CL3CA: Ancient Central Asia

Module code: CL3CA

Module provider: Classics; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

ECTS credits: 10

Level: 6

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Mr Edward Ross, email: edward.ross@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2026/7

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 25 March 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

Central Asia, which has in the past tended to be viewed as a frontier region of the worlds of the Mediterranean, China, India and the Eurasian steppe, is now studied as a cultural and political entity in its own right. In the period from the latter half of the first millennium BCE to the early centuries of the common era it was an especially dynamic zone of cultural interaction. Politically, the territories of modern Afghanistan and the former Soviet Central Asian Republics (and in particular Bactria, the basin of the upper river Oxus), became part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. They were then conquered by Alexander the Great. They subsequently became the centre of two powerful local states: under dynasties of Greek-named kings, descended from Alexander’s military settlers; and then the Kushan Empire, founded by the descendants of later immigrants from the north. There is a rich archaeological

and historical record available from this period across at least thirteen linguistic traditions. Much of this evidence has only become accessible to scholars relatively recently. Students will learn about these historical groups and how globalization theory has been used to better understand this unique cultural context.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Show a good understanding of Central Asian history from the start of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550 BCE) to the beginning of the Sassanian Empire (c. 224 CE).
2. Show a good understanding of globalization theory and how cultural hybridity and identities develop.
3. Show a good understanding of how different political regimes can affect the way an ancient culture is excavated, preserved, and understood.
4. Critically examine archaeological materials and their provenance to discern what historical information can be gleaned from them.
5. Question the credibility and biases that any source materials or scholarship could have.

Module content

The overarching theme of this module is the importance of and activity that took place in Central Asia during the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great’s conquests, the Seleucid Empire, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the Indo-Greek Kingdom, and the Kushan Empire. In order to properly examine this, we will also cover globalization theory and the historiographic issues with the archaeological study of Central Asia. Due to the lack of Central Asian literary materials from much of this module’s time period, primary source materials will come from Greek, Roman, Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Tibetan literary traditions. A wide variety of modern scholarly sources will be use in this module, including Mairs’ The Graeco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek World (2020) and Hoo’s Eurasian Localisms (2022). Students will also have the opportunity to study archaeological reports and recent scholarship on the study of Hellenistic Central Asia.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and Seminars:

One 2-hour lecture per week for weeks 1-3; one 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar in week 4; one 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour learning cell session in week 5; one 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour seminar per week for weeks 6, 7, 9, and 10; one 2-hour lecture in week 11; and one 1-hour plenary poster session in week 12. Students will have the option to attend an individual feedback session with the lecturer in week 9 to discuss their poster assignment.

Employment of Digital Materials:

Learning materials, PowerPoint slides, assignment guidance, and reading lists will be shared on Blackboard in advance of lecture and seminar sessions.

Study hours

At least 23 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs