Following the collapse of the empire formed by the conquests of Alexander the Great, much of his former territories fell under the rule of the Graeco-Bactrians, Parthians and Kushans with these peoples being influenced by the eastern Hellenistic cultures which had preceded them. By the 1st century CE the Parthians and Kushans controlled an area stretching from Babylonia to India whilst under their successors, the Sasanians, arose one of the most brilliant and powerful empires of Antiquity. In this course we will examine the history, art, and numerous monuments of these four remarkable kingdoms lying between Rome and China, although still little known in the west.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face

SUGGESTED READING

• Craig Benjamin, Empires of Ancient Eurasia: the First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE-250 CE, Cambridge University Press, 2018
• Maria Brosius, The Persians, Routledge, 2004
• Uwe Ellerbrock, The Parthians. The Forgotten Empire, Routledge, 2021
• Georgina Herrmann, The Iranian Revival, Phaidon, 1977
• St John Simpson, Afghanistan. A Cultural History, British Museum Press, 2012

COURSE OUTLINE

• Lost Cities of Alexander: The disintegration of Alexander’s the Great’s vast empire led to the rise of the ‘lost’ cities of Bactria (Afghanistan), whose fascinating remains lay largely undiscovered until the later twentieth century.
• Parthia against Rome: The astonishing rise of the Parthians, under powerful kings such as Mithridates the Great, resulted in a continuing and indecisive struggle with Rome for domination of over the Middle East and its lucrative trade routes.
• The heart of the Silk Route: Covering much of Afghanistan, Central Asia and north India the Kushan world is seen as ‘the centrepoint of the major civilizations,’ transmitting further to the east Graeco-Roman art and culture along with Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
• Mighty Sasanians: For most of its existence, the world of the Sasanians with their great palaces, monumental rock carvings, and opulent court life remained the equal to that of Rome.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1. Explore the fate of the vast empire of Alexander the Great
2. Gain kowledge of some of the most powerful kingdoms in the East, yet little known in the West
3. Discover how these powerful kingdoms played a vital role in the transmission of goods, ideas, art and religions along the Silk Routes