I thought that if I was going to choose five books on Roman history I really had to choose a Roman historian because, for modern historians, Roman historians have always been the great model.īecause the classics are classics. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius gives the inside story on some of Rome’s greatest emperors. Let’s have a look at some of your choices. And all the way through our attempts to construct civilisation we are always overshadowed by the previous attempt, so we will find in Roman history what I guess we find in science fiction – that there are points of resemblance heightened and made strange by the way that they are also completely different.īy Suetonius and translated by Robert Graves. We had the first starting in BC and lasting up until the collapse of the Roman Empire and then the second, building on the ruins left by classical civilisation, continuing into the present. In terms of the lessons to be drawn from Roman history, of course it will always hold a mirror up to the present, for the simple reason that what is distinctive about Western civilisation, particularly compared with the other great civilisations like China or India or even the Middle East, is that in the West we have had two cracks at it. It is like a kaleidoscope – our understanding of the text will change according to the way that we ourselves change. I think that the quality of great literature is that it contains timeless truths. With all the upheavals in the world do you think there are things that we can still learn from Roman times? Obviously it is harder to adapt a classical text than it is, say, a 19th century novel, simply because we are further removed from the Roman world. But you have to cut it in such a way that preserves both the structure of the narrative and those episodes within it that will give the listener, who may not be familiar with the text, some sense of the reason why it is so powerful and the reason why it has had the impact not just over the centuries but also over the millennia. Essentially, all that you are doing is a glorified cutting job.
The thing about adapting the texts is that the framework is there for you. When you are adapting Latin texts for use by the BBC, how do you go about bringing them to life for today’s audience? Foreign Policy & International Relations.The conversion of Constantine The course also addresses one of history's greatest questions: Why did the Roman Empire fall? And you'll learn why most modern scholars believe that the empire did not "fall" at all, but, rather, changed into something very different-the less urbanized, more rural, early medieval world. The mad and venal emperors Nero and Caligula. Caesar assassinated before a statue of his archrival Pompey. Hannibal crossing the Alps during Rome's life-or-death war with Carthage. In telling Rome's riveting story, Professor Fagan draws on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, including recent historical and archaeological scholarship, to introduce the fascinating tale of Rome's rise and decline, including the famous events and personalities that have become so familiar.
Mary beard ultimate rome episode 3 summary series#
And it stood for almost 700 years.In this series of 48 spirited lectures, you'll see how a small village of shepherds and farmers rose to tower over the civilized world of its day and left a permanent mark on history. In the regional, restless, and shifting history of continental Europe, the Roman Empire stands as a towering monument to scale and stability, unified in politics and law, stretching from the sands of Syria to the moors of Scotland. At the peak of its power, Rome's span was vast. Even today, the influence of Ancient Rome is indelible, with Europe and the world owing this extraordinary empire a huge cultural debt in almost every important category of human endeavor, including art, architecture, engineering, language, literature, law, and religion.
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