This is the syllabus used in the spring of 2003; it will be revised and posted late in the winter term of 2005.

THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND PRINCIPATE
(from the death of Caesar in 44 BC to the reign of Constantine AD 337)

This course focuses on the transformation of the Mediterranean in the Ancient World.  In particular we will be looking at the structure of Roman government and law, the urbanization and Romanization of the western provinces, the development of a common culture, the spread of Christianity and eventually at the fall of Rome.

This course satisfies the Multi-Cultural requirement in Category B in that it focuses on problems of cultural conflict and integration, on identity and diversity in a multi-ethnic society.

Credits and Contact hours: we will meet for three hours per week; to satisfy university expectations about awarding four credits, students will have to complete four short papers and map exercises.

Graduate students are expected to attend a meeting every other week to discuss supplementary material based on their needs.

• CLASS TIME and PLACE: TuTh 12:00 to 13:20 in 302 Gerlinger
• OFFICE HOURS: Mondays and Wednesdays 010:00 to 11:30, also by appointment.
• OFFICE: 385 McKenzie Hall
• TEL: 541.346.4817
• E-MAIL: nic@darkwing.uoregon.edu
• CRN for 414: 32180; for 514: 332197
• Course Lecture Schedule
• FINAL EXAMINATION: Thursday, 12 June at 08:00
• TEXTS:
  • HRP = Ward, Allen, et al., History of the Roman People, Prentiss Hall.
  • RC = N. Lewis & M. Reinhold, Roman Civilization (Columbia UP, 3rd edition, 1990), Volumes I and II.
• Note the following:
  • The reading assignments are by section or chapter unless otherwise specified.
  • Because the same sources may be relevant to two different problems there is some duplication in the assignments in RC.
  • Lectures will be posted on the internet at the address above one day before the lecture is delivered. Please check the 'page' regularly as I will also post a number of other items including the syllabus, maps, corrections and modifications of the lectures, etc.
  • Additional work for graduate students:  Review two books selected in consultation with instructor.
  • Examinations: there will be a midterm examination and a final. 
  • Grading Policy: Your final grade is based on the best of two calculations.
    • I will construct a final grade based on all three essays (one midterm; two final essays) and IDs
    • I will construct a final grade based on the best two of three essays (n.b.: three essays are rquired).
    • Your final grade will be the highest one of these two options;

Lectures and Reading Assignments

FIRST WEEK: During this week I will outline (very briefly) the problems of the Late Roman Republic and then turn to Caesar as the first 'emperor'.   Some of the readings are review for those who were in the course last term.

• Tu 1.Apr.    Introduction: formalities. The Roman Republic in 46 BCE. Institutions.
  • HRP cc. 19 and 21
  • RC-I 96, 166(pp. 480-4), 162(pp. 445-53; 461-3), 168-9
• Th 3.Apr     Foreign affairs.  Caesar and Octavian: The plans of the former, the conspiracy and immediate aftermath. Rome and her Empire. How to explain the failure of the Republican constitution. Given the problems of the republican system of government, what held the Empire together during this crisis?
  • HRP c.20
  • RC-I 110-113, 190, 147, 193

SECOND WEEK:  In this week the discussion centers on the construction of a new constitutional order called the Principate.

• TU 8.Apr    Octavian, the Second Triumvirate, the battle of Actium, and the demand to reform of the constitution (more cynically this lecture takes us from oligopoly to monopoly).  More on social change in the late Roman Republic.
  • HPR 22
  • RC-I 114-8, 183, 191-2
• TH 10.Apr   The Settlement(s) of Augustus. The evolution of a disguised military monarchy. The National Program.
  • HRP 23-24
  • RC-I 96, 153, 170(pp. 489-91), 173, 175, 178, 194-6, 201, 204, 206 (pp. 610-7), 207 (pp. 623-5).

THIRD WEEK: In this week we will be examining the archaeological evidence (monuments, inscriptions, urban development) and then turning to the evolution of the Augustan system during the first century CE.

• Tu 15.Apr     The Augustan Reform in Art and the Monuments
  • HRP 25
  • RC-I 195, 208;RC-II 37
• Th 17.Apr     The Julio-Claudian Period; the Problem of Succession
  • HRP 26 and 27
  • RC-I 210 (634-5; 636-8); RC-II 1-4

FOURTH WEEK: The reading assignments for this week are relatively light, giving you the opportunity to review and prepare for the midterm.

• Tu 22.Apr     Opposition to the Principate: senatorial and intellectual; the role of the Army
  • HRP 28
  • RC-I 199-200; RC-II 2, 6, 7(pp. 24-6), 12, 136, 138
• Th 24.Apr     Cities, houses, monuments of the Principate. Public and private life during the Principate. Note this lecture will be illustrated and one or more items will constitute identifications for the midterm examination.
  • RC-II 39-40, 44

FIFTH WEEK:

Tu 29.Apr     MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Th 1.May Tacitus, Pliny and the Culture of the Roman Empire (Do not try to take notes on the readings in Tacitus and Pliny. Some of the passages also occur in RC).

• Tacitus, Ann I 1-30; XI, XII 1-9; 64-9, XV 38-74; Hist. I 1-70.
• Pliny, I 14, 19; II 13; III 14, 16, IV 1, 13, 19; VII 22 16; X

SIXTH WEEK The lectures this week center on the tradition that made Rome, her system and achievements, such a fundamental component of the European experience. Again, we will be defining the qualities of Roman culture, high and popular.

• Tu 6.May   Imperial Administration and the Romanization of the West
  • RC-II 7 (pp. 19-26), 15-16, 22, 64-6, 72-3, 75, 90, 106
• Th 8.May    Romanization (continues)
  • HRP 30

• Tu 13.May   "...when mankind was happiest..."
  • HRP 29
• Th 15.May  Economic and Social Structure of the Principate
  • HRP 31
  • RC-II 23-25 (pp. 100-1), 26-7, 48, 54, 69-7, 74, 91, 94, 96-7, 100

• Tu 20.May The Imperial Crisis in the 3rd Century; economic and social change
  • HRP 32-3
  • RC-II 77, 85-7, 104-5, 107, 110-2, 115, 145-6
• Th 22 May     The Reforms of Constantine and Diocletian: A Costly Renewal.  The visual arts in Late Antiquity including early Christian art (some items will be identifications for the final).
  • HRP 34
  • RC-II 119-23;125-32, 175; 178-9, 187, 189.

NINTH WEEK Intellectual changes--science and religion

• Th 27.May     Science and Religion in the Roman Empire
  • HRP 35
  • RC-I 179, 211; RC-II, 55, 57, 61, 161, 162(pp. 527-8), 163-5
• Th 29.May     Christianity
  • HRP 38
  • RC-II 167-8, 172-4

TENTH WEEK Given the strengths and resources of the Empire in CE 175, how can one account for the 'fall'? Is the 'decline' the right word to describe the vitality of late antique life?

• Tu 3.June     Roman Law
  • RC-II 153-60
• Th 5.June     The 'Fall' and Legacy of the Rome and her Empire
  • HRP 44