HIST 223 The Fall of the Roman Empire

This course will explore the transformations of the Mediterranean world from the late third century to the seventh century C.E. Major themes to be discussed include the fall of the western Roman empire, the barbarian invasions, the Christianization of the Roman empire, the emergence of monasticism and the cult of the saints, and the rise of Islam. Major characters will include, for example, Constantine, Augustine of Hippo, Attila the Hun, Stilicho, Benedict of Nursia or Muhammad. We will place these characters against a concrete social, geographical and archaeological context.