THIS IS A TWO-SEMESTER COURSE.

This is a year-long course; the first semester will cover Rome up to the assassination of Julius Caesar and the fall of the Republic; the second semester will cover the Roman Empire until its fall. The course will draw upon the enormous Royal Fireworks archive of photographs from museums and archaeological sites.

In the first semester, students will learn how a small mud village in the middle of Italy became the most powerful city in the Western world. In the second semester, students will look in depth at how Augustus established the peace known as Pax Romana and the structure of the Empire, at what the Romans did with that peace as a great manufacturing power, and then at the dislocation that led to the fall of the Empire. Students will be expected to write brief answers to a question or two each week and to do a longer paper each semester on a topic of their choice.

Live Classes: Mondays, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time

Student Support: The instructor is available via email and Zoom conference.

Materials: A book that contains the readings required for this course is included with course registration. Students will also read translations of ancient texts that are readily available on the internet.