Kursöversikt

Figure 1 (above): RRC 426/3: Silver denarius of 56 BCE, issued by Faustus Cornelius Sulla. Obverse depicts bust of Venus, right, draped, laureate and wearing diadem. Border of dots. Sceptre behind. Legend: S·C. Reverse depicts three trophies; on left, jug; on right, lituus. Border of dots. Monogram (FAUSTUS) in exergue. Photo: © The Trustees of the British Museum. License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

Course contents

This course offers an introduction to the Late Republic as a historical period and field of study, with a particular focus on ancient sources, source problems, and explanatory models for the historical processes and transformations in the period. 

In 146 BCE the Romans destroyed Carthage and Corinth. In 133 BCE a plebeian tribune was beaten to death in front of the Capitol by a mob led by the pontifex maximus (chief priest). At the other end of the period, in 49 BCE Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, and in 46 BCE crushed his enemies at the battle of Thapsus, celebrating his victory with an unprecedented quadruple triumph.

Despite repeated deeply threatening crises, Rome survived – capital of an increasingly large and organised Mediterranean‐wide empire, its constantly growing populace more and more diverse, its richest citizens vastly wealthier, its cityscape more and more monumental. But the tradition of the ancestors, the rule of the aristocracy, the armies and their recruitment, the sources of wealth, the cultural horizons of the literate, the government of allies and subjects, the idea of a Roman citizen, the landscape of Italy, and Roman identity itself had all changed for ever. This course studies how.

This course will involve an examination of relevant literary and documentary sources, especially the work of Sallust, letters and speeches of Cicero, Caesar’s Gallic War, and contemporary inscriptions and coins.    

Course Plan and Reading List

AN1046 Course Plan

AN1046 Reading List (read highlighted works)

Timetable/Schema

AN1046 Schema

Course Details

This course is composed of 7 lectures and 2 seminars (one reading seminar, one examination seminar). Discussion will occur in both lectures and seminars. Reading and discussion questions will be provided for each lecture. Lecture handouts will also be provided. The first lecture will occur on Thursday November 2, and it will cover an overview of the course, period, and sources. The course will end with an examination seminar, where students will present an overview of their examination assignment. This assignment will take the form of an essay.

Resources

Introductory Overviews and Background Reading

Lecture 1

Form of Delivery

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This course will be delivered both in person and online, as the lecturer is teaching abroad.

The following lectures and seminars are in person (subject to adjustment due to visa issues):

• Thursday November 2 (lecture)
• Thursday November 9 (seminar)
• Thursday November 30 (seminar)

The following lectures are online:

• Monday November 6 (lecture)
• Monday November 13 (lecture)
• Thursday November 16 (lecture)
• Monday November 20 (lecture)
• Thursday November 23 (lecture)
• Monday November 27 (lecture)