University of Pittsburgh
Department of Classics
My office is in 1518 CL, Department of Classics: phone 624-4486;
email possanza@pitt.edu; office hours M 3-4, W 1-2, F 1-2, and by appointment.
Lihua Zhang is the Teaching Assistant for this class: Office in 1518 CL. Hours
Course: This course is a survey of Roman history from the founding of the city in the eighth century BC to the collapse of the Western Empire in the fifth century AD. The history of Rome is the story of how a city-state first unified the Italian peninsula under its military and political leadership; how it then developed into a Mediterranean Empire which, at its greatest territorial extent, stretched from Britain in the West to the Tigris and Euphrates in the East; and how it finally lost political and military control of its empire which broke apart into what became the states of Medieval Europe. As we read a modern narrative history of Rome and the works of Roman and Greek historians, we will examine how Rome acquired and governed its empire; under what forms of government and under whose leadership the affairs of the Roman People were administered; and what causes led to the breakup of the Roman Empire.
Required Texts:
Ward = A. W. Ward, F. M. Heichelheim, C. Yeo, A History
of the Roman People. 3rd edition. 1999.
Mellor = Ronald Mellor, The Historians of Ancient Rome. An Anthology of the Major Writings. New York & London 1998.
Plutarch = Roman Lives. Oxford 1999
Copies of these books are on reserve in Hillman Library.
Requirements: Two exams during the term (each = 30%), and a final exam (40%). Each exam consists of objective questions and an essay question.
First Exam: Tuesday, October 1.
Second Exam: Thursday, October 31.
Final Exam: Monday, December 9, 2:00-3:50 PM.
Make-up exams will be given only if the student notifies me in advance (except in cases of an emergency) and presents a valid excuse. There is no extra-credit in this course.
Note: If you drop this course, make sure you follow the correct procedure. If your name still appears on the final grade roster, you must be given an F, even though you did not take the class. Likewise, if you registered for this course with no intention of taking it and do not drop it, the result will be the same. Save yourself a headache! Add/Drop period ends Friday, September 6.
Assignments: References are to page numbers of Ward, Mellor and Plutarch.
AUGUST
T 27 Introduction. Geography and Peoples of Italy.
H 29 How it all began: Ward, I "The Foundations of Early Rome and Italy" 1-10; II "Etruscans and Greeks in pre-Roman Italy". Study the maps on p.2 and p.8.
SEPTEMBER
M 2 Labor Day. University Closed.
T 3 The Monarchy (753-509 BC): In the beginning Rome was ruled
by kings. Ward, III "Early Rome to 500 BC" 23-34;
IV "Early Roman Society, Religion, and Values" 35-49.
H 5 Mellor, Livy 147-198 (the Monarchy).
F 6 Add/Drop period ends.
T 10 Res Publica. Ward, V "The Rise of the Roman Republic, 509-287 BC", 50-68. Mellor, Livy, 211-233 (secession of the plebs and the decemvirs). Mellor, Polybius 47-59 (Roman Constitution).
H 12 Conquest and Unification of Peninsular Italy. Ward VI "The Roman Conquest of Italy and its Impact, 509-264 BC" 69-81. Mellor, Livy 233-246 (the Gallic invasion).
T 17 Expansion Overseas: The First Punic War. Ward VII "The First Punic War and the Beginning of Overseas Imperialism" 83-90. Study the map on p.82. Mellor, Polybius 15-26, (First Punic War).
H 19 Second Punic War. Ward VIII "Between the Wars, 241- 218 BC" 91-97; IX "The Second Punic War, 218-201 BC" 99-107. Study the map on p.98. Mellor, Polybius, Second Punic War 32-47); Mellor, Livy 247-316 (Second Punic War).
T 24 Rome and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the East. Ward X "War and Imperialsim in the Hellenistic East, 200 to 133 BC" 108-117; XI "Roman Imperialism in the West, 200-133 BC" 118-123. Mellor, Livy 316-354. Plutarch Cato the Elder 3-35.
H 26 Plutarch Aemilius Paulus 36-76.The Consequences of Empire. Ward XII "The Transformation of Roman Life, 264-133 BC", 124-135;
OCTOBER
T 1 FIRST EXAMINATION
H 3 Ward XIV "The Gracchi and the Struggle over Land Reform, 133-121 BC" 146-155. Plutarch Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, 77-115. Mellor, Appian 61-75.
T 8 The Politics of Division. Ward XV "The Breakdown of the System, 121-88 BC", 156-166; XVI "Marius and Sulla: Civil War and Reaction, 88-78 BC", 167-174.
H 10 Plutarch, Gaius Marius, 116-168; Sulla, 169-215.
T 15 Ambition and Power. Ward XVII "Personal Ambitions and Public Crises, 78-60 BC", 175-189. Mellor, Sallust 77-111 (Conspiracy of Catiline).
H 17 Caesar is #1. Ward XVIII "The Rise of Caesar, 60-52
BC", 190-197. Mellor, Caesar 114-146 (Gallic War).
Ward XIX "Caesar wins and is lost, Mid-50s-44
BC" 198-208
T 22 Plutarch, Pompey, 216-296.
H 24 Plutarch, Caesar, 297-359.
T 29 The End of the Republic. Ward XX "The Last Days of the Republic, 44-30 BC" 209-223; Plutarch, Antony, 360- 430.
H 31 SECOND EXAMINATION
NOVEMBER
T 5 Ward XXII "The Principate of Augustus, 29 BC-AD 14" 246-254. The Imperial System. Ward XXIII "Systematic Reform under Augustus" 255-264; XXIV "Imperial Stabilization under Augustus" 265-276. Mellor, "The Achievements of the Deified Augustus", 356-364. Ward XXV "The Impact of Augustus on Roman Imperial Life and Culture" 277-294.
H 7 Julio-Claudian Emperors. Ward XXVI "The First Two Julio-Claudian Emperors: Tiberius and Gaius (Caligula), AD 14-41" 295-306. Mellor, Tacitus 416-454 (Augustus and Tiberius). Mellor, Suetonius's Life of Caligula 365-391.
T 12 Ward XXVII "Claudius, Nero, and the End of the Julio-Claudians, AD 41-68" 307-317. Mellor, Tacitus 454-478 (Claudius and Nero).
H 14 Flavian Emperors: Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. Ward XXVIII "The Crisis of the Principate and Recovery under the Falvians, AD 69-96" 318-328. Mellor, Tacitus 478-491.
T 19 Mellor, Tacitus's Life of Agricola 393-416.
H 21 The "Good" Emperors: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. Ward XXIX "The 'Good' Emperors of the Second Century, AD 96-180" 329-344. Mellor, Life of Hadrian 493-511.
T 26 Ward XXXI "Crisis and Temporary Recovery, AD 180-235", 373-383; XXXII "The Third-Century Anarchy, AD 235-285", 384-395; XXXIII "Changes in Roman Life and Culture during the Third Century" 396-414.
W 21-25 THANKSGIVING BREAK
DECEMBER
T 3 Diocletian and Constantine the Great. Ward XXXIV "Diocletian: Creating the Fourth-Century Empire, AD 285-305" 415-426. Study the map on 422-423.
H 5 Ward XXXV "Constantine the Great and Christianity, AD 306-337" 427-437; XXXVI "From Constantine's Dynasty to Theodosius the Great, AD 337-395" 438-444.Ward XXXVII "The Evolving World of Late Antiquity in the Fourth Century AD" 445-463.
F 7 LAST DAY OF CLASSES
December 9-14 Mon.-Sat. Final Exam period.
The final exam for this class is on:
Monday, December 9, 2:00-3:50 PM
in our classroom, FKART 125
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Inquisitive readers will find the following works helpful as sources of additional information about persons, places, events, customs, etc. They are all, except Rostovtzeff, Atkins and the The Cambridge Ancient History, in the Reference section on the ground floor in Hillman Library.
The Cambridge Ancient History, volumes VII, part 2 - XI. D57 C178 (stacks) (standard authority)
The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ed. by M. C. Howatson. Oxford, 2nd ed. 1989. PA31 .H69 1989.
The Oxford Classical Dictionary, edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford, 3rd ed., 1996. DE5 .O9 1996 LIBRARY-REFERENCE DESK.
The Cambridge History of Classical Literature, Vol 2: Latin Literature, ed. by E. J. Kenney and W. Clausen. Cambridge, 1982. PA6003 .L3.
Atlas of the Roman World, Tim Cornell and John Matthews. New York, 1986. DG77 .C597 1982.
Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins. New York and Oxford 1994. DG77 A35 1994 (stacks)
M. Rostovtzeff's Rome (Oxford, 1928) is an excellent one-volume
history of the city and its empire. Stacks, DG209 R653