93270 - Regional History of the Ancient World (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will know the history of one region in the ancient world by means of a direct inspection of various kinds of sources (literary, epigraphic, archaeological and documentary). They will also possess a research methodology enabling them to tackle various topics concerning Antiquity, its institutions, society and cultural interactions. They will be able to describe and illustrate specific instances of cultures meeting and understand multicultural contexts. They will also know how to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different cultures and viewpoints, spotting the tie-ups among different disciplines.

Course contents

The course investigates the geography and ancient history of the territory of present-day Emilia-Romagna, which corresponds almost entirely to the Augustan regio octava. It was included within a larger context, in earlier phase in the Adriatic dimension and later in the dimension of Roman Italy This particular region was chosen as an example to understand how a smaller society was born and functioned within a bigger one.

The course contents will be divided as follows:

Conceptual and methodological introduction (about 6 hours):

• Interconnections between general and regional history; the recent global history approach (about 2 hours);
• How the space of Emilia Romagna was perceived in ancient thought; the difference between geography and chorography (about 2 hours);
• The different types of available sources and their use in regional history (about 2 hours).

The ancient geography of the region (about 8 hours):

• The geography of Roman Italy and the division into regiones by Augustus (about 2 hours);
• Critical reading of text excerpts from Greek and Latin authors in relation to the geography of Emilia-Romagna, starting from the pre-Roman era (about 4 hours);
• Analysis of other types of documents (itineraries, literary sources) that can be useful in outlining a more comprehensive geographical profile of the regio octava (about 2 hours).

The pre-Roman phase and the Roman conquest (about 6 hours):

• Reconstruction of historical events and socio-cultural factors of the Po Valley before the Roman conquest, with a special emphasis on the Terramare, Villanovan, Etruscan and Gallic cultures (about 3 hours);
• The Roman conquest of the Po Valley: historical and political motivations and the differences between the first and the second phases (3-2 c. BC) (about 3 hours).

The Region in the Roman state (about 10 hours)

• The foundation of the main centres (colonies and municipalities) and space organisation by the Romans (about 4 hours);
• The life of the cities (socio-economic, religious, institutional factors) as reconstructed on epigraphic documentation, with examples from the main settlements (about 4 hours);
• The transition to Late Antiquity (about 2 hours).

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students:

1. S. Magnani, Geografia storica del mondo antico, Bologna: Il Mulino 2003.
2. D. Rigato, M. Vitelli Casella, Le modalità insediative e lo sfruttamento del territorio nella regio VIII: l’apporto dei documenti epigrafici, in C.S. Fioriello e F. Tassaux (a cura di), I paesaggi costieri dell’Adriatico tra Antichità e Altomedioevo, Atti della Tavola Rotonda di Bari (22-23 maggio 2017), Bordeaux: Ausonius Editions 2019, pp. 115-133.
3. J. Ortalli, Crisi urbana e invasioni barbariche: spunti archeologici dall’Italia Cispadana del III secolo d.C., in S. F. Ramallo Asensio, A. Quevedo Sánchez (eds.), Las Ciudades de la Tarraconense Oriental entre los s. II-IV d.C: evolución urbanística y contextos materiales, Murcia: Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2014, pp. 13-50.
4. For the topics discussed in class, attending students will count, as well as on personal notes, on the slides projected during the lessons.

For non attending students:

1. S. Magnani, Geografia storica del mondo antico, Bologna: Il Mulino 2003.
2. M. Marini Calvani (a cura di), Aemilia. La cultura romana in Emilia Romagna dal 3° secolo a.C. all'età costantiniana, Venezia: Marsilio, 2000, pp. XVII-103 e 320-342.
3. Tre articoli, a scelta, sulle città dal volume M. Marini Calvani (a cura di), Aemilia. La cultura romana in Emilia Romagna dal 3° secolo a.C. all'età costantiniana, Venezia: Marsilio, 2000.
4. J. Ortalli, Crisi urbana e invasioni barbariche: spunti archeologici dall’Italia Cispadana del III secolo d.C., in S. F. Ramallo Asensio, A. Quevedo Sánchez (eds.), Las Ciudades de la Tarraconense Oriental entre los s. II-IV d.C: evolución urbanística y contextos materiales, Murcia: Universidad de Murcia. Servicio de Publicaciones, 2014, pp. 13-50.
5. M.F. Corsi, La discriptio augustea dell'Italia: un tentativo di regionalismo?, «Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana», Serie XIII, vol. IX (2016), pp. 83-91.

It is recommended to use a good historical atlas, e.g. Atlante storico De Agostini, Novara: Istituto Geografico De Agostini, 2003 [available at the library of Ancient history, via Zamboni 38 2nd floor, under the signature CONS ATL 36].

If interested in a particular topic among the ones the course is centred on, students can contact the lecturer to arrange alternative readings.

Teaching methods

Lectures with a particular focus on literary and material sources. See also Teaching tools below.

A visit to the archaeologic museum of Bologna is planned as part of the course.

If they cannot attend some of the lectures, attending students can stream the recordings on Panopto.

Students with special educational needs, such as disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders, are invited to contact the lecturer in order to identify the most appropriate teaching and examination methods, in agreement with the competent University's office.

Assessment methods

The assessment, through an oral examination of about 30 min., will test:

• the knowledge of topics of ancient geography;
• the ability in the use of different kinds of sources;
• the knowledge of the events of the region within preroman and roman contexts;
• the ability to communicate orally, in particular synthesis and logical skills, as well as the mastery of an adequatelexicon.

For each of the criteria outlined above, the following assessment scale can be proposed:

• Excellent (30 cum laude)
• Very Good (28-30)
• Good (25-27)
• Satisfactory (22-24)
• Sufficient (18-21)

The evaluation of the single parameters will contribute to determine the final vote. In the assessment of attending students, consistency in attending, active participation during the lectures will be taken into account.

The oral examination usually consists in three questions; for attending students:

• a question on the key events of Roman history from the origins to the end of the Republic (on the basis of the handbook by S. Magnani);
• a question on the preroman situation in Emilia Romagna and/or on the Roman conquest (on the basis of the notes taken during the course and the recommended readings);
• a question on Roman or Late Antique period (on the basis of the notes taken during the course and the recommended readings);

In addition to the above, there will be three questions for non attending students:

• a question on the key events of Roman history from the origins to the end of the Republic (on the basis of the handbook by S. Magnani);
• a question on the preroman situation in Emilia Romagna and on the Roman conquest (on the basis of the recommended readings);
• a question on Roman or Late Antique period (on the basis of the recommended readings);

Teaching tools

PowerPoint slide shows will be used during lectures (they will be published on the course website on the platform Virtuale at https://virtuale.unibo.it/). The slides will present the guidelines for each lecture, as well as texts and images that will be analysed and commented in class.

Office hours

See the website of Mattia Vitelli Casella