This comparative survey explores the ancient Mediterranean world of Greece and Rome from the crisis of the Roman Republic (1c BCE) to the eve of the post-Roman Mediterranean (6c CE). Topics include the collapse of the Roman Republic and transition to the Augustan principate, the administrative and economic foundations of the Pax Romana (1-2c CE), the vitality of Greek culture and literature under Roman rule, the imperial army, the family and slavery, Judaism and Christianity, and the transformation of the Roman world into its medieval and Byzantine successors.