The Five Good Emperors, also known as the Nervan-Antonian Dynasty and the Adoptive Emperors, represent one of Rome's most stable and prosperous eras. There's the elderly Nerva, the great general Trajan, the artist and Greece fan Hadrian, the peaceful placeholder Antoninus Pius, and the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius. But when Marcus Aurelius leaves the throne to his son Commodus, the dynasty's stability crumbles under the narcissistic gladiator emperor.
Part 18 of Weekly Roman Histories, a series designed to give Latin students and other entry-level Classicists a sort of crash course in Roman history in weekly installments. I'm aiming to make about 25 videos of 15-20 minutes each (none of those numbers are set in stone) which will cover western Roman history from its founding in 753 BCE to its fall in 476 CE, along with some pre-history and some of what went on in the East after 476.
Teachers: You can show these in class, or assign them for homework as part of a flipped classroom. You can use the whole series week by week, or use a single video to introduce the time period for a text or unit. I strongly suggest turning on captions when viewing in class--they're not only good for students with hearing problems, but also with processing difficulties, ADHD, and a host of other invisible disabilities you might not know they have. I also strongly suggest some time between videos--from one educator to another, I plead with you not to marathon these in class, one after another for full class periods. They'll become dull as paint drying that way. Find classroom resources for the whole Weekly Roman History series here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XpcFxIxCqnHC9xJLnE2oLgqxfijssL3y2ZRWDGSzX2E/edit?usp=sharing
Students: These videos will work for studying for National Latin Exam and Pentathlon in Junior Classical League--they will not go into enough detail to prepare you well for the JCL Roman History subject area tests or for Certamen, but may still serve as a jumping off point for further study. You can use them as background to the more specific studies you're doing in class, or use them to refresh your memory if you're cramming.
The audience for these videos is students, most probably high school and college (14 years old - mid-twenties), and possibly middle school with proper preparation. I do not shy away from adult themes, but I also do not dwell unnecessarily upon them. There are no content warnings for this video.
I invite correction! Please let me know (respectfully) of any errors or oversights.
My theme song is the Promenade from Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Your host is me, Madelyn Waehner, and I also do the writing, editing, PowerPoint creation, etc. Find all my social media here: https://beacons.ai/maddiewae