History 204 - The Roman Republic

A survey of the history of the Roman people as Rome developed from a village in central Italy to the capital of a vast Mediterranean empire of 50 million people. We trace Rome’s early rise through mythology and archaeology and follow developments from Monarchy to the end of the Republic, including the Struggle of the Orders, conquests and citizenship, wars with Carthage, encounters with local cultures in North Africa, Gaul and the Greek East, challenges of expansion and empire, rich versus poor, political corruption, and the Civil Wars of the Late Republic. We also study the family, slavery, traditional and new religions, and other aspects of Roman culture and society.