War and Diplomacy in the Ancient World (CLS-0079)

Spring 2026 · CLS 0079 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

Introduction to the complex and intersecting practices of warfare and diplomacy in the ancient world from the organization of states in the Near East to the fall of Constantinople: c. 3,200 BCE to 1,453 CE. Exploration of the role of social ideology and religion in shaping how the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and others negotiated formal and informal interstate contact and exchange. Consideration of how the potential for inter-group conflict structured contact and exchange and how warfare intersected with the internal political, religious, and economic organization of ancient societies. Examination of the shifting frameworks for conducting war and diplomacy revealing the complex variability of ancient conceptions of morality, duty, gender, status, group identity, and the role of human societies within their world. No prerequisites. Lower level of dual level course.

Course codes: CLS-0079, CLS 0079, CLS0079, CLS-79, CLS 79, CLS79

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