Roman History I: the Republic

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

We will proceed chronologically and learn abut the first seven centuries of Roman history, broadly speaking from the foundation of Rome (and the murder of Remus) to the murder of Julius Caesar and the civil war. For the foundation of Rome we will consider myths, historical writings and material evidence, then we will look at the evidence about the making of the Roman Republic, and of its destruction. Throughout the course, we will ask two main questions: how did the Romans manage to transform their small town into a world power in a few centuries? That is, why did the Romans and not any other people manage to conquer and unify the Mediterranean? Secondly, we will discuss the political social and cultural consequences of this transformation. These questions exercised the Romans themselves, and some of the responses they gave will be considered in light of current scholarship.