For this assignment, write a 2-4 page response to that question. You MUST discuss all pieces of the evidence provided in your response (in the course of the essay – you do not need to use all evidence for each subquestion).
Tip: before examining each piece of evidence, think about who wrote it/produced it and why. Also think about when it was produced.
Provide a outline for the essay. It would be helpful and more understanding to write it following the outline.
Celebrating War
Evidence:
Trajan’s Column: https://www.trajans-column.org/Links to an external site.
Silver Coin of Trajan: https://numismatics.org/collection/1956.127.1620?lang=enLinks to an external site.
Cassius Dio 68.15-16
War was a central aspect in many ancient societies. Ancient Rome is certainly no exception and has frequently been deemed particularly militaristic or martial. While we might debate the accuracy of this assessment, we cannot deny the frequency ancient Romans depicted war in literary and material accounts. For this prompt, you will examine sources for one Roman military conflict, the Dacian Wars (101-2 and 105-106 CE). First describe that war and then use the evidence to answer the following questions:
How do these sources depict war? What activities are focused upon?
How are these conflicts justified? Why does Rome go to war?
How is war celebrated? Why?
What role does war appear to play for Roman society?
Additional, optional info on the Dacian Wars: Goldsworthy, The Last Great Conqueror
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Format: Your papers should be double-spaced and in a standard, 12-point font (such as Times New Roman). Margins should be 1-inch. Please only submit .doc or .pdf files – links to Google docs will not be accepted.
You are welcome to use other primary or secondary evidence in your paper, but make sure you are citing ALL your evidence.
If you include quotations in your paper, you should use in-text citations for ancient texts:
Citing poetry such as the Aeneid: Use book and line numbers. (Ex. The Aeneid begins “Arms and a man I sing….” (Vergil, Aeneid 1.1).
Citing prose such as Tacitus or Cassius Dio: Use the paragraph number, which you can find at the beginning of the paragraph will suffice (Ex. Calcagus claims his people had lived in the “upmost…freedom” (Tacitus, Agricola, 30).
Coins can be cited by using the “source” or “reference” entry in the American Numismatic Society listing (in the example below, RRC 428/1):
Response to prompt (10): To receive full credit for this section, you must directly address the prompt you choose and stay on topic throughout the paper.
Use of and engagement with evidence and sources (40): This paper should focus on analysis of primary evidence. Be careful not to re-narrated the evidence alone. You can use lecture material and modern scholarship (either the readings we have done in class or outside research) as sources; however you must include all primary evidence listed in your paper to support your statements. If you chose to do outside research, be critical of your sources, particularly those you find online.
Analysis and interpretation (40): This paper should go beyond reporting pertinent facts or describing evidence. You should analyze and interpret your evidence, drawing substantiated conclusions about Roman culture and society. You should build a persuasive argument or analysis demonstrating careful and critical thought. Avoid generalizations or assumptions (such as “All Romans believe…”). First person emotive statements (“I feel…”, “I believe…”) should be minimized, in favor of statements that draw upon specific evidence for your conclusions (“Evidence X shows us Y because Z”).
Organization and clarity (10): Your paper should be clear and concise, using proper grammar and syntax. It should also be easy to follow and understand your analyses and arguments. You should include an introduction statement that clearly states the main topic and an overview of your paper. Your concluding paragraph should synthesize the evidence and arguments that you have presented and suggest broader insights (rather than simply summarizing the presentation).
