Option 1: write two 900-1200 word essays, one from each heading.

Women:
a. Vibia Perpetua and Julia Domna--the one a Christian convert from North Africa who died a martyr, the other a devotee of Elagabal who became empress of the Roman Empire--are two poles from which one can study the changes occurring with regard to women and religion in the Roman empire at that time. Discuss these changes using these two women as the focal points of your essay. Make sure you consider the nature of the evidence at some point in your argumentation and that you consider to what extent the evidence from Pompeii and Herculaneum fills out the picture formed by examining the lives of Vibia and Julia.

b.The graffiti and the art found at Pompeii and Herculaneum are quite important for our understanding of Roman society and culture. Starting with an examination of this evidence (Kebric, Ch. 6, 169ff and Shelton, #28, 84-5, 89, 94, 123, 131-133), what conclusions can one draw about Roman women? How do the lives of Agrippina (Kebric, 246ff), Calpurnia (Kebric, 263ff), and Ummidia Quadratilla (Kebric, 193ff) fill out the picture formed by examining the evidence from Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Imperial System:
a. Compare and contrast 2-3 of the following--the Flavian dynasty, the Adoptive Emperors, the Severan dynasty, the Tetrarchy--with respect to the use of the media and key aims & achievements. Make sure you consider the nature of the evidence at some point in your argumentation.  Supporting your conclusions with good citations from the primary evidence in Shelton (where possible) and from the secondary evidence in Scarre, Kebric, and class notes.

b. There can be observed a pattern in the changes made to the Roman imperial system starting with the Gracchi and continuing up to the fall of Rome in the fifth century A.D. Trace part of this pattern, starting with the Flavian dynasty and ending with Constantine. In your essay, detail the changes made with regard to 3-4 of the following--the military, the Senate, the bureaucracy, the position of the emperor, the economy. Make sure you consider the nature of the evidence at some point in your argumentation. Supporting your conclusions with good citations from the primary evidence in Shelton (where possible) and from the secondary evidence in Scarre, Kebric, and class notes.
 

1. There can be observed a pattern in the changes made to the Roman imperial system starting with the Gracchi and continuing up to the fall of Rome in the fifth century A.D. Trace part of this pattern, starting with the Flavian dynasty and ending with Constantine. In your essay, detail the changes made with regard to 3-4 of the following--the military, the Senate, the bureaucracy, the position of the emperor, the economy. Make sure you consider the nature of the evidence at some point in your argumentation. Supporting your conclusions with good citations from the primary evidence in Shelton (where possible) and from the secondary evidence in Scarre, Kebric, and class notes.

2. Vibia Perpetua and Julia Domna--the one a Christian convert from North Africa who died a martyr, the other a devotee of Elagabal who became empress of the Roman Empire--are two poles from which one can study the changes occurring with regard to women and religion in the Roman empire at that time. Discuss these changes using these two women as the focal points of your essay. Make sure you consider the nature of the evidence at some point in your argumentation.

3. Compare and contrast 2-3 of the following--the Flavian dynasty, the Adoptive Emperors, the Severan dynasty, the Tetrarchy--with respect to the use of the media and key aims & achievements. Make sure you consider the nature of the evidence at some point in your argumentation.  Supporting your conclusions with good citations from the primary evidence in Shelton (where possible) and from the secondary evidence in Scarre, Kebric, and class notes.

4. The graffiti and the art found at Pompeii and Herculaneum are quite important for our understanding of Roman society and culture. Starting with an examination of this evidence (Kebric, Ch. 6, 169ff and Shelton, #28, 84-5, 89, 94, 123, 131-133), what conclusions can one draw about Roman women? How do the lives of Agrippina (Kebric, 246ff), Calpurnia (Kebric, 263ff), and Ummidia Quadratilla (Kebric, 193ff) fill out the picture formed by examining the evidence from Pompeii and Herculaneum.