ARTH 4353 - [Sardis, A City at the Crossroads]

(crosslisted) ARKEO 4353, CLASS 4755
(ALC-AS, HST-AS)

Spring. Not offered: 2024-2025. Next offered: 2026-2027. 3 credits. Letter grades only (no audit).

Permission of instructor required. Co-meets with ARKEO 7353/ARTH 6353/CLASS 7755.

A. Alexandridis, B. Anderson.

Situated at the crossroads between the Mediterranean in the West and the Anatolian plateau in the East, Sardis successively belonged to the Lydian, Persian, Seleucid, Roman, and Byzantine empires. An urban center from at least the 7th century BCE onwards, the city developed a very particular fabric of peoples and traditions over the long time of its existence. The seminar follows the history of the site and the changing relationship of city and hinterland from the bronze age to the Byzantine period, focusing on its major civic, religious, military and funerary monuments. Debates in heritage and a critical analysis of the site’s exploration and excavation in modern times, including the first expedition organized by Princeton University and the current Harvard-Cornell led excavations, form an integral part of the class. The seminar includes excursions to the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Sardis Archive at Harvard University.