MARCO BAIS

The course will begin on Friday, 3 October 2025. Classes will be held every Monday and Friday from 6.00pm to 8.00pm - Aula F

For any other information you can contact me: marco.bais@uniroma1.it
Link to join the Classroom on the Google platform: https://classroom.google.com/c/MjE2Mzc4MTIxOTha

The code is: 6elxxlpv 

Course Program (Course Content):
This course aims to introduce students to the diverse natural landscapes and cultures of the Caucasus, with a particular focus on the Southern Caucasus during the ancient and late antique periods. The geographical and political boundaries of the region will be explored, alongside its orographic and hydrographic features, the variety of languages and religions, with an emphasis on how different natural landscapes have shaped human settlement patterns and social organization. The course will also highlight the political, cultural, and religious influence exerted by neighbouring great empires—particularly the Roman-Byzantine and Iranian empires—on the formation of the kingdoms of the Southern Caucasus (Iberia-Georgia, Armenia, Caucasian Albania). Finally, attention will be given to the rediscovery and valorization of their own past by the independent states of the Southern Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan). Throughout the course, we will read and analyze ancient texts, focusing on the challenges involved in using these sources to reconstruct the history of these territories.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, students will have a general understanding of the diversity of the Caucasian region, both from a geographical-physical and cultural perspective, and they will be aware of the interaction between these two aspects. This framework will help them grasp, on the one hand, the reasons behind the great diversity of political structures and cultural productions historically attested in the Caucasus, and on the other hand, the roots of the numerous conflicts that, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, have affected the region.
Prerequisites:
No specific prerequisites are required for enrolment in the course.
Teaching Method:
The course is structured around lectures, which, however, will include continuous interaction between the teacher and the students.
Assigned Readings:
In addition to the materials provided during lectures, students will delve into various aspects of Caucasian history according to their interests. To this purpose, they are required to agree with the teacher on a selection of readings from the following texts:

D. Braund, Georgia in antiquity: a history of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994;
D.M. Dunlop, The History of the Jewish Khazars, New York: Schocken Books 1967.
R.G. Hovannisian (ed.), The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, Mazda 1993.
J. Gippert – J. Dum-Tragut (eds.), Caucasian Albania. An International Handbook, Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter 2023.

These texts are given as examples: depending on the students' interests, different texts can also be chosen.
Examination Method:
The exam will consist of an oral examination based on the content covered in the lectures and the readings agreed upon with the teacher, based on the student’s interests.
Attendance Requirements:
In-person attendance is required.