1. Course Formalities
   1. Classes: In general, I expect you to pick up the details of the narrative (the chronological survey) from the textbook. The lectures will be devoted to the analysis of sources and to discussion of the underlying causation. History is the study of causes.
      1. Effectively this means that historians must collect and assess the "facts" and then select from the many, those that are most relevant to an interpretation of the causes.
      2. The historian must also be aware of bias in the selection of material, a bias that affects the collection of evidence in the first instance, and the management of it thereafter. Consider the role of the medieval monk in this process.
      3. How do we cope with this issue?
      4. The exams are designed to help you make that transition from the mastery of the "facts" and evidence, to serious historical interpretation.
   2. Method: Socrates and Thucydides.
   3. Lectures
      1. Notes on the web usually 24 hours ahead.
      2. Structure: lectures are organized in four sections.
         1. The problem/ issue
         2. Critical concepts for interpretation
         3. Evidence
         4. Narrative, detailed analysis, and discussion.
         5. Conclusions
   4. Texts and Readings: Please bring the sourcebook, Roman Civilization, to the respective class meetings. Note that assignments are based on chapter and/or section headings.
   5. Exams
      1. The exams (except for the IDs) will be circulated a week ahead and you may use notes, etc., study together. There will also be two or three IDs (visual) at the beginning of the exam. Nonetheless, exams are individual, not collective, enterprises.
      2. Grading is based half on the formulation of the problem, half on the use of relevant evidence to support.
2. Problems and Leading Ideas
   1. Why study Roman history?
      1. Our own political culture is permeated with Roman concepts. Words like senate, legislature, congress, ajudication, etc. were selected by the founding fathers because they represented ideals of republican government.
      2. Not just labels. Our concepts and dynamics of government owe much to Rome: liberty, balance of powers, judicial restraint, inclusion, civil, secession, etc.
      3. The Roman Republic was stable and enduring (for most of this course), in that sense it was an important model for the Founding Fathers.
      4. Moreover, as will be argued here, the Roman Republic continues to we worthy of student because it, unlike other ancient state[and many modern ones], it was successful at winning the allegiance of and of incorporating as full equals peoples of diverse language, culture and race.
   2. What we must explain in this course:
      1. The rise of Rome as a political force [republic / commonwealth] first in Italy and then in the Mediterranean,
         1. the inability of Rome's competitors, the Hellenistic world (really several kingdoms and many city-states) and Carthage, to defend themselves.
         2. What was the impact of that empire on her institutions? How did the Romans respond to the challenge of empire? How did Rome's one time enemies respond to Roman control?
      2. Discussion Point: What happens when diverse cultures collide?In this case there was a cultural encounter of massive proportions between Indo-European (Greek and Roman) and Semitic peoples, between urban and pastoral peoples, between Romans and Greeks, between the Mediterranean and the northern hinterland.
         1. Classicism: the development of the concept that a particular age or group of artistic geniuses can define high culture; an achievement that became the standard for subsequent generations.
            1. What we know of 5th century Athens is what the later scholars of Athens, Alexandria, and eventually of Rome thought was worth preserving, emulating.
            2. In the short run, classicism served to package the great achievements of earlier ages.
            3. In a long run, it contributed to the methodology of studying intellectual achievements. It is during this period that schools and academies, as we understand them, developed. Classicism as a political statement, as a cultural statement. Content and method of Classicism.
         2. The moral dilemma: The Romans saw the defeated (Greeks and Semites) as the possessors of a culture superior and more ancient than their own: Graecia capta, ferum victorem cepit et artes intulit agresti Latio...Greece having been conquered, conquered its savage victor and introduced the arts of civilized life into rustic Italy. But the Romans also viewed those cultures effete and degenerate. A dilemma.
3. Geographical Background
   1. On the Mediterranean basin, in general, note that the lands bordering that sea have strong similarities in climate and vegetation, land- and seascape.
      1. Climate: dry summers, moist winters, strong northerly winds with only occasional cold periods and little fog.
      2. Vegetation: evergreens and shrubs, oaks at higher elevation. Good pasturage. Cereal production only in alluvial valleys (the conflict between the pastoral and agrarian populations/economic systems will be a major problem throughout this course). Otherwise, olive, fig and vine are major crops (all have extensive root systems to tap the deeper ground water).
      3. Landscape: geologically late mountain development (tertiary age), with sharp rugged sides. Though such configurations do not "hold" rainwater well, the faults in the limestone face allow the run-off to accumulate in underground caverns and issue forth in the form of springs. The relative isolation of the alluvial valleys within the mountain ranges discourages communications by land, encourages the development of city-states.
      4. Transport by land: ox cart; mule train
      5. Seascape: The sea generally connects rather than separates. Mild summers, no strong currents or tides, plus numerous islands encourage seafaring.
   2. On Italy: Italy is simply a geographical concept --Machiavelli-- and is true for most of Italian history.
      1. In all respects mentioned above, Italy is more favored than most Mediterranean lands and hence, except for Egypt, could support the largest population.
      2. The Apennines are the major mountain chain, running from (roughly) Genoa southeast across Italy to Rimini and then along the whole "boot" of Italy. Though not especially high (rarely over 10,000 feet), they also serve to encourage the development of city-states.
      3. Unlike Greece, Italy is not blessed with many natural harbors; the consequence is that Romans did not become seafarers.
      4. The Alps are not as effective a defensive wall as one might think!
      5. Though the Mediterranean and Italy constitute a natural geographical unit, it is not the case that, except for the Roman empire, a common culture was ever able to develop.
   3. The Site of Rome
      1. The city was built 15 miles up the Tiber from the sea.
      2. Geologically speaking, the whole area is volcanic (as are the hills) even today, the area is seismologically very active.
      3. Natural advantages of the hill site: easy access to fertile ground (the topsoil is largely volcanic ash), above the floodwaters. The hills also offered good defensive positions, especially the steep Capitoline and the somewhat more spacious Palatine. Rome is the first ford of the Tiber upriver from the sea and, through the Tiber River valley, enjoys reasonable access to interior. The earliest trading activity was in salt (there are salt pans at the mouth of the Tiber) along the Via Saleria to the interior ("salt route"). Without salt, the herds of cattle and goats could not thrive.
      4. Discussion Point: What is the relationship between geography and history? What is geographical determinism?