The World of the Babylonians and Assyrians in the Age of the Empires

(A) Required Experience: 

This is a class for beginners or preferably for those who have a basic knowledge on ancient Mesopotamian history and religions, and wish to refresh or enrich their knowledge on the material culture, the literary and artistic production, as well as the history of people and beliefs in Mesopotamia. 
N.B.: I have broken into five meaningful parts the long history of Mesopotamia from ca. 6000 to ca. 539 BCE. Anyone interested specifically in the Babylonians and the Assyrians in the Late Bronze Age period can enroll straight to this part without missing anything.

(B) Teaching style and students interaction:

The learning process of this class is based on a combination of a power-point presentation, a lecture that asks students to participate, class dialogue, questions based on the ongoing lecture, and new ideas based on the participants. There is not one universal solution to teach. Rather I combine techniques to achieve the maximum of my strengths and of my students. Having taught so far young kids, teenagers, University students and mature learners, I know that teachers need to approach students with understanding. After all, such a small class has the advantage of making the combined technique of ppt presentation-lecture-dialogue feasible and efficient. Thanks to Zoom, engaging students and interacting with them is always possible. 

(C) Specific topics to be covered Per Week: 

Day 1) Late Bronze Age - The Early Kassite Dynasty of Babylon

Day 2) The mysterious Mitanni - Rise of Assyria - rule of king Assuruballit I [1363-1328 BCE]

Day 3) Babylonian Kassite state apparatus [from c. 1595 BCE to c. 1155 BCE]

Day 4) Nippur and Ur in the Kassite period

Day 5) Struggle between Babylonians and Assyrians

Day 6) Recapture of Babylon by the Kassites - Sack of Babylon by the Elamites [1155 BCE]

Day 7) Middle Assyrian Dominance and Imperial Ideal - rule of king Tukulti-Ninurta I [1243-1207 BCE]

Day 8) Middle Assyrian Empire under king Tukulti-Ninurta I 

Day 9) The End of Bronze Age - Collapse of Palatial States and the mysterious Sea People

Day 10) Middle Assyrian Epilogue - Tiglath Pileser I [1115-1076 BCE]

Day 11) The Second Dynasty of Isin [1157-1026 BCE] - Babylonia supreme god Marduk

Day 12) Local Chaldean Dynasties of Babylon [ca. 1025-850 BCE] 

Day 13) Imperial Revival in Assyria - rule of king Assurnasirpal II [883-859 BCE] 

Day 14) King Shalmaneser III of Assur [858-824 BCE] - Battle of Qarqar against the united Amorite kingdoms [853 BCE]

Day 15) Assyro-Babylonian Coexistence - king Marduk-zakir-sumi of Babylon [850-825 BCE]

Day 16) The new Assyrian imperial capital at Kahlu (Nimrud) - Imperial Administration

Day 17) Gods and Demons in the cities of Kahlu and Assur

Day 18) Relief Wall Panels at NW Palace, Kahlu

Day 19) Assyrian Interlude [823-745 BCE] - The kingdom of Urartu

Day 20) Rise of Tiglath-Pileser III [744-727 BCE]