Week 2
7-13 Sept
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Mythical and archaeological origins of the city of Rome.
Monarchy and the 7 mythical kings.
The deposition of the last king and the Early Republic.
The Struggle of the Orders
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT: 15-23 (Chapter 2) / 15-21 (Chapter 1)
Other readings:
- Carandini 1-15, 50-63. Check the images of this book: they are very useful to visualize archaic Rome’s surroundings and the religious operations used to found a new city.
- Mellor: Livy 121-129 (I.4-13).
Questions:
- What is an archaeologist, according to Carandini?
- Describe the rite that Romulus used to physically found the city of Rome.
- Human sacrifices in Ancient Rome? Which is the archaeological evidence that Carandini thinks he has found for such cruel acts? And to which events do these sacrifices seem to refer?
- Who or what was the she-wolf?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT: 23-31 (Chapter 2) / 21-30 (Chapters 1 and 2)
Other readings:
- Mellor: The laws of the 12 tables, pages 1-4 (only in the 3rd edition)
- Mellor: Polybius 30-40, 48-49 (VI.1-9,11-18, 56-57)
Questions:
- Which is your “favorite” among the laws of the 12 tables and why?
- Why does Polybius think that the Roman Constitution is the best?
- Create a chart showing the sequence of the different constitutions-polities as described by P.
- Which are the characteristics of the worst form of constitution according to Polybius?
- Polybius: Cyclical history or unpredictable history? Why?
- Polybius: Religion or not? What is religion for?
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Week 3
14-20 Sept
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Conquest of Veii, and the sack of Rome in the fourth century
Roman political institutions in the fourth century
The conquest of Italy (Samnite-Latin wars, and wars with the Greeks of Italy)
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT: 32-44 (Chapter 3) / 30-41 (Chapter 2)
Other readings:
- Mellor: Livy 167-80 (V.34-49)
Questions:
- Which are the reasons that Livy adduces for the defeat of the Romans against the Gauls?
- What saved the Citadel from being taken by the Gauls?
- Which are the reasons (not the persons) that Livy adduces for the comeback of the Romans against the Gauls?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 44-53 (Chapter 3) / 41-49 (Chapter 2)
Other readings:
- Montesquieu 39-41 (chapter 3)
Questions:
- According to Montesquieu, which is the reason that brought Rome to become so powerful during the early phases of the Republic?
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Week 4
21-27 Sept
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How Rome dealt with her newly conquered Mediterranean empire.
A new way of doing politics: the assassination of the Gracchi.
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 54-70 (Chapter 4, only its first part) / 50-66 (Chapter 3)
Other readings:
- Mellor: Livy 198-200, 212-16(XXI.35-8; XXX.30-7)
Questions:
- What exotic animals did Hannibal have in his journey to Italy?
- Which two forces does Hannibal mention as his possible guides? Which one does he favor and why?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 78-82, 87-90, 92-98 (Chapter 5) /74-77,80-84,86-92 (Chapter 4)
Other readings: none
Questions: none
Test 1 (20 minute long): chapters 1-3 (chapters 1-2)
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Week 5
28 Sept – 4 Oct
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External forces attack the Republic: the war with Numidia, and the menace of the German populations Cimbri and Teutones
The first of a series of civil wars: the clash between the generals Marius and Sulla.
The end of Sulla, the beginning of Pompey.
Slave revolts, pirate wars, Catiline’s attempted revolution.
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 99-112(Chapter 6) / 94-110 (Chapter 5)
Other readings:
-Mellor: Appian, pages 478-90 (book I, chapters 1-2;6-26)
Questions:
- Does Appian have different opinions about Tiberius Gracchus and his brother Gaius Gracchus?
- Where are the supporters of Tiberius from? How are they different from the plebeians that Tiberius courted while he was trying to get elected tribune for the second time?
- Is Appian in favor or against the Gracchi brothers?
- Are there any historical figures of the modern times which remind you of the Gracchi brothers? Why?
- Why does Appian say that his history is worth of attention?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 112-118 (Chapter 6) AND 132-4 (Chapter 7) / 11-115 (Chapter 5) and 126-128 (Chapter 6)
Other readings:
- Montesquieu: Chapter 8 up to page 85 (The dissention what always existed in the City), 9 (Two causes of Rome’s ruin).
Questions:
- Which form of state is more fortunate, according to M?
- Which are the two causes of the ruin of the Roman Republic, according to M?
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Week 6
5-11 Oct
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The end of Sulla, the beginning of Pompey.
Spartacus’s slave revolt, pirate wars, Catiline’s attempted revolution.
The penultimate chapter in the history of the Roman Republic: the first Triumvirate and another civil war.
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 119-124, 128-129, 132, 137-140 (Chapter 7) / 116-121,241-126,130-135 (Chapter 6 all)
Other readings:
Mellor: Sallust, pages 50-57, 64-65 (The Catilinarian Conspiracy 1-16, 60-61).
Questions about Sallust’s reading:
- According to Sallust, why did the Romans have a lack of good writers of history?
- According to Sallust, which are the “roots of all evils”?
- Which is the problem in Rome at the time of Catiline, as suggested by Sallust?
- How does the description of the associates of Catilina (and their implied immoral qualities) fit with their end during the final battle?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 142-147, 152 (“Caesar’s campaign in Gaul)( Chapter 8) /136-141, 144 (“Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul”)(Chapter 7)
Other readings:
Mellor: Suetonius, pages 396-400, 404, 418-424 (Life of Iulius Caesar 1,18,19,20,31,32,76-89),
Questions:
- Why is Sulla comparing Caesar to Marius?
- Why did Caesar use the specific expression “Iacta alea est”?
- According to Suetonius, which acts by Caesar caused him to be killed?
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Week 7
12-18 Oct
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Gaius Iulius Caesar: his rising, assassination and his dream of a new order for Rome.
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 154-166 (Chapter 8) / 148-159 (Chapter 7)
Other readings:
- Montesquieu: Chapter 11 (Sulla. Pompey and Caesar)
Questions:
- What do you think is Montesquieu’s judgment of Sulla and why?
- Find the passage in which M explains why the Republic was crushed
- Find the passage where M explains what was the proverbial “straw which broke the camel’s back” of the Senate against Caesar.
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Wednesday
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MIDTERM (Chapters 1-7) (Chapters 1-6)
Duration: the entirety of the class time.
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Week 8
19-25 Oct
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Octavian Augustus: the establishment of new order within the hollowed out Republican institutions.
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 167-184 (Chapter 9) / 160-179 (Chapter 8)
Other readings:
-Mellor : Suetonius pages 424,425,427,429,437-439,459-60 (Life of Augustus 5-7,13,17,41-43,99,100,101)
Questions:
- Why do you think that Augustus distributed so much money and appeared so much in public?
- What is the word “Augustus”? What does it mean?
- Where was Augustus buried?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 184-199 (Chapter 9) / 179-192 (Chapter 8)
Other readings:
-Mellor: Augustus pages 255-62 (Introduction plus Res Gestae), Tacitus pages 311-312 (I.9-10)
Questions:
- Divide the Res Gestae in sections according to the themes treated.
- Whose names did not Augustus mention in the Res Gestae? Why so?
- Find the lines where Tacitus refers the various judgments about Augustus.
- What is Tacitus’s judgment on Augustus and his rule?
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Week 9
26 Oct – 1 Nov
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The Julio-Claudian Emperors: Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.
The secret of the empire
Imperial Cult
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 201-211 (Chapter 10) / 193-200 (Chapter 9)
Other readings:
-Mellor: Tacitus pages 351-4, 360-3 (XII 65-69, XIII1-5, XV 37-44: death of Claudius, Accession of Nero, Great Fire),
Questions:
- Why was Agrippina, Nero’s mother, kept “out of sight, but not out of hearing”? Book 13.5
- What are the features of the Golden House, as described by Tacitus?
- How is Nero planning to rebuild Rome after the fire of 64 AD? What is the reason for those plans?
- Christians: first persecution. Why?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 211-221 (Chapter 10), / 201-212 ( Chapter 9),
Other readings:
- Shelton Jo-Ann: Deification pages 386-388, Patronage pages 12-3 (Patrician and Plebeian, Patrons and Clients in Republican Rome, Patrons and Clients in Imperial Rome)
- Mellor: Pliny the Younger pages 388-392 (Letter to Tacitus on the Vesuvius),
Questions:
- How old was the practice of deification among Romans?
- Who was the first Roman to be deified?
- Who was the second Roman to be deified?
- How can the patronage system be applied to the new imperial system? How would it work?
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Week 10
2-8 Nov
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The Flavian Emperors
The Age of the Adopted Emperors (the five good emperors: part one): a new golden age for humanity?
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 222-227 (Chapter 11) / 213-217 (Chapter 10)
Other readings:
Mellor: “The law bestowing power on the emperor” Lex de Imperio Vespasiani, pages 8-9.
Or you can find a more precise translation at this link:
http://droitromain.upmf-grenoble.fr/Anglica/vespas_johnson.html
Questions: Find the passage in which it is said that Vespasian has the right to make and pass laws.
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Wednesday
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TEST 2 (20 minute long) (8-10) / (7-9)
BOATWRIGHT : 227-237 (Chapter 11) / 217-227 (Chapter 10)
Other readings: none
Questions: none
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Week 11
9-15 Nov
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The five good emperors: part two.
The Severan Emperors.
Caracalla and the granting of citizenship to all the free inhabitants of the Empire.
Christianity and the Romans
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 247-260 (Chapter 12) / 237-247 (Chapter 11)
Other readings:
- None
Questions: none
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 260-262, 268-271 (Chapter 12) / 247-251, 256-260 (Chapter 11)
Other readings:
- Mellor: Pliny the Younger pages 392-4 (Letters between Pliny and Trajan on the Christians)
- Shelton Jo-Ann: Judaism pages 404-6, Christianity pages 406-416, Syncretism page 417
Questions:
- What was the Roman religious policy for the Christian at the time of Pliny the Younger and Trajan, as you can deduct from their letters?
- Think about Roman reaction to Christianity. How did Christianity differ from the other religions?
- Was Christianity considered different from Judaism, in the eyes of the Romans?
- Which religion seemed more tolerant? The official Roman religion or Christianity? Why so?
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Week 12
16-22 Nov
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The Soldier emperors: Aurelian, a case study
The Tetrarchy: Diocletian
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 261-266 (Chapter 12)
Other readings:
- None
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT : 266-270, 273-279 (“Administrative reorganization) (Chapter 12)
Other readings:
- Montesquieu: Chapter 17th (Change in the State), Chapter 18th (New Maxims adopted by the Romans).
Questions:
- Montesquieu’s judgment on Constantine. Is it good or bad? Which are the things which Montesquieu analyzes on Constantine?
-What actions weakened Rome, as the Capital of the Western Roman Empire, according to M?
- The Roman army had become a burden from being originally an asset. How did it happen, according to M?
- According to Montesquieu, what was the reason that made the Romans become pray of all peoples?
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Week 13
23-29 Nov.
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The dissolution of the tetrarchy
Constantine: the first Christian Emperor
Julian the Apostate
The fall of the Roman Empire: part one
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Monday
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BOATWRIGHT : 270-73, 281-285 (Chapter 12)
Other readings:
Mellor : Eusebius 537-541 (Life of Constantine I.26-38)
Mellor : Lactanctius 525-526 (On the death of the persecutors)
Questions:
- How can we say that the main recipient of the Edict of Milan were the Christians?
- How does the description of the life of Constantine by Eusebius differ from the lives of previous emperors and in general by older authors?
- What is the role of the deity in Constantine’s life, according to Eusebius? Is it similar to the role of other deities in the lives of previous emperors?
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Wednesday
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BOATWRIGHT; 290-291
CARY AND SCHULLARD: 550-553 (Chapter 44)
Other readings:
- Mellor :Ammianus Marcellinus pages 565-6, 569-572 (Julian the ApostateXXV 1 and 4)
- Montesquieu: Chapter 19 (Attila’s greatness, Cause of the settlement of the barbarians, Reasons why the Western Empire was the first to fall).
Questions:
- There seem to be a contradiction in what Ammianus write about Julian. Can you find it?
- What is Montesquieu’s judgment on Attila?
- According to Montesquieu, how did the strategy “Divide and rule” came to be used first in favor of the Romans, and then later against them?
- Why did the Western Empire fall first?
- What was an effective way of dealing with the barbarians once there was nothing left to pillage?
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Week 14
30 Nov – 3 Dec
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The fall of the Roman Empire: part two
Review.
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Monday
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CARY AND SCHULLARD: 553-558 (Chapter 44)
Other readings: none
Questions: none
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Wednesday
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Review and final questions
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Week 15
5-8 Dec
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FINAL EXAM
TBA
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FINAL EXAM
TBA
Do not make travel plan for this week
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