Università Roma Tre

Roman History DISCIPLINARY FIELD: L-ANT/03 (Roman History), now STAN-01/B (Roman History)
Bachelor course in Roman History (72 hours = 6+6 ECTS)
Lecturers: Prof. P. Porena [First Semester].

Premise:
the Roman History course (2 modules 6+6 = 12 ECTS) for the Bachelor’s degree may only be attended by students in the First Semester.
The first module of Roman History (I = 6 ECTS) takes place from the first week of October to the first week of November 2025, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m. (Classroom 15) and on Thursdays, 3-5 p.m. (Classroom A), and on the Teams platform. From the second week of November to the end of December 2025 the second module of Roman History (II = 6 ECTS) follows seamlessly in the same classroom and at the same times. You are advised to check whether 6 or 12 ECTS are to be acquired in your Curriculum and Study Plan. Students wishing to follow a course and take a 12 ECTS examination must follow the two 6 ECTS modules in their chronological order in the First Semester. There are two separate written examinations: one for the first module (6 ECTS) and one for the second module (6 ECTS). Examinations from the winter session begin on 12th January and end by 21st February 2026. (see below).
The Roman History I module consists of 18 didactic units that illustrate in chronological order the history of ancient Rome from the origins of the city (8th-5th centuries BC - 3 units), to the construction of the Mediterranean hegemony (4th-1st centuries BC - 10 units), to the stability of the High Empire (1st-2nd centuries AD - 3 units), to the crisis of the system in the late empire (3rd-6th centuries AD - 2 units).
The Roman History II module is composed of 18 teaching units that explore the political, economic, social, and religious history from the establishment of the Mediterranean empire to the end of the stability of the Antonine age (3rd century B.C.-II century A.D. - 10 units), and then of the late Roman Empire (3rd- 6th century A.D. - 8 units).
Description of the First module of the course of ROMAN HISTORY: "Critical paths of Roman History"
It is hardly possible to summarize Roman history, since it extends along a long time frame and involves different and wide geographical and cultural spaces. Moreover Roma egemony has produced a variety of experiences and transformations. The course aims to underline, through the analysis of literary, epigraphic and artistics sources, the original characters of Roman history, in order also to neutralize some chichés and commonplaces about the ancient Rome, which depends on deeply rooted preconceptions. The module provides a critical understanding of the main events of the entire Roman history (8th century BC - 6th century AD), but also of the historical and cultural problems and processes affecting the transformation of Roman society, the evolution of its institutions, the formation the consolidation and deconstruction of its Mediterranean empire created at the crossroads of three continents. The first module focuses mainly on the history of Rome from its origins to the Augustan revolution (8th century B.C.- 1st century A.D.), but with a summary devoted to the Principate and the Late Empire (2nd-5th century A.D.), in order to enable students following only the first 6-CFU module to have a complete overview and understanding of Roman history.

▪ Teaching materials (PDF) prepared by the professor and available on the Team online platform of the Roman History I course. It is not possible to insert and register students in the distance learning Teams platforms if they do not have the @stud.uniroma3.it domain. The teaching materials will always be available in the Team and the examination schedule and materials will not expire, even in subsequent academic years.

▪ TEXTS for students who attend the course:
- G. GERACI, A. MARCONE, Storia romana, Le Monnier, (nuova edizione) Firenze 2011 (editio minor), then 4th ed. 2016;
- G. GERACI, A. MARCONE, Fonti per la storia romana, Le Monnier, Firenze 2006, then 2nd ed. 2019 ;
- Atlante Storico, De Agostini, Novara 2003 or another edition;
(further suggestions for optional in-depth bibliography will be provided by the teacher at the beginning of the course)

▪ ADDITIONAL TEXTS for students who do not attend the course:
- A. Giardina (a cura di), L’uomo romano, Roma-Bari (Laterza) (1989) 2008.

It is possible to ask for bibliography in English, French and German and take the exam in one of these three languages.

Roman History DISCIPLINARY FIELD: L-ANT/03 (Roman History), now STAN-01/B (Roman History)
Bachelor course in Roman History (72 hours = 6+6 ECTS)
Lecturers: Prof. P. Porena [First Semester].

Premise:
the Roman History course (2 modules 6+6 = 12 ECTS) for the Bachelor’s degree may only be attended by students in the First Semester.
The first module of Roman History (I = 6 ECTS) takes place from the first week of October to the first week of November 2025, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, 1-3 p.m. (Classroom 15) and on Thursdays, 3-5 p.m. (Classroom A), and on the Teams platform. From the second week of November to the end of December 2025 the second module of Roman History (II = 6 ECTS) follows seamlessly in the same classroom and at the same times. You are advised to check whether 6 or 12 ECTS are to be acquired in your Curriculum and Study Plan. Students wishing to follow a course and take a 12 ECTS examination must follow the two 6 ECTS modules in their chronological order in the First Semester. There are two separate written examinations: one for the first module (6 ECTS) and one for the second module (6 ECTS). Examinations from the winter session begin on 12th January and end by 21st February. (see below).
The Roman History I module consists of 18 didactic units that illustrate in chronological order the history of ancient Rome from the origins of the city (8th-5th centuries BC - 3 units), to the construction of the Mediterranean hegemony (4th-1st centuries BC - 10 units), to the stability of the High Empire (1st-2nd centuries AD - 3 units), to the crisis of the system in the late empire (3rd-6th centuries AD - 2 units).
The Roman History II module is composed of 18 teaching units that explore the political, economic, social, and religious history from the establishment of the Mediterranean empire to the end of the stability of the Antonine age (3rd century B.C.-II century A.D. - 10 units), and then of the late Roman Empire (3rd- 6th century A.D. - 8 units).

Description of the Second module of the course of ROMAN HISTORY: "Reinforcement, apogee and crisis of Mediterranean hegemony"
In the module, the historical processes that allowed the construction and management of the only global society the Western world has known are studied through the analysis of literary, epigraphic, numismatic and artistic evidence. The analysis of the deconstruction process, early in the West, slow in the East, of this Mediterranean-centric hegemony will also be examined. The second module focuses on examining and interpreting the events of the age of the Principate and the Late Empire (1st-6th centuries AD) in order to study the evolution of the historical and cultural processes involved in the transformation of Roman society and the institutional responses given progressively by the emperors and aristocracies.

▪ Teaching materials (PDF) prepared by the professor and available on the Team online platform of the Roman History II course. It is not possible to insert and register students in the distance learning Teams platforms if they do not have the @stud.uniroma3.it domain. The teaching materials will always be available in the Team and the examination schedule and materials will not expire, even in subsequent academic years.

▪ TEXTS for students who attend the course:
a) evenemential history:
- G. GERACI, A. MARCONE, Storia romana. Editio maior, Firenze, Le Monnier, ora edizione 2017;
- G.A. CECCONI, La città e l’impero. Una storia del mondo romano dalle origini a Teodosio il Grande. Nuova edizione, Roma (Carocci) 2021;
b) to be consulted:
- G. GERACI, A. MARCONE, Fonti per la storia romana, Le Monnier, Firenze 2006, then 2nd ed. 2019 ;
- Atlante Storico, De Agostini, Novara 2003 or another edition;
(further reference bibliography is indicated in a handout (PDF) made available in the Course Team).
c) to be studied in more detail:

▪ ADDITIONAL TEXTs for students who do not attend the course:
in addition to the texts recommended for attending students (a-c):
(Curr. Lettere Classiche L-10): S. Mazzarino, L’impero romano, 2 voll., Roma-Bari (Laterza) 1956 (2006, 6a): vol. I, pp. 29-77; 109-194; 229-305 [tot. p. 309]; vol. II, pp. 359-495; 537-671 [tot. p. 270]
(Curr. Lettere Moderne L-10 e BC L-1 Storia dell’Arte): A. Giardina, A. Vauchez, Il mito di Roma: da Carlo Magno a Mussolini, Roma (Laterza) 2000 (2008 economica) [300 p.]
(Curr. Religione società L-10): G. De Sanctis, La religione a Roma. Luoghi, culti, sacerdoti, dèi, Roma (Carocci) 2012 [166 p.]; M. Bettini, Dèi e uomini nella Città. Antropologia, religione e cultura nella Roma antica, Roma (Carocci) 2015 [144 p.] = 310 p.
(Curr. BC L-1 Archeologia): A. Giardina (a cura di), Storia di Roma dall’antichità a oggi, I. Roma antica, Roma-Bari (Laterza) 2000 (20103) [378 p.]
(Storia L-42): G. Zecchini, Il pensiero politico romano. Dall’età arcaica alla tarda antichità, Roma (La Nuova Italia Scientifica) 1997 (20182) [184 p.]; F. Landucci, G. Zecchini (a cura di), Geopolitica del mondo antico. Caratteri politico-militari del Mediterraneo dal II millennio a.C. al VI secolo d.C., Roma (Carocci) 2023, pp. 113-218 [105 p.] = 289 p.
(Filosofia L-5): P. Veyne, La vita privata nell’impero romano, Roma-Bari (Laterza) 2000 (economica) [230 p.]
(Corsi liberi): one of the programmes listed above.

It is possible to ask for bibliography in English, French and German and take the exam in one of these three languages.