Midterm Studying

Question 1

Battle of Adrianople

Answer 1

When: August 9, 376
Who/What: A battle between the Eastern Roman army and the Visigoths, killing 20-30,000 Romans and decimating their troops.
Significance: Emperor Valens was killed and showed a weakness in the Roman Empire’s forces.

Question 2

Donation of Constantine

Answer 2

When: 750s
Who/What: Forgery that gave the pope the power to rule in Italy
Significance: It was referenced for centuries to support the idea of the pope being entitled to Roman power and led to more pope-political interference.

Question 3

Attila the Hun

Answer 3

When: d. 453
Who/What: Military commander from the Steppe.
Significance: Created a Hunnic Confederation, attacked Roman territories in the Balkans and attempted to invade Constantinople and the Persians.

Question 4

Theodoric

Answer 4

When: d. August 30, 526
Who/What: Germanic king in the west who collaborated with Zeno.
Significance: Killed Odoacer in 493 and he did not try to assimilate Germans into romans and vice versa. He kept parallel administrations for Romans and Germans.

Question 5

Vandals

Answer 5

When: Took to North Africa during the 3rd Century crisis.
Who/What: Germanic tribe of peoples.
Significance: Took Carthage in 439 under the rule of Genseric. They were primarily in North Africa. They sacked Rome in June 455 and took Eudoxia and Edocia.

Question 6

Justinian

Answer 6

When: d. November 14, 565
Who/What: Eastern Roman Emperor
Significance: Closed polytheistic temples, rebuilt the Hagia Sophia, and sought to recombine the East and Western halves of Rome. He wanted to expand what Roman emperors could do. He was the first “Byzantine emperor” or the last “Roman emperor.”

Question 7

Edict of Milan

Answer 7

When: Feb. 313
What/Who: Issued by Constantine to protect Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Significance: Made Christianity legit in the empire and Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor.

Question 8

Odoacer

Answer 8

When: d. March 15, 493
Who/What: First king of Italy/Barbarian king.
Significance: He deposed Romulus Augustus in 476 and ended the Western Roman Empire, but continued to pretend to be subject to the Eastern Emperor.

Question 9

Pope Leo III

Answer 9

When: d. June 12, 816
Who/What:
Significance: Escaped to the Franks after he was attacked by nobles and got help from CM to go to Rome and rethrone Leo III. Pope Leo III crowned CM.

Question 10

Romulus Augustus

Answer 10

When: d. 511, stepped down Sugust 28, 476
Who/What: The last Western Roman Emperor.
Significant: When he was deposed by Odoacer in 476 this ended the Roman Empire in the West.

Question 11

Council of Nicaea

Answer 11

When: 313
Who/What: A council of bishops that was called by Constantine to determine the proper form of Christianity, resulting in the exile of Arius.
Significance: This was the first time the state interfered in the church/matters of religion.

Question 12

Heraclius

Answer 12

When: d. February 11, 641
Who/What: Eastern Roman Emperor
Significance: Took the True Cross from the Persians after their sack of Jerusalem (Sent against Phocas).

Question 13

Valens

Answer 13

When: d. August 9, 378
What/Who: Eastern Roman Emperor.
Significance: Was killed during the battle of Adrianople by the Visigoths.

Question 14

Muhammad

Answer 14

When: d. June 8, 632
Who/What: Founder and prophet of Islam
Significance: Founded Islam as a religion and began the campaigns to spread Islam. Collected revelations in the Qur’an.

Question 15

Charlemagne

Answer 15

When: d. January 28, 814
Who/What: Carolingian Frankish King who ruled after Pepin the Short.
Significance: He expanded education, rethroned Pope Leo III, led many successful military campaigns including conquering Saxony, had standardized laws, copied books.

Question 16

Augustine of Hippo

Answer 16

When: d. August 28, 430
Who/What: Wrote the City of God.
Significance:

Question 17

Stilocho

Answer 17

When: d. August 22, 408
Who/What: Half-Roman/Germanic commander in the Western Empire.
Significance: Guided the rule of Romulus Augustus and was judicially murdered under suspicion of colluding with the Goths. Magister militum for Italy.

Question 18

Hagia Sophia

Answer 18

When: Built 432-437
Who/What: Rebuilt by Justinian, it has been a church and a mosque.
Significance: It has been a site of religious contention for many centuries.

Question 19

Amalasuintha

Answer 19

When: April 30, 535
Who/What: Ruler of the Ostrogoths, daughter of Theodoric the Great.
Significance: Ruling queen after Theodoric, but was not accepted by the Germans since she was a woman. She was exiled after trying to rule together with her cousin but does to being heavily romanized and having a treaty with Justinian that gave him a casus belli to invade Italy.

Question 20

Merovingians

Answer 20

When: Childeric III deposed 751
Who/What: Believed to be descended from River gods, the first dynasty of the Franks
Significance: First dynasty of the Franks which gave rise to the Carolingians.

Question 21

Ulfilas

Answer 21

When: d. 382
What/Who: An apostle who is attributed to have converted the Goths.
Significance: Converted many Goths to Christianity, though not the “right brand” (Arian)

Question 22

Boniface

Answer 22

June 5, 755

Question 23

Gregory of Tourse

Answer 23

When: d. November 17, 594
What/Who: Author of books about the Franks and martyrs.
Significance: Documented the history of the Franks and many martyrs. He made no distinction between the Frankish ruling class and their Roman subjects.

Question 24

Battle of Tours

Answer 24

When: October 10, 732

Question 25

Visigothic Sack of Rome

Answer 25

When: August 24-27, 410
Who/What: The Visigoths sacked Rome for 3 days but did not demolish the city completely.
Significance: Showed Roman weakness and their status are Arians protected the Romans from complete demolition.

Question 26

Ethnogenesis

Answer 26

When: 800
Who/What: The Franks becoming indistinguishable from their Romanized Gaul subjects.
Significance: Single religion helped the ruling class and their subjects come together to identify themselves as Franks instead of making a distinction between themselves as Romanized Gauls or the ruling Frankish class.

Question 27

3rd-century Crisis

Answer 27

When: Began 235
Who/What: Fights over who will be emperor and civil wars among the peoples in Rome.
Significance: Led to the rise of Diocletian, who split the empire between East and West.

Question 28

Clovis

Answer 28

When: d. November 27, 511
Who/What: First Frankish ruler, baptized in the Rheims.
Significance: Converted to Christianity and encouraged the toppling of old pagan religions (“heretics”) due to his marriage to Clothid. converted to the “Right type” of Christianity (Catholic).

Question 29

King Arthur

Answer 29

When: 490-550
What/Who: Inspired by Aurelius Ambrosianus, who led rebellions to drive back Germanic tribes from Britannia.
Significance: King Arthur is a famous historical figure who demonstrates the pride of the Celtic peoples.

Question 30

Unction

Answer 30

When: 460
Who/What: The process of anointing a king or emperor with oil.
Significance: Made people afraid to attack monarchs/rulers because they were now anointed by god. Made assassination far less likely.

Question 31

True Cross

Answer 31

When: Taken by the Persians in 614, 629 Heraclius got it back and moved to Constantinople 635
Who/What: Holy relic, the cross on which Jesus was supposedly crucified.
Significance: Began Heraclius’s battles against the Persians to recover the True Cross after the Persians sacked Jerusalem, a holy and supposedly protected city. Identified by the mother of Constantine.

Question 32

Pepin the Short

Answer 32

When: d. September 24, 768
Who/What: Ruler of the Franks in the Merovingian Dynasty after Charles Martel died and his brother became a monk.
Significance: Fathered Charlemagne, first Carolingian king (Charles Martel not king)