History Final (roman empire)

Question 1

which kingdom did the roman empire absorb?

Answer 1

The Hellenistic kingdoms

Question 2

The romans are people from what part of the world ?

Answer 2

Central Italy

Question 3

how did they build their empire and why?

Answer 3

They built their empire little, by little, and they did it out of fear of their neighbours not because they wanted to conquer the world.

Question 4

what language did Romans speak? what were there usual jobs? and what neighbours did they have problems with?

Answer 4

They spoke latin, they were farmers, and they had conflicts with
- Etruscans
- small groups
- greeks in southern italy

Question 5

what did Romans do in order to take over places?

Answer 5

They threatened dire consequences for anybody who resists - but also promised citizenship to people who cooperate.

Question 6

What did their empire encompass? and why?

Answer 6

The whole Mediterranean basin to secure a sense of dominance and safety.

Question 7

what were the 3 phases of how Romans took over?

Answer 7

1. The conquest of Italy
2. The wars with the Carthaginians
3. Expansion

Question 8

explain phase 1 of the Roman take over

Answer 8

It was the conquest of Italy, the Romans take over Etruscans, small italian tribes, and the greeks in the South.

Question 9

explain phase 2 of the Roman take over

Answer 9

The wars with the Carthaginians (from Carthagein North Africa).
- The Romans were in real danger of disappearing.
- The Carthaginian general Hannibal was to invade Italy with a large army (including battle elephants!) but was ultimately defeated.

Question 10

explain phase 3 of the Roman empire

Answer 10

• Roman expansion continued but no longer to protect Roman safety, but instead for the benefit of the Roman elites - which were hungry for plunder and slaves.
• The Greek world Gaul (France), Spain, Syria, North Africa, Egypt… all fall under Roman control.

Question 11

what are the three tiers of Roman society

Answer 11

1. Patricians (nobles)
2. Plebians (commoners)
3. Slaves

Question 12

explain the role of Patricians

Answer 12

The leading families control the Roman state through the Senate. (The senior male heads of the main families)

Question 13

explain the role of Plebians

Answer 13

the common people, they are represented by “the tribune of the plebs”

Question 14

explain the role of slaves

Answer 14

with the conquest of a large empire came massive amounts of slaves: ⅓ of people living in the Roman world were slaves.

Question 15

with the expansion, military leaders were gaining more and more power. What did they do with this new power? give an example

Answer 15

they were able to bypass/ignore the Senate: ex: Julius Caesar was able to take over the state, based on his control of the growing Roman army.

Question 16

in what year did Augustus become the first emperor of Rome?

Answer 16

31 CE

Question 17

what did Augustus take from the senate? and how did it benefit the Roman elite?

Answer 17

All the power. The Roman elites benefited from the treasure extracted from the new territories.

Question 18

Explain the Pax Romana

Answer 18

The Roman Empire was built with an initial phase of violence - but then offered many groups and people an area of peace and prosperity: The Pax Romana. (The Roman Peace).

Question 19

Describe how roman society always was

Answer 19

Roman society was always very polarized with a small group controlling most of the wealth, and the mass of people living in poverty.

Question 20

the Roman empire was stable until when?

Answer 20

The late 2nd Century

Question 21

describe the problems that arose during the late 2nd century

Answer 21

• Invasions from “barbarian people” from Eastern Europe (Germanic tribes called the Franks, Ostrogoths, Wisigoths, Vandals).
• On the inside, the elites are so predatory, that it becomes hard to collect taxes: people resist and the army becomes weaker because not enough money was raised.
• In 476 CE, the Western part of the empire collapsed and was taken over by Germanic tribes.