And Now For Something Completely Different

At Mr. Stewart's suggestion, I looked through some past exam papers to see what kinds of questions I could do. A selection of these are below, with the bold ones those which I am particularly interested in.

2002

Decline of the Roman Republic, 82-27BC

• 'Sulla's dictatorship had both benefits and costs for Rome' Discuss this statement.
• Why did the Senate decline in efficiency and power between 82BC and 27BC?
• 'The members of the second triumvirate did not learn enough from the shortcomings of the first triumvirate.' Discuss this statement.

Rise of the Roman Empire 27BC-68AD

• 'Nero fulfilled his personal desires at the expense of the Roman Empire and its people.' Discuss this statement.
• 'Unlike his predecessors, Claudius made a sincere attempt to respect the Senate and cooperate with it.' Discuss this statement.

1996

• 'Some attempts to change the Roman political structure succeeded  while others failed.' Discuss with reference to at least two of your case-studies.

1992

The Age of Julius Caesar 70-44BC

• In the period from 70 to 44BC, what efforts were made to save the Republic, and why did these fail?
• Discuss the relationship between Crassus and Pompey and its implications for Roman affairs.
• 'Despite extended absences from the city, Julius Caesar still retained his influence and dominance in Rome.' Discuss how he achieved this.

The Age of Augustus 44BC-14AD

• Account for the formation and failure of the Second Triumvirate.
• What were the key reforms of Augustus, and what were the conditions that allowed for their successes.

1991

The Age of Julius Caesar, 70-44BC

• 'The seeds of the civil war (49-45BC) were sown when Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar formed the First Triumvirate in 60BC.' Discuss.

The Age of Augustus 44BC-14AD

• 'Augustus did not rule alone.' Discuss the contributions of two or three of his associates.

1990

The Age of Julius Caesar

• Cicero has been described as 'a politician of no loyalty, no convictions, and no courage'. What evidence is there to support this or another view of Cicero?

The Age of Augustus

• What measures did Augustus take to avoid opposition to his regime and how effective were they?

Out of all of them, I am probably most interested in: 'Sulla's dictatorship had both benefits and costs for Rome' Discuss this statement. From a brief look at Wikipedia  it looks like there is definitely room to pursue both sides of the argument, one which I believe would be interesting to investigate.