exam three Flashcards
What were the years of the Roman Republic?
509BC-27BC
What were the years of the Roman Empire?
27BC-476AD
Where did Rome begin?
Halfway down the Italian Peninsula on the Tiber River
Who were the first to settle in Rome? When?
Indo-Europeans 1500BC
They were heavily influenced by the Etruscans, Greeks and the Phoenicians/Cathaginians
Who were the Etruscans? Where did they come from? Where did they settle?
Came from the Northern Adriatic Sea (between Italy and Greece)
Settled in Northern and Central Italy
They dominated by virtue of superior weaponry (skilled at iron making)
Ruled by kings (750BC-509BC)
What started the Roman Revolution? Result?
An Etruscan man raped a Roman woman (Lucretia) and it began
Romans defeated the Etruscans in the last 6th century
What were the Greeks known for? Where/When did they settle?
Had a MAJOR influence on the Romans
Romans viewed them as superior
Settled in Southern Italy in 700s BC
Who were the Phoenicians (Carthaginians)?
Phoenicia was a very powerful city-state
Independent of Phoenicia (broke free of Phoenicia and went to Carthage) by the 700s but Romans defeated them at Carthage after 3 wars in 202BC
What began the Birth of the Republic?
A legend of Romulus and Remus
It was a story of two boys growing up under a wolf, Romulus killed Remus (ROMAN empire)
What happened in 753BC?
7 agrarian villages were unified
Who took control in 750BC?
Etruscans
What happened in 509 BC?
Roman Rebellion, leads to republic
What is a “res publica”?
Republic! Translated to “the public thing”
A state without a monarch and is ruled by the (elected) senate and citizens
What makes you a Roman Republic citizen?
Lived in Rome
Owned property
Who were the Roman Plebs?
All citizens who were not members of the senate
Average working citizens of Rome, the mass!
Ex. farmers, bakers, builders, etc.
What was the Senate of the Republic composed of?
Composed of Patricians (city fathers)
people from families of noble birth before 509BC
Who were the Proletarians?
Non-citizens, but were FREE
*Could NOT vote
What did Romans think about slaves in the Republic?
Used them A LOT
Who were Consuls?
The executives
Elected from the Senate
Served 1 year terms, NO repeats
Only 2 serving at a time
- One in field, One in the city
Had veto power over each other
What was the rule regarding the Consuls?
One HAD TO BE a pleb (property owner)
Both COULD BE a pleb
Who were Censors?
From the Senate
Tax assessors at first, but then became “moral policeman” of the Senate, making sure the Senate was behaving themselves
Who were Tribunes?
Chief officers of the Plebs
Magistrates (JUDGES)
10 in all - representing the 10 tribes of Rome
What happened in 390 BC?
War with Celtic Gauls and the Romans
Who were the Gauls?
Rome’s biggest enemy to their North in the early days
Group of Celtic people from mainland Europe
Who ruled most of central Italy in 340?
Rome
Who did Rome defeat in 282BC?
Samnites
What were the Apennines Mtns?
Natural formation, defensive barrier that made it difficult for the Romans to conquer the eastern side of the Peninsula
What did Rome do in the third century?
Change their conquest to tactics, encouraged integration of the conquered people into Roman culture (to become more like the Romans)
A lot of the people that they conquered weren’t against it. They thought the roman life was cool and what they wanted
What happened in the Punic Wars?
Carthage vs Rome, 3 separate wars as Rome grows
What does Punic mean?
Comes from the word Phoenicians (because the people of Carthage were Phoenicians)
What was important about the First Punic War? What was the only problem?
264BC-241BC
Road to imperium
Rome takes 3 Carthaginian possessions
Only problem - Carthage had a better navy than Rome
What was important about the second Punic War? MOST FAMOUS
218BC-202BC
Romans learned from the Carthaginians in the 1st Punic War and copied their methods for fighting at sea
Romans dominate central to eastern Mediterranean Sea
What happened with Hannibal during the 2nd Punic War? Result?
Hannibal, a Carthaginian general, puts together a plan to invade Rome by land (going all the way around) and brings war elephants as he marches through the Alps. He wants to expand the Carthaginian empire.
He comes very close to the empire, 216BC, moves into the southern peninsula with the army and launch an invasion that almost brings Rome down but they recuperate and drive Hannibal out of the peninsula and “chased them out”.
What was the Battle of Zama?
The Carthaginians were finally defeated by Rome under the authority of Scipio Africanus
City of Carthage was allowed to remain
What was the last Punic War?
Less of a war, more of a massacre
149-146
City of Carthage was destroyed and conquered
Many people were enslaved
Who were the Proconsuls?
In the Mid 300s, it was a role of a mix of a commander and a governor.
The soldiers fought for these regions and they looked to the Proconsuls about the Senate (that is where there allegiance was)
The soldiers understood that their $$ came from conquered territories, so they fought hard through conquests of the Proconsuls
What happened between 150BC-50BC?
Bickering between Pro-empire groups (wanted expansion) and Conservative groups (ones who wanted to remain small) taking place in the Senate
Also, the Greco-Macedonian kingdoms were dominated by the Romans
What was the decline of small farms about?
In the 200’s - early 100’s = agricultural crisis
Crops were failing, so farmers moved to cities attempting to get a job (caused a rise of the Proletarians, numbers rising, overpopulation)
Who was Gaius Marius?
157BC - 86BC
Dictator and Senator (ruled in a time of crisis, GOOD guy)
Reelected 6 times as Consul
Abolished property qualification for soldiers (how a person could become and serve as a soldier in the Republic) which meant he would pay for all of the soldier’s gear and family costs at home and any able bodied man could join the army (not just property owners) which dealt with overcrowding issue
Who was Sulla?
Unhappy with what he saw going on in the Republic
Started a war with other Roman generals in 88BC to attempt to take control of Rome in 83BC
Packs the Senate with “yes-men” that will vote what he wants
Rules until 78BC
What happens in 78-60?
Numerous consuls hold office but their power was limited because the great number of generals throughout the civil war
What was the group of consuls who took charge of Rome in 60BC-53BC called?
The First Triumvirate
Who was a part of the First Triumvirate?
Crassus, Pompeius and Julius Caesar
Who was Marcus Licinius Crassus?
115BC-53BC
General in the Roman Army
Politican in Roman Politics
VERY Wealthy (richest man in the republic)
^ Proscription (took wealth from criminals)
^ Unethical realtor (used his men to start fires in homes and
then bring his men to take out fires and “flip the house”)
Financed Julius Caesar’s rise to power
Put an end to Spartacus’ revolt (3rd Servile War 73BC-71BC)
What was the Servile Wars?
Slave uprising
As Rome expanded, they would enslave the people that they conquered which led to a lot of slaves (possibility for uprising)
Who was Spartacus?
from Thrace
Served as a troop in the Roman Macedonian army
Quit his position (DK why), outlawed, captured and enslaved
Sold as a slave and becomes a gladiator in ludus (school) in
CAPUA
What is a gladiator?
The Rockstars (Athletes) of Rome
Fought in the Arenas
*Gods want blood, gladiators would fight in the Arena and spill their blood which acted as a sacrifice to the gods
Used to kill criminals (executioners)
Entertainment/Circus
All about sex, blood and sweat!
Some rich, wealthy women would pay to have sex with them because their sweat were believed to have special properties
They were loved by the people, but they were SLAVES.
Could only become unfree if freed by the emperor.
What happened in the 3rd Servile War?
73-71BC
Spartacus wanted to be free so he escaped along with Crixus, Oenomaus and 70+ others
Steal kitchen knives and swords and kill their masters
Heads to Mount Vesvius and grows larger and larger by killing other masters and bringing along the newly freed slaves (120k+ people)
Crixus abandons Spartacus and is defeated
How did the 3rd Servile War end?
71BC - Spartacus’ slave army is defeated by Crassus’ armies
What was Pompeius?
106BC-48BC
Pleb and born is wealth
General
Conquered Syria, Judea and Asia Minor
Son-in-law of Julius Caesar & had a Civil War with him (49-45)
JC had his assassinated
Who was Julius Caesar?
100BC-44BC
Caesar originally meant “to cut” “hairy” “grey” “elephant”
the word came to mean “king/ruler” - name becomes title
Conquers the Gauls in the 50’s
Who was Cleopatra?
47BC had an affair with Julius Caesar and had a child
What happened in 44BC?
JC becomes dictator of Rome and then was stabbed to death by many conservative senators who didn’t like how he was leading
Who took power? Who was he?
Octavian, 18 years old
JC’s nephew and adopted son - heir of the throne in 44BC
Who was a part of the Second Triumuvirate? When?
43-33BC
Seek to legalize their group’s position
Octavius (Octavian), Lepidus, Marc Antoni
The empire was divided into 3 parts
What was the Lex Titia?
Grants a legal 5 year rule in Nov 43
After the 5 year rule, it comes to the Senate again
Who was Lepidus?
JC second-in-command
In charge of western Africa and Spain
Accused of usurpation (taking authority that wasn’t his to take) and exiled in 36BC
Who was Mark Antony?
Politician and General
Friend and cousin of JC
JC second-in-command when JC died
Became the lover and ally of Cleopatra (Egypt) which created family problems
He was given control of the East
He neglected Octavia and kids bc he focused on Cleo and her kids (tried to give his power to her kids after he dies)
Why were Octavian and Mark Antony at war in 33BC?
Mark was having an affair on Octavian’s sister with Cleopatra
Mark Antony lost (thought he could win since he had Cleopatra as an ally)
Who was Octavian?
Adopted son of JC
Most powerful in 2nd Triumvirate
Exiled Lepidus
Defeated Mark Antony
Became first ruler of the Roman Empire
^ 41 year rule (27AD-14AD), longest rule of empire
What happened to Mark Antony and Cleopatra?
They both committed suicide (felt like they had failed)
What was Octavian elected as?
Consul for life
What did Octavian do when he became emperor?
Enlarged and packed the Senate “yes-men”
Became “Augustus” (the revered one)
Preferred “princeps” which means 1st citizen (false humility)
What policies did Octavian put in place?
Still kept the appearance of Democracy but…
Provides Welfare = basic food needs for poor
Public Works = road systems, aqueducts (structures that move
water from place to place), public bathrooms
Moral Reform = reinstate worship of Roman gods (revival)
Troop Reduction = 250k to 150k, wanted a more manageable army, easier to manage if a rebellion occurs and it’s cheaper
What was the Praetorian Guards?
Newly created group of 10k troops
Special, elite force
Primary reason = to protect city of Rome from rebellions
Secondary reason = served as a body guard for Octavian and spies in the army to make sure they were on task
What was Pax Romana? When?
translated to “the peace of Rome”
31BC - 180AD
Rome was unified and peaceful during this time!
Literature and arts flourished
Split between eastern and western empires known
What was the eastern side of the empire like?
Spoke GREEK
Divided into large provinces and lead by procurators (govs)
Most famous = Poncias Pilot
What was the western side of the empire like?
Spoke LATIN
Municipia (small providences, county-like)
Governors and local elected leaders
Government opened to non-Italians!!
What was the succession problem?
There was no rule as to who came after Octavian
He had no sons, but had a daughter (promiscuous)
Had a son-in-law (Tiberius) that he adopted
Tiberius was the 2nd emperor, then Caligula, Claudius and Nero, then the Flavian Emperors took charge
Who was Caligula?
The 3rd emperor of Rome
He married his horse, named his horse a senator of Rome
What was the Duodecim Tabularum?
A part of the Roman Law
“The Twelve Tablets/Tables”
Law code that regulated lives of Roman citizens
What was the Mos Mairorum?
Another part of the Roman Law
“The ways of our ancestors”
traditional do’s and don’t’s - social norms
VERY SERIOUS for the Roman citizens
regulated public, private, and military life
If you didn’t follow these, you could be killed
What was the Jus Gentium?
Another part of Roman Law
Laws of the (conquered) Nations
respected the nations local traditions to some degree
What was the legacy of Roman Law?
Our world has been influenced by Roman law like
“Fairness is the goal of all law”
“Precedent is sometimes coequal to law”
“Use of interpretation when applying the law”
What was the language of the west?
Latin
What was Virgil’s Aenid?
Latin work, official version of Rome’s founding
Romulus and Remus
What is a Forum?
every major Roman town had one
Physical place
Open area in every city where the town would gather to hear literature work, marketplace, comedy, religion ideas sharing etc
What is the Arena?
Place for plays, horse races, gladiator matches
What were the differences in the Roman and Greek art?
Roman art had a pedestal, they copied the Greeks but they were never as good as them at it
What was Roman Religion like?
state and family oriented
“what is the best way to live?”
Stoicism (admiring the doer over the thinker in the book called Meditations by Marcus Aurelius)
What was the trade and manufacturing of ancient Rome?
small scale, home based businesses, no factories
Where did most families make their livelihood?
Agriculture (selling it, buying it or farming it)
What percentage of people in Roman culture were slaves?
70%!
What is Patria Potestas?
translated “the power of the father”
male heads of household had lots of power over their families
they had the power to kill family members if they violated codes of honor (without any repercussions)
What is Sui Juris?
Set of laws that governed the lives of women
translated to “her laws”
Women were given certain rights positively
When did women get married?
between the ages of 12 and 17
What was the idea of Abortion in this time?
Less frequent in the early days of the empire and more frequent towards the end
Who was Lydia?
From Acts 16 in The Bible
An example that women were involved in non-traditional work
Sold purple dye - involved great wealth
Business woman
What was sex viewed like in Ancient Rome?
In a marriage, the purpose was for making babies and not particularly for pleasure
What was the two sexual identity groups?
Dominant and Submissive
Dominant was viewed as the one to be praised
Submissive was viewed as the weak one
How was homosexuality viewed?
Unacceptable in the early Republic, but became more accepted as time went on (due to influence of the Greeks who accepted it)
Male bisexuality - common during empire
How was prostitution viewed?
Common in foreign slaves (Gaul, Germania etc)
Citizens couldn’t be a prostitute but could pay to spend time with them
