Following our course on the Julio-Claudian emperors, we continue the story of Rome in one of its most dramatic eras. After Nero's death in AD 68, the empire was plunged into the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors. What followed was more than a century of extraordinary rulers: some wise, some cruel and some simply strange. We'll meet the Flavian dynasty, who gave Rome the Colosseum, and the so-called Five Good Emperors, under whom the empire reached the height of its power. We'll follow Hadrian as he travelled his vast realm and built his famous wall across Britain, and meet the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose choice of his son Commodus as heir set Rome on the road to decline. Along the way we'll ask questions that still matter: what makes a good leader? How do great powers rise, and why do they fall?

You don't need to have attended the earlier course. Just bring your curiosity. In a relaxed, friendly group, every question and opinion is welcome as we explore the triumphs and follies of Rome's rulers together.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

COURSE RESOURCES

• Michael Grant: History of Rome (Book Club, 1978)
• Royston Lambert: Beloved and God (Phoenix, 1984)
• Tom Holland: Pax (Abacus, 2024)

COURSE OUTLINE

• A survey from the notorious Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69) through the Flavian Dynasty, the era of the Five Good Emperors to the reign of the philosopher Marcus Aurelius, whose nomination of his son as successor set the Empire into irreversible decline.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Appreciate how empires rise and fall.