After reviewing the most important reforms introduced by the first Roman 'emperor' Augustus (27 BC - AD 14) over his forty years at the helm of the ship of state, we will look at how his immediate successors in the Julio-Claudian dynasty managed affairs (namely, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero) and at the members of their households, especially the feisty women. We will then look at the brief but bloody civil war that followed Nero's suicide in AD 68 and the foundation of the Flavian Dynasty by Vespasian. A study of the Flavians (Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian) will follow. Time permitting we will then move on to how the empire began to reach its height after the assassination of Domitian in AD 96. There will be a small charge for handouts. Priority in enrolment will be given to those in the 2019 - 2020 Augustus course.