A Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, still in perfect condition, two thousand years after it was built.  The Romans were master builders, and everywhere that they conquered around the Mediterranean and in Europe, they built roads, amphitheaters, aqueducts, forts and temples.  Photo courtesy C. Wayne and Dorothy Miller.

• Read chapters 5 and 6 in the textbook.
• Read my notes on Ancient Rome and Early Christianity. Check out Professor Campbell's notes on Early Monotheism.
• Watch my short video on Rome.
• Check out Professor Campbell's video Was The Fall Of Rome B.S.?
• Check out Professor Campbell's video Was The Spread Of Early Christianity B.S.?
• Study the Questions to Consider and the Key Terms for the Unit.

• Listen to some further information about this unit as a mp3 file.  You can also read the information as a txt file.  There is also information about early Christianity, mp3 file or txt.
• Read a re-created account of Dinner with Attila the Hun by Rex Bradshaw.
• Take a look at the notes on the Dair Mar Elia monastery in Iraq. These were done by Joe Costigan, a student in HIS 111.
• Check out the online exhibit on Roman Gladiators, created by Aaron Goodman, a former student in HIS 111.
• Aya Dalawy created a story map on Christianity and Its Earliest Churches

• Colosseum - A Gladiator’s Story
• History of the Roman Collosseum
• Julius Caesar (Part 1/3)
• The Roman Empire. Or Republic. Or...Which Was It?: Crash Course World History #10
• Christianity from Judaism to the Constantine: Crash Course World History #11
• Colosseum
• The Pantheon, Rome
• Art of the Western World: The Pantheon
• Sounds of Faith PBS Documentary Islam Christianity Judaism
• For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a relevant video for this unit of the course. Send the title of the video, the URL and a brief explanation of why you find the video interesting and applicable to the material that is being studied in this unit.

• For up to 25 points of extra credit, read the Sermon on the Mount and then submit the Sermon paragraph.
• For up to 25 points of extra credit, read Cicero's essay "On Duties" (De officiis), sometimes called "On Moral Duties" (www.constitution.org/rom/de_officiis.htm) and write a one-page paper on this topic: What would you conclude was Cicero's world view or philosophy of life?
• For up to 25 points of extra credit, read St. Augustine's Confessions and write a one-page paper: Why did it take Augustine so long to accept Christianity?  What was the main sin that Augustine felt he could not overcome?
• For up to 25 points of extra credit, in a short paper (one or two pages) compare and contrast the first (Genesis) and last (Revelation) books of the Christian Bible (New American Standard Bible).
• For up to 25 points of extra credit, as head of the city of Rome, about to besieged by the barbarian Visigoths, in a short paper (one or two pages) write a description, as detailed as possible, of your dinner with Alaric as you try to negotiate a solution that will save the city from being pillaged.
• For up to 10 points of extra credit, read excerpts from the Meditations of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and write a paragraph (What were some of the principles of the Roman philosophy of stoicism reflected in these Meditations?).
• For up to 10 points of extra credit, read excerpts from Julius Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic Wars (either the MIT or Perseus version) and write a long paragraph, what would you consider to have been Caesar's strengths as a military commander?
• For a maximum of 10 points of extra credit, read about Caesar's assassination and write a long paragraph. What were the main motivations of the assailants who killed Caesar?
• For extra credit, please suggest a relevant website for this unit of the course.  Send your instructor the title of the site, the URL and a brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to the material being studied this unit.

• Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to (1) provide factual information about the Roman republic, (2) explain what factors enabled the republic to succeed and expand in size and (3) describe the fall of the Rome empire and the emergence of the barbarian successor states.