ARTH708F

At its height, the Roman Empire stretched from modern-day Britain to Morocco, and from Spain to Syria. This course examines the capital city of this hegemonic power, analyzing the monuments and topography embellishing the so-called caput mundi from its founding in the eighth century BCE onward. Emphasis is given to the late Republican and early Imperial periods (the 2nd c. BCE 3rd c. CE) and to contextualizing the monuments an d dynastic building programs of Rome within their urban context. The various archaeological and art historical approaches taken to topics such as the creation of monumentality; Roman identity; and theimpact of cultural exchanges between the Romans and their conquered nations will also be examined as a means of understanding and interpreting the Roman cityscape.