Bad Emperors

1.5 credits · Undergraduate

Explores the reigns and legacies of Rome’s worst emperors. Features readings in Greek and Roman historical sources alongside receptions of bad emperors in post-classical contexts. Topics include power dynamics between the emperor, the senatorial elite, and the army; the historical accuracy of gossip about emperors; the anxieties, resentments, and values of the elite that informed hostile biographies of emperors.