End of the Empire Flashcards
When was the Year of Six Emperors?
238 AD
Who were the emperors of 238 AD?
Maximinus Thrax, Gordian I,II,III, Pupienus, Balbinus
Where were the first two Gordians declared emperor during Maximinus Thrax’ rule?
North Africa
How was Gordian III related to the other Gordians?
Grandson of Gordian I, nephew of Gordian II
How did Gordian II (son of Gordian I) die?
Killed in battle against Maximinus Thrax’s army
How did Gordian I die?
Suicide after his son died
What two emperors did the Senate appoint in 238 AD after the deaths of the Maximinus Thrax and the first two Gordians?
Pupienus and Balbinus
How did Gordian III finally die in 244 AD?
Either died in battle or killed by Philip the Arab
What was the crisis of the third century?
Empire was split between Gallic, Roman, and Palmyrene sections.
Who ruled during the crisis of the third century?
The Barracks Emperors: had military support of the people, how they came to power, usually only ruled briefly
Who had founded the Gallic Empire during the crisis of the third century?
Postumus
Who ruled the Palmyrene Empire at the start of the crisis of the third century?
Odenathus
Which Barracks emperor made peace with the Sessanid empire which the 238 AD emperors had been fighting?
Philip the Arab
What Roman emperor was a sheik from Jordan?
Philip the Arab
Who ruled during the 1000 anniversary of Rome?
Philip the Arab (248 AD)
What future emperor killed Philip the Arab at the Battle of Verona in 249 BC?
Decius
Who was the first emperor to be killed in battle, and at what battle against who?
Decius
-Battle of Abrittus (251 AD)
-Against Cniva and the Goths
Who was the first emperor to have an empire-wide persecution of Christians?
Decius
Who did Decius co-rule with?
His son Herenius
Who did Trebonius Gallus rule with?
His son Volusianus
How did Trebonius Gallus die?
Killed by his own troops in favor of Aurelius Aemilianus
How did Aureilius Aemilianus (Aemilian) die?
Killed by own troops in favor of Valerian
Who was the first emperor to be captured alive in battle?
Velerian
What was Valerian’s first act as emperor?
Making his son Gallienus co emperor with him
What Persian King did Odenathus defeat on behalf of the emperor Gallienus?
Shapur I
What was Shapur I called?
King of Kings
Who captured Velerian?
King Shapur I of the Sessanid Empire, who later stuffed his body
How did Shapur I use the captured Valerian for the rest of his life?
As a mounting block
At what battle of 260 AD was Valerian defeated by Shapur I?
Battle of Edessa (260 AD)
What emperor died in captivity in 260 AD?
Valerian
What emperor rewarded Odenathus for defeating Shapur I by giving him power in the East?
Gallienus
How did Claudius Gothicus get his name?
Defeated the Goths at the Battle of Naissus (269 AD)
How did Claudius Gothicus die?
The plague
-He knew this was coming because of the Sibyline books
Who reunited the empire?
Aurelian
Who did Aurelian defeat to bring back the Gallic empire?
Tetricus
At what battle did Aurelian defeat Tetricus?
Battle of Chalons (274)
Who did Aurelian defeat to bring back the Palmyrene empire?
Zenobia (after husban Odenathus died)
Who was Zenobia’s son, whom she ruled through?
Vaballathus
Who was Zenobia’s advisor?
Cassius Longinus
What happened after Zenobia’s defeat?
-She got a nice life and a villa in Tivoly
-Cassius Longinus was executed
What was Aurelian called after defeating the Palmyrens?
Restitutor Orientis
Who was called the “Restitutor Orbis”?
Aurelian
Who was called “manus ad ferrum”?
Aurelian
Who was called “Germanicus Maximus”?
Aurelian
How did Aurelian die?
Killed by the Praetorian Guard
What happened with Tacitus?
-Killed by his own soldiers
Two people wanted the throne after his death:
-Probus (magister equitum)
-Florianus (Praetorian Prefect)
Florianus was killed by his own men and Probus became emperor
-276 AD
Why did Probus’s soldiers kill him?
He worked them too hard
Who were Carus’s sons whom he made Caesars?
-Numerian (assassination planned by Aper)
-Carinus (defeated by Diocletian at Margus River)
Who created the tetrarchy?
Diocletian
Who increased the number of provinces from about 40 to about 105?
Diocletian
What were Diocletian’s provinces grouped into?
12 Dioceses
What official was in charge of each diocese?
Vicarius
Where was Diocletian from?
Dalmatia
How did Diocletian rise to the throne?
Declared emperor after Numerian and Carinus’s deaths
Who was Diocletian’s Christian wife?
Prisca
What Praetorian Prefect did Diocletian kill?
Aper
What son of Carus did Diocletian defeat to become sole ruler?
Carinus
At what battle in 285 AD did Diocletian defeat Carinus?
The Battle of Margus River
When did Diocletian persecute Christian’s? (despite the fact that Prisca was literally Christian, sorry queen)
303 AD
Who became the first emperor to abdicate in 305 AD?
Diocletian
Who abdicated with Diocletian?
Maximian
Where did Diocletian abdicate to?
Salona (Split)
Who was Diocletian’s co-Augustus in the West?
Maximian
How did the tetrarchy work?
In each half, there was an Augustus and a Caesar (East was Diocletian and Galerius, West was Maximian and Constantius Chlorus)
Who did Maximian send to deal with the pirates in the British Channel?
Carausius
What happened with Carausius?
Tried to become “Emperor of the North” (Britain) until he was killed by Electus, his second in command
What titles did Diocletian and Maximian take?
Diocletian took the title “Jovius” (Jupiter) and Maximian took “Herculius” (Hercules)
How did Diocletian deal with inflation in 301 AD?
His Edict of (Maximum) Prices
What was Diocletian’s capital in the East?
Nicomedia
What was Maximian’s capital in the West?
Mediolanum
What happened to Constantius Chlorus and Galerius after Diocletian and Maximian’s abdication?
They became Augusti
What emperor issued the Edict of Toleration in 311 AD?
Galerius
What men vied for power after Maximian and Diocletian’s 305 AD abdication?
Maxentius and Constantine
When was the Battle of the Milvian Bridge?
312 AD
What phrase did Constantine see before battle?
“In hoc signo vinces” (in this sign you will conquer)
What sign was the phrase Constantine saw referencing?
Chi Rho
Who did Constantine defeat at the Milvian Bridge, symbolizing a triumph of Christianity over Paganism?
Maxentius
Who legalized Christianity, and when did it happen?
Constantine in 313 AD
What edict, made by Constantine, recognized Christianity and established religious freedom in the empire?
Edict of Milan (313 AD)
Who married Constantia (Constantine’s half-sister) in 313 AD, forging a temporary alliance with Constantine?
Licinius
At what 324 AD battle did Constantine become sole emperor, and who did he defeat?
Battle of Chrysopolis where he defeated Licinius
What emperor disbanded the Praetorian Guard?
Constantine
Who was Constantine’s first wife, and who was their kid?
Minervina had son Crispus
Who was Constantine’s second wife, and who were their children who would become emperors?
Fausta had sons Constantine II, Constans I, and Constantius II
Who did Constantine have executed in 326 AD?
Fausta (second wife) and Crispus (son of him and Minervina)
Which of Constantine’s sons lasted the longest?
Constantius II
Which emperor was baptized on their death bed in 337 AD?
Constantine
Who baptized Constantine on his death bed?
Eusebius
Where did Constantine summon a council of bishops in 325 AD?
Nicaea
Where did Rome set up a new capital in 330 AD on the site of Byzantium?
Constantinople
Who tried to bring back Paganism?
Julian the Apostate
How did Julian the Apostate die?
Died fighting Shapur II of Sessanid Empire
-Killed by a spear at the Battle of Ctesiphon
Who restored Christianity after Julian?
Jovian
Who made a treaty with Shapur II, giving up a lot of land but bringing relative peace with them?
Jovian
What two brothers ruled over the East and West from 364-375/8
Valens (East) and Valentinian I (West)
What western emperor died from a stroke while giving an angry speech/negotiations with the Quadi?
Valentinian I
What emperor stopped making Christians fight as gladiators?
Valentinian I
Who did Valentinian I make his emperor in the East?
Valens (his brother)
Who did Valentinian I leave the West to when he died?
His son Gratian
At what battle in 378 AD was the eastern emperor Valens killed by the Goths?
Battle of Adrianople (378 AD)
Who was emperor of the west when Valens died?
His nephew, Gratian
Which Goth leader defeated Valens in 378 AD at Adrianople?
Fritigern
What emperor got rid of the title Pontifex Maximus?
Gratian
What Western usurper fought with Gratian, leading to his death?
Magnus Maximus
Who eventually fully took over for Magnus Maximus in the West?
Valentinian II
Who was the last emperor to rule over both the East and West?
Theodosius the Great
Who made Christianity the official religions of the Roman Empire?
Theodosius the Great
What battle of 394 AD did Theodosius win?
Battle of the Frigidus River
Who did Theodosius defeat in 394 at the Battle of the Frigidus River?
Eugenius and Arbogast
Who helped Theodosius defeat Arbogast and Eugenius at the Frigidus River in 394 AD?
Alaric and the Visogoths
Who ended the Olympic games in 393 AD?
Theodosius the Great
Who knelt to St Ambrose, choosing the church over state?
Theodosius the Great
Why did Theodosius the Great have to kneel to St Ambrose?
His massacre of 7000 at Thessanolica in 390 AD
Where did Theodosius die in 395 AD?
Mediolanum (Milan)
Who were Theodosius’ sons and which part of the empire did they rule over?
Honorius (west) and Arcadius (east)
Who was Arcadius’s son, who became emperor at seven years old and codified Roman law?
Theodosius II
Which son of Theodosius the Great became emperor of the west at ten years old?
Honorius
Who was Flavius Stilicho?
Regent to Honorius, since he was ten
What was Stilicho’s ethnicity?
Half Vandal, half Roman
What was Stilicho’s title?
magister militum (highest general command, of cavalry and military)
What Visogoth chief did Stilicho defeat twice?
Alaric
Where had Stilicho defeated the Visogoths?
Pollentia and Verona
Where did Stilicho retire to before being executed by Honorius?
Ravenna
What did Honorius make the capital of the West?
Ravenna
Who did Honorius execute in 408 AD, opening the door for the Visogoths to attack in 410 AD?
Stilicho
Who sacked Rome in 410 AD, for the first time since in almost 800 years (since 390 BC)
Alaric and the Visogoths
Who was emperor at the Visogoth sack and where was he??
Honorius, cowering in Ravenna when the city was being sacked
What emperor officially got rid of gladiator fights?
Honorius
What grandson of Theodosius I (the Great) became emperor at age six?
Valentinian III
Who was Valentinian III’s mother, who was the daughter of Theodosius I?
Galla Placidia
Who essentially ruled Rome during Valentinian III’s rule since he was so young?
Aetius
What was Aetius called, and what was his title?
Called “the last of the Romans” and was the Magister Militum
Who defeated Attila the Hun at the Battle of Catalaunian Plains (451 AD)?
Aetius
At what battle of 451 AD did Aetius defeat Attila the Hun?
Battle of Catalaunian Plains (451 AD)
Who convinced Attila the Hun not to invade deeper into Italy?
Pope Leo I
Who did Valentinian III have executed in 454 AD?
Aetius
Who convinced Valentinian III to kill Aetius?
Petronius Maximus
Who killed Valentinian III and was emperor when the Vandals sacked Rome in 455?
Petronius Maximus
Who sacked Rome in 455 AD?
Gaesaric and the Vandals
What city had the Vandals sacked in 439 AD, before they came after Rome?
Carthage
Why did a Roman mob kill Petronius Maximus?
He abandoned Rome during the Vandal sack
What Germanic general essentially ruled Rome through his “puppet emperors” in the final years of the empire?
Ricimer
Who was the last Western Roman Emperor?
Romulus Augustulus
Who lived in leisure as his father briefly ruled the empire in his name, and continued to do so in Campania after being defeated by Odoacer?
Romulus Augustulus
Who was Romulus Augustulus’ father who ruled for him?
Orestes
When was the end of the Western Roman Empire?
476 AD
Who deposed Romulus Augustulus in 476 AD?
Odoacer
Who was emperor in the East when Romulus Augustulus was deposed?
Zeno
