IMPERIAL ROME
PART I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
1) The Rise of Empire and the Decline of the Republic
Text, chapter 3, pages 87-94; pages 109 (lower half of page) -113; chapter 4, pages 125-153;
2) Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Crassus and Cicero and the Crisis of Republican Rome
Text, chapter 5, pages 154-184; chapter 6, pages 185-216
3) The Roman Civil War and Caesar’s Dictatorship: Pompey and Caesar
Text, chapter 7, pages. 217-256
Graves, Suetonius– The 12 Caesars, “Divus Julius Caesar”
Optional Readings (required for graduate students)
Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, “Julius Caesar”
Plutarch, Fall of the Roman Republic, “Pompey” and “Cicero”
4) The Death of the Republic: Renewed Civil War Between Marcus Antonius & Octavian
Text, chapter 8, pages 257-276
5) Augustus & the Establishment of the Principate
Text, chapter 8, pages. 276 (bottom) – 308
Graves, Suetonius– The 12 Caesars, “Divus Augustus”
6) The Search for Stability: The Julio-Claudian and the Flavian Emperors
Text, chapter 9, pages 309-345; chapter 10, pages 347-359 (top)
Graves, Suetonius– The 12 Caesars, “Tiberius,” “Gaius Caligula,” “Claudius,” “Nero,” “Vespasian,” “Titus,” and “Domitian”
7) The “Good” (and “Bad”) Emperors of the 2nd and 3rd Centuries AD and the Pax Romana
Text, chapter 10, pages 359-374; Chapter 11, 389-411,
8) The Crisies in the Later 2nd through 3rd Centuries AD and the Division of the Empire
Text, chapter 12, pages 427-457
9) Religion in the Roman World: Roman Gods & Eastern Mystery Cults
Text, chapter 9, pages 339-345; chapter 10, pages 386-387
10) Judaism & the Birth of Chirstianity in the 1st and 2nd Centuries AD
Text, chapter 11, pages 421-426
D. Kyle, “Spectacles of Death,” Chapter 8 “Christians: Persecutions and Disposal”
Correspondence of Pliny and the Emperor Trajan
Ehrman, Lost Christianities, chpts.
11) The Growth, Persecution and Triumph of Early Christian Church in the Late Roman Empire and the Development of Heresy, Schism and Orthodoxy and the Division of the Eastern and Western Churches
Text, chapter 13, pages 458-486; Chapter 14, 505-515
Ehrman, Lost Christianities, chpts.
PART II: CULTURE, SOCIETY & EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE 100 BC – 300 AD
12) Urbis Romanum: Life and Amenities in Roman Cities
Text, chapter 9, pages 335-339; chapter 10, pages 374-377, 384-387
13) Let the Games Begin: Roman Spectacles & Blood sports
Text, chapter 10, pages 377-383
Kyle, Spectacles of Death, chpts. 2-4
14) The Roman Imperial Army and Life in the Provinces
Text, chapter 9, pages 329-334; chapter 11, pp 416-421
15) Eros Romanum: Sex and Society in Ancient Rome
16) Everyday Romans: Average Men and Women and their Lives
17) The Downtrodden Masses: Slaves, Freedmen and Prostitutes
Slavery in Ancient Rome, from A History of Private Life
18) Health, Illness and Death in Ancient Rome