Aksumite Kingdom interacted with neighbouring states in ancient Sudan and South Arabia, and, further afield, with the Greek, Roman and Egyptian world. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the history of the Aksumite kingdom. 
2. Show understanding of the range of literary, epigraphic and archaeological forms of evidence important for understanding ancient Ethiopia. 
3. Appreciate how colonialism and imperialism have affected modern interpretations of ancient African civilisations. 

Module content

The Aksumite Kingdom (fl. first half of the first millennium AD) was centred on the city of Aksum, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. A wealth of ancient evidence from Aksum – including archaeological remains and inscriptions in Greek and the Ethiopian language Ge’ez – allow us to explore how this kingdom functioned and conceived of its own place in the world. To complement this, we will look at how ancient Greek and Roman sources depicted Ethiopia and assess how accurate their information was. Topics covered will include the reign of King Ezana, one of the most prolific inscription-makers at Aksum; the conversion of Ethiopia to Christianity; multiculturalism and international connections at Aksum; and the monumental landscape of Aksum, including the famous stelae. We will also critically examine how modern European travellers and historians (from the 16th century onwards) ‘discovered’ ancient Aksum, and how colonialism and imperialism coloured their impressions of it. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Class time will be a mixture of lecture and seminar formats. For seminars, students will read and discuss individual primary sources, scholarly articles and Early Modern traveller accounts. 

Study hours

At least 20 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will be able to submit an essay plan for feedback before submitting their final piece of coursework. 

Reassessment

Additional costs