ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

Argument of the course 2023-2024: The Napatan state: between Kushite culture and Egyptian tradition.
The course is part of the characterizing disciplines of the curriculum: Archaeology, Master's Degree Programme in Ancient Civilization. Literature, History and Archaeology. It is one of the disciplines for students aiming to train on the civilizations of the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. The course is part of the field of historical disciplines of archaeological training, focusing attention on the historical-artistic skills necessary for the approach to the documentation (materials and sources) of Late and Greco-Roman Egypt. Thanks to this investigative work, the student will be able to verify the complexity of the culture of late Egypt, with particular attention to the pharaonic component. The achievement of these objectives will contribute to the maturation of scientific skills in the historical-archaeological field.

At the end of the course, on the basis of the individual commitment applied to the topics touched in the lessons (The Napatan state: between Kushite culture and Egyptian tradition), the student of the course Egypt of Late and Graeco-Roman period will have acquired a series of skills on the culture of Late Pharaonic Egypt (history, archeology, sources), based on a selected bibliography that will allow the preparation of an individual research (short written dissertation), which will be discussed with the teacher during the exam. These skills are configured as part of the training of the archaeologist profile, contemplated in the profile of the degree course. More specifically, the course will contribute to the training of the student not only with the acquisition of information, but also in the maturation of organizational skills of the work in the didactic framework and, more generally, in the forms of written and oral communication. Skills in the discipline can be integrated with the course of Culture of ancient Egypt.

BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF PHARAONIC EGYPT: CULTURE AND HISTORY (NECESSARY); LANGUAGE (SUGGESTED BUT NOT MANDATORY).
Reading of Egyptian texts is part of the individual short dissertation and may be replaced by a specific program (see Assessment methods).
To complete the orientalist training, it is suggested to attend the courses of Archeology of Anatolia and the Caucasus, Archeology of Syro-Mesopotamia, Archeology of the Levant, Culture of ancient Egypt, Aegean Bronze Age Archeology and Antiquities, History of the Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, Semitic Philology, The City in the Islamic World, Heritage: Policies and Practices in the Islamic World.

Topic of the course: The Napatan state: between Kushite culture and Egyptian tradition.
The course will deal with the development of the Napatan state between Egypt (25th dynasty) and Kush. Topics relating to Napatan culture between the Egyptian and Kushite models will be presented in order to outline the profile of a complex historical phase that marked Egypt and Kush in different ways. Particular attention will be paid to documents that highlight the comparison between the pharaonic tradition and the southern model: specific cases of analysis will be the royal epigraphy and the phenomenon of archaism.
Aims
- Ability to critically analyse topics related to pharaonic Egypt (general).
- Critical approach to the topics addressed in the course.
- Skills necessary for the analysis of archaeological documentation and materials.
- Ability to analyse sources of the period, with development of appropriate philological skills.

Notes of the lessons; ppt presentations and materials made available on the Moodle platform.
General bibliography
Török, The kingdom of Kush. Handbook of the Napatan-Meroitic civilization.
AA.VV., Le Soudan de la préhistoire à la conquête de Mehemet Ali (parts).
For non-attending students, in addition to the general bibliography, materials will be made available in the course moodle.

During the course, the student will take part in discussions on the topics of the lessons and in the analysis of documents in Egyptian. The exam will be oral and will include, in addition to questions on topics touched upon during the lessons, the discussion of the written short dissertation. The evaluation will also consider the participation in the lesson (interventions, readings, etc.) and the ability to exhibit.
For students with no knowledge of the Egyptian language, alternative readings can be arranged.

Lectures with general aspects related to the course topics. Presentation and discussion of materials and themes identified as topics for term papers. Reading of Egyptian sources.

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ATTENDANCE IS HIGHLY REQUESTED.
The reading of Egyptian documents may be replaced with individual readings (see “Assessment Methods”).
Students interested in the civilisations of the Ancient Near East may also choose: Cypriote Archaeology and Antiquities, Archaeology of the Levant, History of the Ancient Near East, Archaeology of Anatolia and the Caucasus, Archaeology of Syro-Mesopotamia, Culture of ancient Egypt, Archaeology of Early Archaic Greece, Literatures of the Ancient Near East, Semitic Philology, The city in the Islamic world, Heritage: politics and practices in the Islamic world.

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