Syria (and Beyond) Under the Seleukids
Part II: In Search of ‘Lost’ Cities
Online Lecture
SNAPSHOT
Lecturer: Dr John Tidmarsh
Date: Monday 27 January, 2025
Duration: 1 hour
Start Time: 7.30pm AEDT | 6.30pm QLD | 7.00pm SA | 4.30pm WA | 9.30pm NZST
Price: $25 AUD
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Overview
Officially known as Asia, and later referred to by the Romans as Syria, at its height the Seleukid Empire was a vast, culturally diverse kingdom which merged eastern and western cultures.
After it went into dramatic decline in 63 BCE - in the wake of a disastrous encounter with the Roman general Pompey the Great - many towns and cities founded by the Seleukid rulers were buried deep beneath the detritus of later kingdoms.
Yet recent excavations have uncovered the impressive remains of Seleukid cities, both in the kingdom’s heartland (Syria) as well as the remarkable (and mysterious) “lost” kingdoms, including Bactria.
In the second of two lectures on the Seleukid Empire, join archaeologist Dr John Tidmarsh for an enthralling look of the ‘Lost’ Cities of the once mighty Seleukid Empire, and their magnificent coinage and treasures.
Your Expert lecturer
Dr John Tidmarsh is an archaeologist who has conducted excavations in Syria, Jordan, Greece, and Cyprus. He is currently Co-Director of the University of Sydney excavations at Pella in Jordan and also Co-Director of the Australian Mission to Jebel Khalid, Syria. He is an Honorary Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney and was previously Senior Investigator of the University of Sydney excavations in Torone, Greece and Associate Director of the University of Sydney excavations at Paphos, Cyprus.
He has travelled widely in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East and since the 1980s has led numerous tours to Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Oman, and Greece.
His main interests are in the art, archaeology and history of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period in the east, and in the Islamic World. He has written many articles and conference papers on these areas and has co-authored several books on the excavations at Jebel Khalid in Syria. He is soon to complete his book on the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods at Pella in Jordan.
John has a BA (Hons), MA (Hons) and PhD from the University of Sydney where he was previously tutor, then part-time lecturer in Classical Archaeology. He is a former President of the Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation at that university. John is also Chairman, Executive Committee of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens.
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