EuraStudy
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Ancient History
A-Level Ancient History is the study of the Greek and Roman worlds through the ancient evidence itself - the literary sources written by Greeks and Romans, and the material record of inscriptions, coins, sculpture and archaeology. It is not the memorising of a story but the disciplined analysis of historical events and periods and, above all, the critical use of ancient sources: reading a historian such as Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plutarch, Tacitus, Suetonius or Cassius Dio for what it can and cannot tell us, weighing its purpose, distance and bias, and setting it against the material evidence to reach substantiated judgements. Delivered here through the OCR specification (H407) - currently the sole A-Level in the subject - the course is source-based throughout and is built from two components. Component 1, Greek History, comprises a compulsory Period Study (Relations between Greek and non-Greek states, 492-404 BC, from the Persian invasions through the Delian League to the end of the Peloponnesian War) together with ONE Depth Study chosen from the Society and Politics of Sparta (478-404 BC), the Culture and Politics of Athens (c.460-399 BC) and the Rise of Macedon (c.359-323 BC). Component 2, Roman History, comprises a compulsory Period Study (the Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC-AD 68, from Augustus to Nero) together with ONE Depth Study chosen from the Breakdown of the Late Republic (88-31 BC), the Flavians (AD 68-96) and Ruling Roman Britain (AD 43-c.128). Because these notes cannot reproduce the ancient texts and objects themselves, they teach the events, figures, institutions and sources of the Greek and Roman worlds accurately and by name, and model the source-analysis method the examination rewards - so that a student on any route through the specification is fully served. A cross-cutting chapter on working with ancient sources sets out the skill of selecting, analysing and evaluating literary and material evidence that underlies every topic.
0/53 Texts9 Chapters~276 min total
OCR H407 - use and evaluation of ancient sources (AO3)DfE GCE Ancient History subject contentOCR H407 - prescribed literary sources (AO3)OCR H407 - material and documentary sources (AO3)OCR H407 - analyse and evaluate ancient sources in context (AO3)OCR H407 Components 1 and 2 - source questions and extended essays+48 moreFoundationStandardAdvanced
Table of contents · 9 ChaptersT·09
- A source-based discipline: why the evidence comes firstText L·01 · Recommended start5 min
- Literary sources and their genresText L·026 min
- Material and documentary evidenceText L·036 min
- Evaluating an ancient source: the methodText L·046 min
- Integrating the evidence and the examination questionsText L·056 min
- Persia, the Greeks and the Ionian RevoltText L·065 min
- The Persian Wars, 490-479 BCText L·076 min
- The Delian League and the rise of AthensText L·085 min
- Athenian power, Sparta and the road to warText L·096 min
- The causes of the Peloponnesian WarText L·105 min
- The Peloponnesian War and the fall of AthensText L·116 min
- Spartan society: Spartiates, perioikoi and helotsText L·125 min
- The agoge and the culture of the messesText L·135 min
- The Spartan constitution: kings, gerousia, ephors and apellaText L·145 min
- The helots and the fear of revoltText L·155 min
- Sparta at war, 478-404 BC: from withdrawal to victoryText L·165 min
- The 'Spartan mirage' and the problem of the sourcesText L·176 min
- The institutions of the radical democracyText L·185 min
- Pericles and the politics of the democracyText L·195 min
- The Acropolis building programmeText L·206 min
- The Sophists and SocratesText L·215 min
- Drama, festivals and religion in the polisText L·225 min
- Athens in crisis: plague, oligarchy and the trial of SocratesText L·235 min
- Macedon and the accession of Philip IIText L·245 min
- Philip's transformation of MacedonText L·255 min
- Philip, Greece and the League of CorinthText L·265 min
- Alexander's conquest of the Persian EmpireText L·275 min
- Alexander in the east: kingship, resistance and the armyText L·286 min
- Alexander's legacy and the problem of the sourcesText L·295 min
- From Republic to Principate: Actium and the Augustan settlementsText L·305 min
- Augustus: government, image and the succession problemText L·316 min
- Tiberius: the first inheritanceText L·325 min
- Gaius and ClaudiusText L·335 min
- Nero and the fall of the dynastyText L·345 min
- The principate, the Senate, the army - and the sourcesText L·355 min
- The Republic under strain: constitution, the Gracchi and MariusText L·365 min
- Sulla: the march on Rome, dictatorship and proscriptionsText L·375 min
- Pompey, Crassus and the rise of the dynastsText L·385 min
- Caesar: Gaul, the Rubicon, dictatorship and deathText L·395 min
- The Second Triumvirate, Antony and Octavian, to ActiumText L·405 min
- Why the Republic fell, and the sourcesText L·415 min
- The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69Text L·425 min
- Vespasian: restoring stability and founding a dynastyText L·435 min
- Titus: the short reign, Vesuvius and the ColosseumText L·445 min
- Domitian: administration, autocracy and assassinationText L·455 min
- Flavian propaganda, building and religionText L·465 min
- The sources for the FlaviansText L·475 min
- Britain before Rome and the Claudian conquestText L·485 min
- Conquest, resistance and the DruidsText L·495 min
- The Boudican revolt, AD 60/61Text L·505 min
- Consolidation and the governorship of AgricolaText L·515 min
- Administration and the effects of Roman ruleText L·525 min
- Frontier policy, Hadrian's Wall and the sourcesText L·535 min
- Working with ancient sources
- Greek Period Study: Relations between Greek and non-Greek states, 492-404 BC
- Greek Depth Study: Society and Politics of Sparta, 478-404 BC
- Greek Depth Study: Culture and Politics of Athens, c.460-399 BC
- Greek Depth Study: The Rise of Macedon, c.359-323 BC
- Roman Period Study: The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC-AD 68
- Roman Depth Study: The Breakdown of the Late Republic, 88-31 BC
- Roman Depth Study: The Flavians, AD 68-96
- Roman Depth Study: Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43-c.128
- Component 1 - Greek History (H407/11)
- A written examination worth 50% of the A-Level, sat over 2 hours 30 minutes. It has two parts. The compulsory PERIOD STUDY is Relations between Greek and non-Greek states, 492-404 BC - the span from the Persian Wars, through the growth of the Delian League and Athenian empire, to the Peloponnesian War and the fall of Athens. Candidates then answer on ONE DEPTH STUDY chosen from the Society and Politics of Sparta (478-404 BC), the Culture and Politics of Athens (c.460-399 BC) and the Rise of Macedon (c.359-323 BC). The paper combines source-based questions - in which candidates analyse and evaluate prescribed ancient sources (chiefly Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon and Plutarch, alongside inscriptions and other material) - with extended essays requiring a sustained, substantiated argument. These notes cover all three Greek Depth Study options so that any chosen route is fully supported.
- Component 2 - Roman History (H407/21-23)
- A written examination worth 50% of the A-Level, sat over 2 hours 30 minutes. It has two parts. The compulsory PERIOD STUDY is the Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC-AD 68 - from the victory at Actium and the Augustan principate through Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius and Nero to the fall of the dynasty. Candidates then answer on ONE DEPTH STUDY chosen from the Breakdown of the Late Republic (88-31 BC), the Flavians (AD 68-96) and Ruling Roman Britain (AD 43-c.128). As in Component 1, the paper combines source-analysis questions on prescribed ancient sources (chiefly Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, alongside inscriptions, coins and archaeology) with extended essays. These notes cover all three Roman Depth Study options so that any chosen route is fully supported.
- A source-based subject: the prescribed ancient sources
- Ancient History is a source-based discipline, and both components rest on named PRESCRIBED ancient sources, literary and material. Candidates are expected to know the prescribed sources for their period and depth studies, to analyse and evaluate them within their historical context - considering authorship, purpose, date, genre, reliability and bias - and to use them, alongside the material record of inscriptions, coins, sculpture and archaeology, to build and support historical judgements. The exact prescribed passages are set out in the specification and can be edition-specific; these notes therefore teach the events and the source-evaluation method, and cite the widely agreed episodes and the character of each major source rather than asserting a precise prescribed passage. The cross-cutting chapter 'Working with ancient sources' develops this skill systematically.
- Assessment objectives, sources and grading
- Three assessment objectives run through the qualification. AO1 - demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the key features and characteristics of the periods studied. AO2 - analyse and evaluate historical events, developments and issues, using appropriate historical terminology, to reach substantiated judgements. AO3 - use, analyse and evaluate ancient sources within their historical context to make judgements and reach conclusions about the events and periods studied. The three are broadly balanced across the papers, with the use and evaluation of ancient sources (AO3) carrying substantial weight and giving the subject its distinctive character: strong answers combine secure knowledge (AO1) with sustained analysis and argument (AO2) and with critical, contextual use of the ancient evidence (AO3). The full A-Level (H407) is linear, with both components sat at the end of the course, and is graded A*-E (U below E); the AS-Level (H007) is a separate qualification covering a reduced range but demanding the same core skills.