Show Notes
Students often ask me for Roman Empire book recommendations. Listeners have as well. It is easy to find popular histories, but here I discuss eleven excellent hidden gems--books that are great for the causal reader, but robust enough that I’ve used them in my research and teaching. These aren’t popular titles, but they’re brilliantly crafted by leading academics, diving deep into Rome’s history, culture, religion and economy. Each book is well-written, accessible, and budget-friendly, perfect for history fans and students eager to explore Rome’s epic story.
Book List: Rome: An Empire’s Story by Greg Woolf The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather Marcus Aurelius by Antony Birley World Full of Gods by Keith Hopkins The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History by Rodney Stark Perpetua’s Journey: Faith, Gender, and Power in the Roman Empire by Jennifer A. Rea and Liz Clarke From Caesar to Augustus: Using Coins as Sources by Clare Rowan Hypatia: The Life and Legend of an Ancient Philosopher by Edward Watts The Roman Empire: Roots of Imperialism by Neville Morley The Roman Market Economy by Peter Temin The Roman Empire: Economy, Society and Culture by Peter Garnsey and Richard Saller
Donate: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WZTWCMWCJJYFC
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPE
Buy Professor Elliott's newest book:Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World.
More from The Pax Romana Podcast
By AD 415, Hypatia was one of Alexandria’s most respected intellectuals. She taught Christians and pagans, advised powerful officials, and moved comfortably among the city’s elite. Then a Christian mob dragged her from her carriage and murdered her. Why did she become a political target? And what does Hypatia’s murder reveal about the power of rumors and political polarization?
As the Roman Empire rapidly Christianized, violence increased in Alexandria. In the center of this brewing storm stood Hypatia: a philosopher, mathematician and political power-broker. How did she thrive and command respect under an aggressively Christian regime?
How did the daughter of a mathematician acquire enough authority to teach Plato, edit difficult astronomical texts, advise powerful men and attract students from across the Mediterranean? What did elite education actually look like in the fourth century, especially for a woman? What kind of mathematics did Hypatia practice, and what can we really say about her lost writings? Why did Christian students seek out a pagan teacher? And how did her classroom become a place where mathematics, philosophy, religion and politics met This lecture follows Hypatia from Theon’s scholarly household to public prominence—and ends at the moment when that prominence began to carry new risks.
This episode begins a short series on Hypatia of Alexandria--famous philosopher, and some say martyr for science, who died in Alexandria in the early 5th century AD. This series will explore Alexandria’s transformation, Hypatia’s education and philosophical school, the religious and political conflicts surrounding her and the circumstances of her death.Before we meet Hypatia, we must first meet her city. Alexandria was one of the largest and most prosperous cities of the ancient Mediterranean: a densely populated port where Egyptian grain, African goods, Mediterranean merchants, imperial officials, philosophers, priests, Jews, Christians and pagans converged. Yet Alexandria’s wealth and cultural diversity also produced inequality, competition and recurring tension. Why did Alexandria become so wealthy? Why did religion matter so deeply to the city’s identity? And how did this extraordinary metropolis shape Hypatia’s life—and ultimately her fate? Donate: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WZTWCMWCJJYFC
Rome was sacked in AD 410, but the western empire did not end. What did the Roman Empire Honorius do after this disaster? This episode argues that Honorius failed to preserve the Empire because he confused the survival of his court with the survival of the Empire.