Rome's Golden Age: The Late Republic and Early Empire

Catalog description

This course examines one of the most turbulent and creative periods of Roman history, c. 146 B.C. to c. 68 A.D. Topics include: the effects of imperial expansion upon Roman society; the failure of the Gracchi to democratize the Roman Republic; slavery; the destruction of the Republic by ambitious generals like Julius Caesar; the establishment of an imperial government by Augustus; and the criminal insanity of the Julio-Claudians. The course will pay special attention to how the Romans perceived these traumatic events.