The rise and fall of the Roman Empire cannot be understood solely in terms of emperors, generals, and politics. The empire was also deeply dependent on nature, and then as now, climate change and pandemics played a crucial role. Today, scholars argue that a favorable climate provided a kind of silent support for Roman expansion, while cooler and more unstable weather, combined with recurring epidemics, gradually eroded the empire's resilience and reshaped its political structure.
Lovisa Brännstedt is an associate professor of ancient culture and society and active in the Environmental Humanities Hub at Lund University. In her talk, she discusses what happens if we look at the Roman Empire through a climate and environmental perspective, as well as how the Romans themselves understood and interpreted nature.
Organized in collaboration with the Lund Society for Nature Conservation and the Sustainability Forum at Lund University as part of this autumn's lecture series on climate and environmental issues. Free admission, no pre-registration required.