CL 339 - The Fall of Two Empires: Rome and Byzantium

(3.00 cr.)

Prerequisite: One HS100-level course. The Roman and Byzantine Empires each lasted a thousand years, yet both fell. How? This course examines the reasons, internal and external, that brought an end to both empires; how they declined; and how they finally dissolved. It investigates how the political instability brought about by increasingly weak absolutist governments; the inabilities of their armies and navies to adapt to changes brought about by technological innovations and economic restraints; and the invasions of powerful outside cultural, religious, and military forces played roles in destroying two of the greatest States in
history.