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The Ancient World: Rome >> Content Detail



Study Materials



Readings

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Readings are also available by class session.

Textbook

Our main textbook for the course will be the following, abbreviated to The Romans on the schedule of readings below:

Amazon logo Boatwright, M. T., et al. The Romans: from village to empire. New York and Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780195118759.

Recommended Texts

The following translations of Greek and Latin masterpieces will be consulted frequently. If you choose not to purchase your own copy of each, please remember that you will be expected to have some version of the text with you when you come to lectures and recitations.

Amazon logo Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Translated with introduction and notes by P. G. Walsh. Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780192838889.

Amazon logo Livy. The Rise of Rome: Books 1-5. Translated with introduction and notes by T. J. Luce. Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780192822963.

Amazon logo Plutarch. Roman Lives. Translated by Robin Waterfield with introduction and notes by Philip A. Stadter. Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN: 9780192825025.

Amazon logo Suetonius. Lives of the Caesars. Translated with introduction and notes by Catharine Edwards. Oxford and New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN: 9780192832719.

Amazon logo Tacitus. The Annals of Imperial Rome. Translated with introduction by Michael Grant. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1956. ISBN: 9780140440607.

Additional Readings

Further reading material was made available to students in the class. Citations appear below.

Amazon logo Lewis, Naphtali, and Meyer Reinhold, eds. "The 12 Tables." In Roman Civilization. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1990. pp. 107-116. ISBN: 9780231071307.

Polybius. Histories, Book 6. Translated by W. R. Paton. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1922.

"Imperialism" source selections = Amazon logo Shelton, Jo-Ann, ed., As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998. ASIN: B000X6HAN6.

Amazon logo Cicero. "Speech Against Verres (excerpts)." In As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History. Edited by Jo-Ann Shelton. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 268-284. ASIN: B000X6HAN6.

Cicero. Letters (selections). Translated by Evelyn Shuckburgh. New York: P. F. Collier and Son, 1909.

"Augustus" source selections = Amazon logo  Augustus. Res Gestae Divi Augusti: The Achievements of the Divine Augustus. With introduction and commentary by P. A. Brunt, and J. M. Moore. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1969. ISBN: 9780198317722. (Read a version of this text online.)

"Nero" source selections = Amazon logo Eden, P. T., ed.: Seneca. Apocolocyntosis. Cambridge and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1984. ISBN: 9780521246170.

"Army" source selections = Amazon logo Lewis, Naphtali, and Reinhold, Meyer, eds. In Roman Civilization. 3rd ed. Vol. II. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780231071321.

"Daily Life" source selections = Amazon logo  Lewis, Naphtali, and Reinhold, Meyer, eds.  In Roman Civilization. 3rd ed. Vol. II. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780231071321.

Hopkins, Keith. "Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 BC - AD 400)." Journal of Roman Studies 70 (1980): 101-125.

"Slavery." source selections = Amazon logo Lewis, Naphtali, and Reinhold, Meyer, eds. In Roman Civilization. 3rd ed. Vol. II. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780231071321.

"Crisis" source selections = Amazon logo Lewis, Naphtali, and Reinhold, Meyer, eds.  In Roman Civilization. 3rd ed. Vol. II. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1990. ISBN: 9780231071321.

Amazon logo Pliny, the Younger. Letters of the Younger Pliny. Betty Radice (Translator). New York, NY: Penguin Classics; Reissue edition, 1963. ISBN: 9780140441277.

[Download Letters of the Younger Pliny by Pliny, the Younger, edited by Heinrich Keil, translated by John Benjamin Firth, a version of this text from Project Gutenberg.]

Readings by Class Session

lec #TOPICSreadings
1Introduction
2Foundation MythsThe Romans, pp. 1-31.

Livy. Chapter 1.1-16. pp. 5-22.
3Monarchy to RepublicThe Romans, pp. 32-48.

Livy. Chapter 1.17-60. pp. 22-70.
4Social Conflict in the Early RepublicThe Romans, pp. 48-57.

Naphtali L. and Reinhold, M., "The 12 Tables."
5Discussion 1: Livy's Early RomeReview Livy. Chapter 1.1-70. pp. 5-70.

Livy. Chapters 2.1, 2.9-14, 2.23-40, 3.32-34, 5.32-55. pp. 71-72, 79-86, 93-113, 173-175, 316-341.

Luce, T. J. "Introduction to Livy." The Rise of Rome. pp. ix-xxvii.
6The Roman Constitution IThe Romans, pp. 58-75.

Polybius. Book 6.
7Rome's Republican Empire (4th to 2nd c.)The Romans, pp. 75-135.
8Discussion 2: Roman ImperialismPlutarch. Cato. pp. 3-35.

"Imperialism" source selections.
9Consequences of Empire I: The ÉlitesThe Romans, pp. 136-165.
10Discussion 3: Administration and Exploitation of the ProvincesCicero. Speech against Verres, excerpts.
11Consequences of Empire II: Arming and Farming (Gracchi to Marius)Plutarch. Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. pp. 77-115.
12The Constitution II: Popular Politics and Sulla's ResponseThe Romans, pp. 166-204.
13Discussion 4: Sulla's DictatorshipPlutarch. Sulla. pp. 169-215.
14Pompey and the Special CommandThe Romans, pp. 204-224.

Plutarch. Pompey. pp. 216-296.
15Dictatorship: Julius CaesarThe Romans, pp. 204-224.

Plutarch. Juluis Caesar. pp. 297-359.
16Discussion 5: The Emergence of MonarchyReview Plutarch. Pompey and Caesar.

Cicero's Letters, selections.
17The Constitution III: Augustus and the PrincipateThe Romans, pp. 267-293.
18The Hearts and Minds of Augustan RomeThe Romans, pp. 293-316.
19Discussion 6: Views of AugustusSuetonius. "Augustus." pp. 43-97.

Tacitus. Annals. Chapter 1.1-10. pp. 31-39.

"Augustus" source selections.
20The Emperor and the ÉlitesThe Romans, pp. 317-337.

Tacitus. Annals. Chapter 15.48-16.35. pp. 368-397.
21The Emperor and the PlebsSuetonius. Nero. pp. 195-227.

The Romans, pp. 379-392.
22Discussion 7: Views of NeroReview Suetonius. Nero, and Tacitus. Annals. Chapter 15.48-16.35.

Tacitus. Annals. Chapter 14.1-65. pp. 312-344.

"Nero" source selections.
23High Politics from the Julio-Claudians to the FlaviansThe Romans, pp. 353-379; 393-404.
24High Politics from Vespasian to CommodusApuleius. The Golden Ass. pp. 31-141.
25Discussion 8: ApuleiusApuleius. The Golden Ass. pp. 141-234.
26The Roman ArmyThe Romans, pp. 301-304; 338-339.

"Army" source selections.
27Daily Life in Imperial Rome"Daily Life" source selections.
28Discussion 9: Roman Religion and the Imperial CultApuleius. The Golden Ass. pp. 235-255.

The Romans, pp. 71-75; 347-352; 391-392
29The Mediterranean EconomyThe Romans, pp. 337-340.

Hopkins, K. "Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 BC - AD 400)." Journal of Roman Studies 70 (1980): 101-125.
30Discussion 10: Roman Slavery"Slavery" source selections.
31Third Century CrisisThe Romans, pp. 405-438.

"Crisis" source selections.
32Recovery: Diocletian and ConstantineThe Romans, pp. 438-458.
33Discussion 11: MFA Roman Gallery (Optional)
34Economic Distress and Recovery

A. Cameron, The Later Roman Empire, pp. 113-132.

35The Impact of ChristianityThe Romans, pp. 425-430.

A. Cameron, The Later Roman Empire, pp. 66-84.
36Discussion 12: Christian Persecution from Nero to DiocletianTacitus. Annals. Chapter 15.32-47. pp. 360-367.

Pliny, Letters 10.96-97.
37Fall of Rome and Birth of ByzantiumA. Cameron, The Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity, pp. 12-32.
38Ending Roman History

 








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