1. Roman History
An Introduction

2. Why learn Roman history?
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana
Informs non-fiction reading in Latin
Allows us to understand terms and customs with no parallel in English
Helps us with proper nouns

3. Roman History Sub-Groups
Bulk of pre-Medieval study is “BC”
Three divisions: kingdom, republic, empire
Memorize these dates.
Much of our traditions as well as the best of Latin literature come from the late Republic and early Empire
Period
Begins Circa
Kingdom
753 BC
Republic
509 BC
Empire
27 BC

4. How do we know about Roman history?
Conclusion
Artifacts
Literature
Later Texts Referring Back
Inscriptions and Art
Comparison
Ancient history is tricky – the record is not often cohesive and is sometimes non-existent
A combination of sources allows scholars to make hypotheses
Much of what we learn is agreed upon by scholars as fact, but some is debatable (I will let you know)

5. Did the Romans Record their own History?
Yes: And did it on the spot!
Kind of: And did it speciously…
Some famous Romans wrote their own memoirs. This includes Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Marcus Aurelius.
Rome had quite a few famous historians who did an okay job of recording facts, but liked to add traditional legends and gossip to their histories, too. This includes Livy, Tacitus, and Suetonius.

6. Roman Self-Image
Romans had a high-falutin’ notion of their own origins
In actuality, they were a hybrid culture of native Etruscans, Latins, Greek colonists, and other Italian groups who may have flourished just because of their location near the Tiber River
Also viewed themselves as geo-political masters
Inventors of the Republic and capable of holding together a vast empire, this opinion was well-founded

7. Know this Guy?
Point to the first group who can tell me who he is (don’t yell it out!)
Extra point to identify his companions

8. Review Questions Why should we study Roman history?
What are the five components of our knowledge about ancient history?
What were the three periods of Roman history?
Who wrote contemporaneous Roman history?
What people groups contributed to the development of the Roman race?
Beside what river was Rome settled?
Of what goddess could the Romans claim to be descendants?
Review Questions