Ancient Rome Flashcards
Roman general who was Caesar’s aide and eventually Octavian’s enemy
Marc Antony
Mountain range to the north of Italian peninsula
Alps
Mountain range, runs down the eastern side of Italian peninsula
Apennines
Last of five good emperors; death in AD 180 signaled the end of the Pax Romana
Marcus Aurelius
Eastern half of the Roman Empire that survived well past the fall of the western half
Byzantine Empire
Roman general who won a civil was and was appointed “Dictator for Life” ; assassinated on March 15, 44 BC because Romans feared he would become a king
Julius Caesar
North African city that was a big rival to Rome; fought against Rome in the Punic Wars
Carthage
Roman emperor in the 300’s; made Christianity legal
Constantine
Name of new capital built by Constantine in 330; built at the site of an old city called Byzantium in Asia Minor
Constantinople
Two executives who ran the government under the Roman republic
Consul
Roman religion involving rituals performed to ancient gods and statues of the emperor
Cult of Roma
Roman emperor at the end of the third century AD; he enacted many reforms to try to halt the decline of the empire
Diocletian
Proclamation issued by Constantine making Christianity and all other religions legal in Roman Empire
Edict of Milan
People living in northern Italy when Rome was first founded
Etruscans
Roman political leaders who became tribunes and pushed for reform to help the poor who had been displaced by the Punic Wars; both were killed as a result of their efforts
Gracchus brothers
Carthaginian general who invaded Italy through Alps; Second Punic War
Hannibal
Large farming estate that were acquired by the wealthy after the poor sold their land in the wake of the destruction caused by the Second Punic War
Latifundia
Member of the Second Triumvirate with Marc Antony and Octavian
Lepidus
Major body of water surrounding the Italian peninsula
Mediterranean Sea
A hired soldier who fights for money rather than loyalty or love of their country
Mercenary
Believing there is only one God
Monotheist
Grandnephew of Caesar, formed the Second Triumvirate to avenge his uncle’s death and ended up becoming sole ruler of Rome for the rest of his life
Octavian (Augustus Caesar)
Early Roman republic, this was the upper class
Patrician
Period of great peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire; lasted from Augustus 27 BC to Marcus AD 180
Pax Romana
Lower class in early Roman republic
Plebeian
Urban poor who owned no land and lived in the cities, usually without jobs
Proletariat
Series of three wars with Carthage
Punic Wars
Last emperor of Rome; he was overthrown by a barbarian kin in AD 476
Romulus Augustulus
Small creek at the border between Italy and Gaul
Rubicon River
Island at the toe of Italy; Rome and Carthage fought over control of this land in the First Punic War
Sicily
Rome is right on this river
River River
Represents the plebeians
Tribunes
Rome’s laws written down for the plebeians
Twelve Tables
