Roman Constitution

Catalog description

The Roman Republic, and later the Empire, was a state based, in principle, on law and a complex constitutional system. The Roman constitution was ?living,? being shaped by, and shaping, the historical experiences of the Roman people and their neighbors. This course will explore the development of the Roman constitution in the early Republic, the evolution of constitutional norms to address Rome?s growing preeminence, the transformation of the constitution to reflect the institution of the Principate and, later, the imperial system. The course will focus on history as much as law and will explore primary sources to give students an understanding of the Roman system and experience as the Romans themselves understood it.