The Medieval World

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Rome 07: The Punic Wars Jan 01, 2011

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In the last lecture we saw the rise of Rome on the Italian Peninsula. In this lecture, I want to focus on the first major encounter Rome had with a non-Italian adversary. This foe was Carthage.

Rome 06: The Conquest of Italy Jan 01, 2011

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In the past few lectures, we have contextualized Rome and its place within the Mediterranean Sea generally and the Italian Peninsula specifically. Today we are going to be looking at how Rome grew to conquer the Italian Peninsula. More importantly, we are going to look at how they handled those they conquered and some of the remedies Rome came up with to handle their rapidly expanding empire. I want to again emphasize this term empire. You are going to hear me use it regularly. If you are reading this lecture, then you will notice I am using a lowercase "e". This is intentional. When we speak of the Roman Empire with a capital "E", we are speaking about the period of Roman history known as the Empire which begins after Augustus. For right now, we are using a lowercase "e" because Rome had an empire long before Augustus' reforms. Think about that word "empire". Any idea where it comes from? It comes from a Roman term imperium , which means "command". As Rome grew to dominate other people, they began to have an empire throughout which they commanded over various peoples. And their empire begins in this lecture as they conquer the Italian Peninsula.

Rome 05: The Institutions of the Roman Republic Jan 01, 2011

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After the Rome's regal period, they entered into what is known as the Roman Republic. The word republic comes from the Latin words res publica, which literally translates to "the public thing." The republic was, by definition, a system that belonged to the people. In this lecture we are going to explore what a republic is, what it meant to the Romans, its strengths and weaknesses, and some of the important institutions and social structures that constituted the Roman Republic. While our chief concern will be the offices of the government and military, we will pay special attention to the ways in which the Romans categorized and classified their people. Because we are dealing with Roman terms, many of the key words you encounter in this lecture will be Latin. There is, unfortunately, no way around this. Nevertheless, I will try to keep these terms to a minimum.

Rome 04 - The Mythical Origins of Rome Jan 01, 2011

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In this lecture we are going to explore how Rome viewed their earliest history and how that balances against fact. Early cultures rarely have an accurate view of their earliest past.

Rome 03: The Ancient Italian Peninsula Jan 01, 2011

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In the past lectures, I spoke about the Ancient Mediterranean. We saw that this was a belligerent political arena fraught with peril. We saw that the annual calendar was developed around agriculture. Men fought with neighboring communities in the Summer but returned home to tend to their crops in the Fall. Today we are going to zoom in and look more closely at the Italian Peninsula in particular just before Rome began to dominate its neighbors. What is the geography of the Italian Peninsula? What kind of crops are particularly suited to grow there? How was early Italy divided? What was the chief form of government on the peninsula? What languages were spoken? Why was Rome particularly suited to grow effectively? These are some of the questions that shall frame our discussion.

Rome 02: The Ancient Mediterranean Jan 01, 2011

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Welcome to the Ancient Mediterranean. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with it because it's going to be our home for many lectures to come. It is impossible to study Rome without first contextualizing its place within the Mediterranean and the reason for this can be explained by simply analyzing the name of this body of water. Mediterranean. Stop and think about this word. Have you ever considered what it means? If you go to Saudi Arabia and ask what it is called, the Arabic word will be a cognate of the same word in all Western languages. It is Latin in origin and those who speak Italian, French, or Spanish may find a few familiar words embedded within its name. Mediterranean is a combination of two Latin words: medius, which means middle, and terra which means land, world, earth. Roughly translated Mediterranean means "the middle of the world."

Rome 01: Early Writing Cultures Jan 01, 2011

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There is something magical about the written word. It connects us to the past in a way no other technology can. With the advent of writing, the historian's profession was born. In this chapter, we will be exploring the earliest writing cultures. Throughout the chapter, pay particular attention to how environment shapes writing. We will look closely at twowriting cultures: Mesopotamia and Crete. It should be noted, my intention in this chapter is not to present a chronological history of these regions but rather present an examination of the writing culture of each respective place. If you would like a more chronological treatment of these regions, please see the links at the end of the chapter.

Ancient Greece 22: The Achaean War Jan 01, 2010

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In the last lecture, we saw Rome go to war with Macedonia in four separate wars. After Rome finally defeated the region after the Fourth Macedonian War, they quickly faced an uprising in 146 known as the Achaean War. It was a war that pitted Rome against an alliance of Greek poleis in Achaea and the Peloponnese. In many regards, this was rather like a final stand against the Roman Republic. While this war was very short, it is worth exploring it in full.

Achilles - Strings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100463 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Ancient Greece 21: The Macedonian Wars Jan 01, 2010

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In the previous lecture, we examined the Pyrrhic War between Rome and King Pyrrhus of Epirus. I noted that this was the first war in which Rome came into contact with Hellenistic and Greek military tactics on the battlefield. In this lecture, we are going to pick up nearly 60 years after its conclusion in 272 with the Macedonian Wars which will begin in 214 and not end until 148 BCE.

Ancient Greece 20: The Pyrrhic War Jan 01, 2010

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In my lectures on Rome, I detail the rise of Rome in the Italian Peninsula. This lecture is one of three designed to discuss Rome in the contexts of Hellenism. Remember, when Greek power waned and even after the death of Alexander the Great, Hellenism remained very much alive. In these three lectures, we will be examining how Rome interacted with Greek kingdoms by examining a series of wars, The Pyrrhic War, the Macedonia Wars, and the Achaean War. This lecture studies the first of these, the Pyrrhic War.

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