Università Roma Tre

Students will be introduced to the political crisis which ensued the death of Nero in 68 A.D. and the
following convulsions during the short reigns of Galba, Otho and Vitellius. It will be stressed how on
December 21 69 A.D. Vespasian’s position was officially confirmed by the Senate, but he remained quite
frank about the military origin of his rule. He dated his powers to July 1, when the troops had acclaimed
him, thus flouting constitutional precedent and contradicting even the behaviour of his rival Vitellius, who
had awaited confirmation by the Senate. Later Vespasian received by law a number of powers for which his
Julio-Claudian predecessors had not sought explicit sanction. .
A part of the course will be dedicated to the building developments of the period in Rome (domus
Transitoria and domus Aurea). There will two archaeologists' lessons in particular about the Transitoria
domus, which can now be visited.

G.Geraci-A. Marcone- Storia Romana (editio maior), Le Monnier Università,
Mondadori Education, Milano 2017.
G.Geraci-A. Marcone- Fonti per la storia romana, Le Monnier Università, Mondadori
Education, Milano 2019.
In Storia di Roma Einaudi ( A. Schiavone ed), vol. II, 2 “I principi e il mondo”,
Torino 1991, the papers of W. Eck, E. lo Cascio and Mario Pani.