
The History of Ancient Rome
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Narrated by:
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Garrett G. Fagan
Even today, the influence of Ancient Rome is indelible, with Europe and the world owing this extraordinary empire a huge cultural debt in almost every important category of human endeavor, including art, architecture, engineering, language, literature, law, and religion. At the peak of its power, Rome's span was vast. In the regional, restless, and shifting history of continental Europe, the Roman Empire stands as a towering monument to scale and stability, unified in politics and law, stretching from the sands of Syria to the moors of Scotland. And it stood for almost 700 years.
In this series of 48 spirited lectures, you'll see how a small village of shepherds and farmers rose to tower over the civilized world of its day and left a permanent mark on history. In telling Rome's riveting story, Professor Fagan draws on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, including recent historical and archaeological scholarship, to introduce the fascinating tale of Rome's rise and decline, including the famous events and personalities that have become so familiar:
- Horatius at the bridge
- Hannibal crossing the Alps during Rome's life-or-death war with Carthage
- Caesar being assassinated before a statue of his archrival Pompey
- The doomed lovers Antony and Cleopatra
- The mad and venal emperors Nero and Caligula
- The conversion of Constantine.
The course also addresses one of history's greatest questions: Why did the Roman Empire fall? And you'll learn why most modern scholars believe that the empire did not "fall" at all, but, rather, changed into something very different - the less urbanized, more rural, early medieval world.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
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I consider myself fairly well versed in Roman history, but my knowledge could be seen as vignette in nature, with gaps between major events and characters. This course helped me bridge those gaps together to have a more complete view on the empire as a whole.
SCOPE OF THE SERIES
It covers from the foundations of Rome (both myth and archeological evidence to the fall of the Western Empire). This being said, the vast majority of the lessons cover the classical period through Augustus. With such a large timeperiod, the instructor acknowledged multiple times that he could not go into detail on many issues and topics.
INSTRUCTOR
The instructor was well versed and balanced in his interpretation of evidence, often presenting various opinions of other historians and weighing their merits and detractors. The Irish accent was quite pleasant as well.
MISCELLANEOUS
This series is best accompanied by McCullough's "First Man in Rome", Rome II: Total War, and red wine.
Great Narrative of the Story of Rome
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P.S. look up "ad hoc" if you don't know what it means, he'll say it a lot.
Incredibly Interesting
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Excellent overview of Rome
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note the narrative ends just before 500 AD with the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
great
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Highly Recommend
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A Good Overview
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Well worth a listen
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That being said, I did find my mind wandering a little in the last third of the course. This is simply because I prefer narrative history more than social history, which the last part of the course covers. This is a personal thing, of course, and not a reflection on the content or the lecturer.
If you also prefer narrative history I would recommend Professor Fagan's other course on the Emperors Of Rome above this one. But that doesn't mean I don't recommend this one, as I most certainly do.
A wonderful journey
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Professor Fagan is excellent.
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Engaging history with good narrator
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