Subject Area: History

The course explores the history of Rome's first dynasty and how it managed the transition from republic to monarchy. The Roman Emperors considers how the new order was created and how it developed its legitimacy. You will examine the lives of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero, and such extraordinary imperial women as Livia, Julia and Agrippina the Elder. As well as engaging with the work of leading historians, you will read the salacious and gossip-filled Lives of Suetonius in order to assess the merits of biography as an historical source, and analyse modern media representations of the dynasty, including Robert Graves' I Claudius.