Description
This module explores the changes that occurred in Rome between AD 300 and 1000, exploring a number of themes of key importance in the general history of late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.
Through a focus on the city of Rome, we will explore a number of themes of key importance in the general history of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. These include: the end of the imperial world; the relationship between Pagan and Christian élites; the rise of Papal authority; the effects the structural changes in the Mediterranean trade had on the city’s market system; the intellectual and artistic productions; the relationship that the Popes had with the city’s aristocracy and the main powers of the time (Byzantine emperors, Lombard kings, Frankish kings and emperors); the Carolingian renaissance; the Ottonian empire. During the year we will use a wide range of written sources (available in translation) and archaeological evidence from excavations carried out in Rome in the last 15-20 years. During the year we will see how the structures of the antique Mediterranean world survived for longer than commonly thought and then transformed, declined and eventually collapsed. Moreover, we will study the physical, socio-economic, political, cultural and religious transformations that occurred in a city that, in spite of time, wanted to continue being celebrated as eternal.
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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