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NSW Curriculum
NSW Education Standards Authority

11–12Ancient History 11–12 Syllabus

Record of changes
Implementation from 2027
Expand for detailed implementation advice

Content

Year 12

Historical personalities

Students develop an understanding of ONE ancient personality, through the investigation of a range of archaeological and written sources and relevant historiographical issues.

The historical concepts and skills content is to be integrated as appropriate.

Students study key features of ONE of the following personalities:

  • Egypt – Hatshepsut
  • Egypt – Akhenaten
  • The Near East – Xerxes
  • China – Qin Shi Huangdi
  • Greece – Pericles
  • Greece – Alexander the Great
  • Rome – Julius Caesar
  • Rome – Agrippina the Younger.
Rome – Julius Caesar
Context
  • The geography of Rome and the provinces

  • An overview of the legacy of Marius and Sulla

Background
  • Family background and status

  • Education, early life and ambitions

  • Paths to power, including priesthoods, Marian connections, political alliances and marriages

Key features and developments
  • Role in the First Triumvirate

  • Campaigns and tactics of the Gallic War, including the siege of Alesia

  • Relationship with his army

  • Relationship with the Senate

  • Role in the Civil War

  • Relationships with prominent individuals

  • Dictatorship, policies and reforms

  • The motives for his assassination

  • The manner and impact of his death

Evaluation
  • Impact and influence

  • Ancient and modern images and interpretations of Julius Caesar

  • Problems of evidence, including the value and limitations of ONE ancient source or type of source, in the context of other available sources

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