Why the Roman State Lasted for 2000 Years and What We Can Learn from It

Most discussions about Roman history focus on why the Roman Empire fell. In this course, we answer a different question, one that is never asked—why the Roman state lasted for 2000 years. We explore how its powerful but flexible public institutions and its unique ability to integrate new peoples and ideas made it so dynamic that it could transform itself from a small, Latin-speaking, pagan city state in Italy into a Christian, Greek-speaking empire based in Constantinople without ever losing its fundamental Roman character. The instructor will be happy to sign his new book, The Romans: A 2,000-Year History (available October 7). This course uses the Hybrid format which allows students to participate remotely and/or in the classroom. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for 30 days.