Imperialism, Conquest and Colonisation in the Ancient Mediterranean World

This course explores the imperial expansion of the ancient Greeks and Romans into the larger Mediterranean environment, and examines the cultural negotiation with and adjustment to the conquerors by subject peoples on the imperial periphery. The course focuses in particular on the era of Greek colonisations in the West during the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. and the Roman conquest, 'provincialisation' and 'Romanisation' of vast areas of the Mediterranean world. The course employs a range of colonial and post-colonial methodologies, archaeological method and materials, and close examination of the ancient literary evidence to track the cultural transformations at the point of intersection between centre and periphery.