Modern humanities

Introduction to the study of Roman History* Profile of political – institutional, social-economic and cultural history of Rome, from its origins down to the Late Antiquity Topics are tentatively arranged according to the following syllabus: Introduction to Roman History: methods, sources and historiography (4 h.) From the Origins of Rome to the war against Veii (8 h.) The imperial Republic (390-133 B.C.) (6 h.) Late Republic (133-31) (8 h.) The Empire in balance (31 B.C. - 235 A.D.) (8 h.) The Empire in flux (235-337 A.D.) (4 h.) The destinies of the Empire (337-476 A.D.) (4 h.) *N.B. The course (Roman History I, channel 1) is for students whose surnames begin with the letters A-L

There are not particolar requirements; however acquaintance with physical and historical geography of the Mediterranean world is useful.

A - Lectures’ notes and didactic materials distributed by the instructor and uploaded in his personal webpage; B1 - Handbook chosen from among G. Cresci Marrone, F. Rohr Vio, L. Calvelli, Roma antica. Storia e documenti, Il Mulino, Bologna 2020 (2nd. edition); .A. Cecconi, La città e l'impero. Una storia del mondo romano dalle origini a Teodosio il Grande, Carocci, Roma 2021 (2 ed.) F. Russo (a cura di) , Storia di Roma antica. Dalla fondazione al 476 d.C., Pearson, Milano 2025 B2 - a book chosen from among: F. Santangelo, U. Roberto, F. Oppesidano, Le fonti della storia romana, in Le fonti della storia antica, a cura di G. Traina, Bologna 2023, pp. 265-419 (due chapters chosen among chapt. 7-9); - A. Giardina (ed.), Roma antica, Roma - Bari 2016 (2ed.) (saggi di: A. Giardina, Introduzione, pp. V-XXXI; Idem, Perimetri, pp. 23-34; M. Beard, Gli spazi degli dei, le feste, pp. 35-56; J.-M. David, I luoghi della politica dalla repubblica all'impero, pp. 57-83; I. Tantillo, Gli uomini, le risorse, pp. 85-111; ; C. Pavolini, Il fiume e i porti, pp. 163-181;;; A. Fraschetti, Tra pagani e cristiani, pp. 307-327);

Attendance of lectures and off campus activities in not mandatory, but recommended.

The students are required to pass a single oral exam (on syllabus topics, using also didatctic materials and suggested readings), during the regular exam sessions, at the end of the course. The oral exam, with open-ended questions, is aimed at verifying the knowledge of course topics and the students’ ability to read critically the documentary sources dealt with over the course. Students are expected to be articulate and to be able to communicate their thoughts and contents with an appropriate language. To pass the exam the student must get a grade of not below than 18/30. Students must demonstrate to have acquired a sufficient command of course topics; they are also expected to know how to cope critically with the main documentary sources. In order to hit a score of 30/30 cum laude, students must demonstrate excellent knowledge of all course topics, and to be able to connect them in a logical and consistent way. Students who will not be able to attend the course will undergo the same exam (oral exam); supplementary / substitute readings will be provided (see Texts adopted and reference bibliography).

Further references will be reported during classes; useful an historical atlas.

Frontal classes; there are also planned visits to museums and archaeological areas of Rome and nearby.

Introduction to the Study of Roman History* Outline of the political-institutional, economic-social and cultural history of Rome and the Roman world from the origins to Late Antiquity. The course will be divided into the following topics: Introduction to Roman History: methodology, sources, historiography (4 hours) Monarchy (4 hours) Early and Middle Republic (509-133 BC) (8 hours) The Late Republic (133-31 BC) (8 hours) The Roman Empire (31 BC - 235 AD) (8 hours) The Changing Empire (235-337 AD) (6 hours) The Fall of the Empire (337-476 A.D.) (4 hours) *N.B. The course (Roman History I, channel 1) is intended for students whose surnames begin with the letters M-Z

There are no special prerequisites; however, familiarity with the physical and historical geography of the Mediterranean world is useful.

A- Lecture notes and lecture material distributed in digital format; B1 - a text of the student's choice from: G.A. Cecconi, La città e l'impero. Una storia del mondo romano dalle origini a Teodosio il Grande, Carocci, Roma 2021 (2 ed.) G. Cresci Marrone, F. Rohr Vio, L. Calvelli, Roma antica. Storia e documenti, Il Mulino, Bologna 2020 (2ed.) F. Russo (a cura di), Storia di Roma antica. Dalla fondazione al 476 d.C., Pearson, Milano 2025 B2 - supplementary reading (to be chosen from the following texts): F. Santangelo- U. Roberto - F. Oppedisano, Le fonti della storia romana, in G. Traina (a cura di), Le fonti della storia antica, Il Mulino, Bologna 2023, pp. 269-419 (two chapters to choose from the three proposed). A. Giardina (a cura di), L'uomo romano, Roma - Bari 2006 (14ed.) (six chapters and introduction) A. Giardina, Roma antica, Roma - Bari 2014 (six chapters and introduction) G. De Sanctis, La religione a Roma. Luoghi, culti, sacerdoti, dèi, Carocci, Roma 2012.

Attendance is not compulsory, but recommended.

The knowledge and comprehension skills acquired will be verified by means of a single oral exam (on the topics addressed in the course, with the aid of the teaching materials and suggested readings), to be administered in the regular exam sessions at the end of the course. The oral exam, which consists of a series of open-ended questions, is intended to test the student's knowledge of the specific topic proposed and to verify his or her ability to orientate themselves in the critical reading and historical interpretation of the documentary sources discussed and analysed during the course (see Adopted texts and reference bibliography); the student must also be able to communicate the knowledge acquired in an appropriate language. A mark of no less than 18/30 is required to pass the examination. The student must demonstrate that he/she has acquired sufficient or a higher level of knowledge on the topics of the course, as well as being able to make critical use of the main documentary sources. In order to obtain a mark of 30/30 cum laude the student must instead demonstrate that he/she has acquired an excellent knowledge of all the topics of the course, being able to link them in a logical and coherent manner.

I semester