RELS 250 Tir/Cultures of Ancient Near East
This course will provide an introduction into the history, literature, and religion of the ancient cultures of the Near East . Integrated with this material will be geography, archaeology, and the study of institutions as these contribute to an understanding of the social, economic, and political history of that region. It will begin with a survey of the emergence of Mesopotamian civilization and pre-dynastic Egypt , through the Assyrian and Babylonian periods, concluding with the Persian encounter of the Greeks.