Chapter 5 Vocabulary (Long Definitions) Flashcards
The period from 507 to 31 BCE during which Rome was largely governed by the aristocratic Roman Senate.
Republic (Of Rome)
A council whose members were the heads of wealthy, landowning families. Originally an advisory body to the early kings, in the era of the Roman Republic the Senate effectively governed the Roman state and the growing empire. Under Senate leadership, Rome conquered an empire of unprecedented extent in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
Senate
Principate
A term used to characterized Roman government in the first three centuries CE, based on the ambiguous title princeps (“first citizen”) adopted by Augustus to conceal his military dictatorship.
In ancient Rome, a fundamental social relationship in which the patron - a wealthy and powerful individual - provided legal and economic protection and assistance to clients, men of lesser status and means, and in return the clients supported the political careers and economic interests of their patron.
Patient/Client Relationship
Augustus
Honorific name of Octavian, founder of the Roman Principate, the military dictatorship that replaced the failing rule of the Roman Senate. After defeating all rivals, between 31 BCE and 14 CE he laid the groundwork for several centuries of stability and prosperity for the Roman Empire.
Equites
In ancient Italy, prosperous landowners second in wealth and status to the senatorial aristocracy. The Roman emperors allied with this group to counterbalance the influence of the old aristocracy and used the equites to staff the imperial civil service.
The process by which the Latin language and Roman culture became dominant in the western provinces. Indigenous peoples in the provinces often chose to _______ because of the political and economic advantages that it brought, as well as the allure of Roman success.
Romanization
Jesus
A Jew from Galilee in northern Israel who sought to reform Jewish beliefs and practices. He was executed as a revolutionary by the Romans. Hailed as the Messiah and son of God by his followers, he became the central figure in Christianity, a belief system that developed in the centuries after his death.
Paul
A Jew from the Greek city of Tarsus in Anatolia, he initially persecuted the followers of Jesus but, after receiving a revelation on the road to Syrian Damascus, became a Christian. Taking advantage of his Hellenized background and Roman citizenship, he traveled throughout Syria-Palestine, Anatolia, and Greece, preaching the new religion and establishing churches. Finding his greatest success among pagans (“gentiles”), he began the process by which Christianity separated from Judaism.
pax romana
Literally, “Roman peace,” it connoted the stability and prosperity that Roman rule brought to the lands of the Roman Empire in the first two centuries CE. The movement of people and trade goods along Roman roads and safe seas allowed for the spread of cultural practices, technologies, and religious ideas.
Aqueduct
A conduit, either elevated or underground, that used gravity to carry water from a source to a location - usually a city - that needed it. The Romans built many aqueducts in a period of substantial urbanization.
Third Century Crisis
Historians’ term for the political, military, and economic turmoil that beset the Roman Empire during much of the third century CE: frequent changes of ruler, civil wars, barbarian invasions, decline of urban centers, and near destruction of long-distance commerce and the monetary economy. After 284 CE Diocletian restored order by making fundamental changes.
Constantine
Roman emperor (r. 312-337). After reuniting the Roman Empire, he moved the capital to Constantinople and made Christianity a favored religion.
Qin
A people and state in the Wei River Valley of eastern China that conquered rival states and created the first Chinese empire (221-206 BCE). The Qin Ruler, Shi Huangdi, standardized many features of Chinese society and ruthlessly marshaled subjects for military and construction projects, engendering hostility that led to the fall of his dynasty shortly after his death. The Qin framework was largely taken over by the succeeding han dynasty.
Shi Huangdi
Founder of the short-lived Qin dynasty and creator of the Chinese Empire. (r. 221-210 BCE). He is remembered for his ruthless conquests of rival states, standardization of practices, and forcible organization of labor for military and engineering tasks. His tomb, with its army of life-size terra-cotta soldiers, has been partially excavated.
