History 320 - Bad Roman Emperors

Caligula was a god (or so he thought); Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Commodus dressed as a gladiator and fought man and beast in the arena. The historical tradition of Rome is replete with stories about eccentric and insane emperors whose scandalous reigns raise questions about the nature of the emperor's power and his role in administering the empire. A close study of Roman imperial biography and historiography-the source of so many of these stories of bad emperors-weighed against documentary evidence and material remains reveals the dynamic between the emperor, his court, and his subjects that was fundamental to the political culture of imperial Rome.

Prereq: 8 credits in Classics, Latin, Greek, Classical Studies, or History.