An introductory series of lectures sketches European history around the rise, dominance, and fading of Roman power, dividing the continent into three chief periods: Europe before Rome, Europe centered upon Roman authority, and Europe after Rome’s practical end. It emphasizes broad political and institutional continuities and survivals, including the Papacy and later revolutionary attempts to emulate or overthrow Roman models, offers methodological reflections on historical evidence, compares Teutonic settlements in Gaul and Britain, and includes an appended essay examining the condition of Greek cities under Roman rule.