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Italia > I. Ancient Italy > Flashcards

I. Ancient Italy Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two nicknames for Italy?

A

Lo Stivale (boot)
Il bel paese ( the fair country)

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2
Q

When and why did Greeks begin to colonise Italy and Sicily?

A

Overpopulation and famine
8th centry BCE

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3
Q

What was the overall name of the Greek settlements in Italy?

A

Magna Graecia (Greater Greece)

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4
Q

Who founded Naples and Taranto?

A

Greeks
Cities originally called Neapolis and Tarentum

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5
Q

What kind of language is Etruscan ?

A

Not Indo-European

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6
Q

When was the heyday of the Etruscans ?

A

800 to 500 BCE

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7
Q

When did the Latini come to occupy the region of Rome ?

A

10th century BCE approx

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8
Q

What’s the family background of Romulus and Remus?

A

Sons of King Numitor who was usurped by younger brother Amulius. Amulius forces Numitor’s daughter Rhea Silvia to become a Vestal Virgin but she gives birth to twins, and claims they are sons if Mars. Amulius orders twins be drowned but they are discovered by a she-wolf.

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9
Q

What’s the foundation myth of Rome?

A

Romulus and Remus found new city near spot where she-wolf discovered them. They choose different hills as center of city, receive different auguries about which is correct.
They fight and Romulus kills Remus.

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10
Q

What’s the mythical date of the foundation of Rome?

A

21 April 753 BCE.

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11
Q

How does Romulus populate Rome with men ?

A

Opens gates to all; runnaway slaves, criminals etc..

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12
Q

How did Romulus populate Rome with women?

A

Invited the Sabines for entertainment. Kidnapped their women and killed them.

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13
Q

Who was the legendary last King of Rome?

A

Tarquin the Proud

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14
Q

How and why was Tarquin deposed?

A

His son Sextus raped a married woman named Lucretia who then kills herself. Brutus (friend of her husband) displays her corpse and call upon people to expel the Tyrant.

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15
Q

How many years did the Roman Republic last for?

A

482
From 509 BCE to 27 BCE

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16
Q

What was the structure of Roman government in the Republican period ?

A

Two annually elected consuls who could command the army
And senate; 300 people

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17
Q

What was the secret to the success of Roman expansion in early Republican period?

A

They turned conquered people into socii (partners) who had to provide soldiers for wars and received protection and a share of plunder

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18
Q

When did Hannibal invade Rome ?

A

Spring of 218 BCE, 2nd punic war

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19
Q

How far did Hannibal march to Rome? How many elephants did he have ? How many men died on the way?

A

1500 km (Southern Spain through Pyrenees then Alps)
37 elephants
36000 men (starvation)

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20
Q

What was Hannibal’s most famous triumph?

A

Battle of Cannae in Apulia

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21
Q

How many Romans were slaughtered at the battle of Cannae ?

A

70 000

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22
Q

Why did Hannibal’s campaign fail ?

A

It depended on the socii turning against Rome. They didn’t

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23
Q

What happened in the 3rd Punic war ?

A

Carthage was destroyed

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24
Q

Apart from the sack of Carthage, what other triumph did Rome accomplish in 146 BCE ?

A

The sack of Corinth, defeating the Achaean League ( a bunch of Greek states)

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25
Q

What were the results for landowners of Hannibal’s campaigns?

A

Rural landscapes devastated
Small subsistance farmers forced from land
Wealthy landowners took over grabbing large swathes of land

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26
Q

Who attempted to reform land ownership in favour of the poor and what happened to him?

A

Tiberius Gracchus
Tribune of the Plebians
Attempted to enforce law limiting land ownership to 125 hectares per person
He was clubbed to death with a chair leg in the senate

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27
Q

What was the cause and outcome of the Social War 91-87BC?

A

Rebellion by the socii who were deprived the benefits of Roman citizenship - i.e. receiving land as part of reforms
Outcome : Everyone south of the Po would hold Roman citizenship

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28
Q

What’s the most likely origin of the word Italy?

A

Greek word for an ox : italoi
Lots of cattle and grazing in Italy

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29
Q

What reforms enabled the rise of Roman strongmen in the first century BCE?

A

Military service was opened to the poor in order to meet defence needs of growing Empire
They swore allegiance to their general in exchange for the promise of land and bounty

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30
Q

What were the achievements of Pompei the Great?

A

Crucifying slaves after revolt by Spartacus in 71 BCE
Made Syria Roman province, capturing Jerusalem

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31
Q

Julius Caesar, dates?

A

100 to 44 BCE

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32
Q

What was the first triumverate and how did it end?

A

Caeser, Pompei and Crassus
Ended when Crassus attacked Parthians and died in battle in Mesopotamia in 55 BCE

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33
Q

How many people did Caesar claim to kill on the Gallic wars against the Celtic tribes?

A

1 million

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34
Q

What momentous step did Caesar take in 49 BCE ?

A

He crossed the Rubicon with armies and marches on Rome

35
Q

How did Pompei respond to Caesar’s march on Rome? And how did he die?

A

He fled Rome, was pursued by Caesar and died on a beach in Egypt beheaded at the behest of 15 year old Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, brother of Cleopatra

36
Q

When was Caesar assassinated and why?

A

He made himself dictator perpetuo (for life). Senators killed him in the hope of restoring the Republic

37
Q

What was the relationship between Brutus and Caesar ?

A

Brutus may have been Caesar’s illegitimate son. His mother Servilia was Caesar’s mistress

38
Q

What happened to Brutus and Cassius after they assassinated Caesar?

A

They fled Rome after popular support for the murdured dictator who had provided generously to the poor
Defeated by Marc Anthony in Greece, they both committed suicide

39
Q

What was the triumverate formed in 43 BCE ?

A

Supporters of Caesar : Marc Anthony, Lepidus, and Octavian

40
Q

What was the relationship between Octavian Bracchus Augustus and Caesar?

A

Octavian was Caesar’s great nephew

41
Q

How does Octavian’s triumverate deal with Cicero?

A

He’s executed, his head exposed in the forum, with his tongue pierced with hairpins

42
Q

How did Octavian (Augustus) defeat Marc Anthony ?

A

At the naval battle of Actium
Fleet led by Agrippa concurred combined fleets of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra who then commit suicide

43
Q

How did Augustus designate his new position as ruler of Rome?

A

As Princeps (first citizen) rather than Emperator

44
Q

What was the role of the Senate under Augustus?

A

Retained traditional roles in government administration

45
Q

What did Augustus boast about Rome as a city?

A

He boasted that he found Rome built in brick and left it in Marble

46
Q

Who succeeds Augustus?

A

Tiberius, his stepson from marriage with Livia Drusilla
At the age of 55

47
Q

Outline the reign of Tiberius?

A

AD 14-37
Continued stability of Augustus
Withdraws to the island of Capri in 26 AD
Dies in AD 37 succeeded by his great nephew Caligula

48
Q

Where does the name Caligula come from?

A

Caligula means little sandal because of the child-sized sandals he wore when accompanying his father Germanicus on military campaigns

49
Q

What were some of the positive and popular things about Caligula’s reign?

A

He lowered taxes, allowed circulation banned books, put on gladiatorial combat and chariot races, completed large public works such as bringing Obelisk from Egypt (now in Saint Peter’s square)

50
Q

How did King Ptolemy of Mauretania meet his end?

A

Murdered because Caligula jealous of his purple cloak

51
Q

How did Caligula’s reign end ?

A

Killed in 41 AD by member of Praetorien guard

52
Q

Under what circumstances does Claudius succeed as Emperor at age 50?

A

Promises money to Praetorian guard for their support

Because of his disabilities (limp/stammer) he was seen as weak and contrôlable

Member of Julian-Claudio dynasty so was seen as legitimate and unlikely to result in further conflict

53
Q

Which province did Claudius add to Rome?

A

Britannia, by conquering the Catuvellauni in Southeast England

54
Q

How did Claudius change the constitution of the Senate?

A

By including senators from all provinces of Rome

55
Q

What is Claudius’s fifth wife Messalina famous for ?

A

Having a large number of sexual partners

56
Q

How did Messalina meet her end ?

A

When Claudius was away from Rome she married her lover who intended to usurp Claudius. When he returned he had them executed

57
Q

How did Claudius die?

A

Poisoned by his Fifth wife and niece Agrippina in 54 AD who wanted her son Nero to succeed to the throne

58
Q

Rather than military heroics, Nero was interested in ..?

A

Artistic performances: singing, playing the harp, acting in plays. All activities considered beneath the dignities on the Roman Emperor

59
Q

How did Nero’s relationship with his mother develop after he became emperor?

A

It deteriorated as he grew tired of her attempts to control him and Nero had her assassinated

60
Q

What happened in Rome on the 19th of july 64 BCE?

A

There was a fire that raged for a week and destroyed much of Rome

61
Q

What was Nero doing during the fire of 64 AD?

A

According to Suetonius, he was playing the lyre and enjoying the spectacle from the tower of his palace

According to Tacitus, he was away from the city but hurried back to direct the fire fighting and opened his gardens to the homeless

62
Q

Why might it be believed that Nero was responsible for the fire?

A

Because he claimed a large area of the destroyed land to build his Golden House (Domus aurea), a vast palace complex including a 30-metre high bronze statue of himself wearing a sun crown (the Colosseus)

63
Q

Who did Nero choose as a scapegoat for the fire?

A

Christians, they were covered in the skins of wild animals, torn to pieces by dogs, crucified and burnt alive

64
Q

Which famous christians may have fallen victim to Nero’s persecution ?

A

Saint Paul who was beheaded outside the walls of Rome

Saint Peter, buried on Vatican Hill

65
Q

How did Nero’s reign end?

A

His persecutions lost him the support of the provinces and their governors and eventually Servius Sulpicius Galba was proclaimed new emperor

Nero commited suicide

66
Q

Who was the last of the Julio-Claudian line if emperors ?

A

Nero

67
Q

List the Julio-Claudian emperors in chronological order ?

A

Augustus
Tiberius
Caligula
Claudius
Nero

68
Q

What was the year after Nero’s death in AD 65 called ?

A

The year of the 4 emperors

69
Q

Who emerged successful from the year of the four emperors ?

A

Vespasian
First emperor of the Flavian dynasty
60 yo General

70
Q

What was Vespasian’s great building achievement?

A

The Flavian amphitheater, better known as the Colosseum, begun in 72 AD

71
Q

Where does the name Colosseum come from?

A

Its proximity to the Colossus of Nero in what had been Nero’s private park, built after the fire

72
Q

How many people can be seated in the Colosseum?

A

50000 people

73
Q

How did the Roman Empire expand under the Flavians ?

A

Jerusalem sacked in 70 AD
Expanded territory in Britain

74
Q

Dates of the Flavian dynasty

A

69 to 96 AD

75
Q

Who was the last of the Flavians and why was he deposed?

A

Domitian

Became tyrannical towards the senates and his enemies and was assassinated

Executed senators he viewed as traitors

Demanded to be addressed as Dominus Et Daius

Paranoid reign of terror and imposed struct censorship

76
Q

Who was the Emperor Titus ?

A

Eldest son of Vaspasian

Ruled for just two years between 79 and 81 AD

77
Q

What two disasters occured in the reign of Titus?

A

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD

A fire in Rome that destroyed the Pantheon in 80 AD

78
Q

What was the relationship between Titus and his successor Domitian?

A

Domitian was Titus’s younger brother who may have poisoned him to become emperor

79
Q

What is Domitian’s reputation as emperor ?

A

A power mad autocrat, hated by all

80
Q

Dates of emperor Domitian reign

A

81-96 AD

81
Q

Example of Domitian’s paranoia ?

A

He lined the walls of his palace with reflective surfaces so assassins couldn’t creep up on him

82
Q

Which dynasty happened after the death of Domitian in 86 AD?

A

Age of the five good emperors

83
Q

Who were the five good emperors?

A

Nerva

Trajan

Hadrian

Antoninus Paius

Marcus Aurelius

Italia (2 decks)

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