Prerequisite(s): LATN 0200 or equivalent (such as placement score of 550). Introduction to continuous reading of unadapted works by Latin authors in prose(e.g., Cornelius Nepos, Cicero, Pliny), in combination with a thorough review of Latin grammar. By the end of the course students will have thorough familiarity with the grammar, vocabulary, and style of the selected authors, will be able to tackle previously unseen passages by them, and will be able to discuss questions of language and interpretation.

An introduction to the Latin language for beginners. Students begin learning grammar and vocabulary, with practical exercises in reading in writing. By the end of the course students will be able to read and analyze simple Latin texts, including selected Roman inscriptions in the Penn Museum.

An introduction to the Latin language for beginners. Students begin learning grammar and vocabulary, with practical exercises in reading in writing. By the end of the course students will be able to read and analyze simple Latin texts, including selected Roman inscriptions in the Penn Museum.

An introduction to the principles and practices of Greek Epigraphy. Study of selected Greek inscriptions.

The period between the third and eighth centuries - from the Tetrarchy led by Diocletian to the rise of Umayyad Caliphate - is characteristically regarded as a period of ferment and change, whether that be on the still-influential model of Decline and Fall first proposed by Edward Gibbon in the eighteenth century or the somewhat less deterministic account of transformation favored by Peter Brown in the late twentieth. These narratives tend to emphasize the large-scale processes that played out over these centuries, such as the florescence and fragmentation of two world empires; the emergence of two highly influential monotheistic religions of the book; and the codification of legal systems that continue to dominate contemporary practices and theories of law. Equally, what characterizes these centuries is the particular granularity and character of the textual and archaeological evidence that exists for the functioning of this world at the micro-scale, as against the periods that preceded and followed. This course traces the social, economic, cultural, and religious institutions and processes that make this period distinctive, explores the nature of the evidence for those institutions and processes, and exposes to scrutiny the assumptions and preconceptions that underpin the scholarly narratives that have been constructed about them.

The Roman Empire, teetering under the weight of its bureaucracy, oppressed by the demands of its soldiers, weakened by wave after wave of barbarian invasions, and, with the rise of Christianity, confronted by its own immorality, finally fell when the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was sent into exile in 476 CE. That, at least, is one version of the story. In truth, there are many stories that can be told of the period between the apogee of the Roman empire in the 2nd c. AD and the rise of Christianity and Islam and origins of the so-called Barbarian Kingdoms in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. This course will explore this period of 600 years, using methodologies from history, archaeology, social science and the sciences to understand the complex problem of empire and its evolutions. No previous knowledge of ancient or medieval history required.

What constituted an empire in antiquity and how was imperialism legitimized? Which measures were used to maintain and organize imperial power? How did foreign rule affect the daily life of people all over the Mediterranean? In this course we will discuss and compare ancient empires from Achaemenid Persia to Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms of his successors to the emergence of Rome as one of the most influential empires in world history. Topics that will be discussed include ancient ideas and concepts of imperial rule, patterns of political, economic and cultural power and their interrelations as well as imperial crises and local resistance. All texts will be discussed in translation. There are no prerequisites.

What constituted an empire in antiquity and how was imperialism legitimized? Which measures were used to maintain and organize imperial power? How did foreign rule affect the daily life of people all over the Mediterranean? In this course we will discuss and compare ancient empires from Achaemenid Persia to Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms of his successors to the emergence of Rome as one of the most influential empires in world history. Topics that will be discussed include ancient ideas and concepts of imperial rule, patterns of political, economic and cultural power and their interrelations as well as imperial crises and local resistance. All texts will be discussed in translation. There are no prerequisites.

What constituted an empire in antiquity and how was imperialism legitimized? Which measures were used to maintain and organize imperial power? How did foreign rule affect the daily life of people all over the Mediterranean? In this course we will discuss and compare ancient empires from Achaemenid Persia to Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms of his successors to the emergence of Rome as one of the most influential empires in world history. Topics that will be discussed include ancient ideas and concepts of imperial rule, patterns of political, economic and cultural power and their interrelations as well as imperial crises and local resistance. All texts will be discussed in translation. There are no prerequisites.

What constituted an empire in antiquity and how was imperialism legitimized? Which measures were used to maintain and organize imperial power? How did foreign rule affect the daily life of people all over the Mediterranean? In this course we will discuss and compare ancient empires from Achaemenid Persia to Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms of his successors to the emergence of Rome as one of the most influential empires in world history. Topics that will be discussed include ancient ideas and concepts of imperial rule, patterns of political, economic and cultural power and their interrelations as well as imperial crises and local resistance. All texts will be discussed in translation. There are no prerequisites.