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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of History, Classics and Archaeology : Postgraduate (History, Classics and Archaeology)

Postgraduate Course: The Roman Emperor: the Nature of His Rule (PGHC11493)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course explores the paradoxical nature of the early Roman emperors' rule and power. It looks into the historical development of their constitutional position within the Principate and the way they used both old Republican institutions and newly devised mechanisms to accumulate power which had all the trappings of absolute monarchy without their ever being proclaimed kings.
Course description The early Roman emperor was one of the most influential political figures in history. Whereas they wielded vast power over an extensive territory, the nature of their office is not easily defined as it was a constant work in progress. They gradually accrued more and more powers and encroached into different areas of the economy and the administration through their slaves and freedmen. Thus, they managed to become ever more powerful monarchs while Rome remained officially a republic. This course will look into the nature and characteristics of early Roman emperors' rule and powers (27 BC - AD 235). It will examine the mechanisms through which the emperors exercised their authority looking into how emperors acted as generals, magistrates, judges and lawgivers. It will analyse how the imperial household took over the administration of the most varied types of public and economic activities. Finally, it will focus on how emperors interacted with different social strata and how the emperor's cult was gradually established. Whereas no knowledge of ancient languages is required, students will be expected to master a wide range of sources from across the empire: legal and literary texts, inscriptions, papyri and archaeological material.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. demonstrate, in seminar discussion and the course essay, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms through which Roman emperors accrued and exercised their power and authority;
  2. demonstrate, in seminar discussion and the course essay, familiarity with the different roles Roman emperors performed in the military, legal and political realms and the way they related to their subjects;
  3. demonstrate the ability to develop and sustain original scholarly arguments in oral and written form in seminar discussions and the course essay by independently formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence considered in the course;
  4. demonstrate, in source commentary and final essay, understanding of the complexities of reconstructing the institutional function of the emperor as monarchic head of the Roman Republic;
  5. demonstrate, in seminar discussions and the course essay, an ability to understand and apply specialised research, techniques and practices for a range of different types of source material (e.g. papyrological, epigraphic, literary).
Reading List
- Bleicken, J. (1982) Zum Regierungsstil des römischen Kaisers: eine Antwort auf Fergus Millar, Wiesbaden.

- Ferrary, J.-L. (2009) 'The powers of Augustus', in: Edmondson, J. (ed.) Augustus. Edinburgh Readings on the Ancient World, Edinburgh, 90-136.

- Fishwick, D. (1991-1993) The imperial cult in the Latin West, Leiden.

- Honoré, T. (1994) Emperors and Lawyers, Oxford.

- Millar, F. (1992/1977) The emperor in the Roman world (31BC-AD337), London.

- Norman, N. J. (2009) 'Imperial triumph and apotheosis: the Arch of Titus in Rome', in: Counts, D. B. and Tuck, A. S. (eds.) Koine: Mediterranean studies in honor of R. Ross Holloway, Oxford, 41-53.

- Paterson, J. (2007) 'Friends in high places: the creation of the court of the Roman emperor', Spawforth, A. J. S. (ed.) The court and court society in ancient monarchies, Cambridge and NY.

- Roller, M. (2015) 'The difference an emperor makes: notes on the reception of the Republican senate in the imperial age', Classical Receptions Journal 7.1, 11-30.

- Sirks, A. J. B. (2001) 'Making a request to the emperor: rescripts in the Roman Empire', in: De Blois, Lukas (ed.) Administration, prosopography and appointment policies in the Roman empire, Amsterdam, 121-135.

- Weaver, P. R. C. (1972) Familia Caesaris: A Social Study of the Emperor's Freedmen and Slaves, Cambridge.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Juan Lewis
Tel: (0131 6)50 4563
Email: Juan.Lewis@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Lindsay Scott
Tel: (0131 6)50 9948
Email: Lindsay.Scott@ed.ac.uk
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