HIST087

Description

Section information text: Numerous civilizations rose and fell around the Mediterranean Sea during Antiquity, ranging from the Egyptians, Bablyonians, and Hittites, to the Phoenicians, Persians, and Greeks. But one civilization surpassed them all in the size of its dominion and the scope of its influence on later cultures of the West and the world: ROME. In this course we will study the people, politics, and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean from roughly 1000 BCE to 500 CE, with a focus on the Romans from their humble beginnings as a tiny village on the River Tiber to their imperial dominance of much of Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. The coursework emphasizes the analysis and discussion of primary source documents in English translation, and not just those on the greatest statesman, emperors, and conquests of the Roman era, but also on Roman daily life, women and children, sports and medicine. At the end of the course, we will devote special attention to the perennial questions asked by all historians: Why did Rome fall? And what aspects of "Rome" persisted in the Middle Ages and down to this day