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Roman Empire Flashcards

1
Q

Roman historians have a rich collection of sources. We broadly categorise them into three groups:

A

Textual Sources
Documents
Material remains

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2
Q

What do textual sources include?

A

They were usually called ‘Annals’. Letters, speeches, laws, etc

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3
Q

What did documentary sources include?

A

They included mainly inscriptions and papyri. Papyrus was a reed-like plant, that grew along the banks of the river Nile in Egypt, and was processed to produce writing material

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4
Q

Documents that survive of papyrus are published by scholars. They are called?

A

Papyrologists

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5
Q

Material remains include?

A

Include assortment of archaeologist. Example: buildings, monuments, pottery, coins

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6
Q

The two powerful empires that ruled over most of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East are?

A

Iran and Rome

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7
Q

Iran and Roman empires were separated by a narrow strip of land that ran along ______

A

The river Euphrates

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8
Q

Why is Mediterranean Sea known as heart of Roman Empire?

A

Room dominated the Mediterranean and all the regions around it.
N- R. Rhine and R.Danube.
S-covered huge expanse of Sahara desert
E- covered Euphrates
W- Atlantic Ocean

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9
Q

Iran covered?

A

Caspian Sea, down to eastern Arabia and some parts of Afghanistan

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10
Q

Tachin?

A

Iran and Rome had divided most of the world, the Chinese called this

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11
Q

The major difference between the two superpowers was?

A

Roman empire was culturally more diverse than Iran. The rulers of the Iranian Dynasty ruled over a population largely Iranian

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12
Q

The Roman Empire was a mosaic of _______

A

Territories and cultures chiefly bound together by a common system, government

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13
Q

For the purpose of administration, which languages were used

A

Latin and greek

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14
Q

What did the upper classes of east speak and write? And of west?

A

Greek. Latin.

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15
Q

Tripolitania was ___ speaking

A

Latin

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16
Q

Cyrenica was ______ speaking

A

Greek

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17
Q

All those who lived in the Empire were subject of?

A

All those who lived in the empire were subjects of a single ruler, the emperor. Regardless of where they lived and which language they spoke

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18
Q

Name the regime established by Augustus

A

Principate

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19
Q

Who was Augustus?

A

He was the first emperor in 27 BCE

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20
Q

_______ was the only real source of Authority

A

Augustus

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21
Q

Which fiction was kept alive, and for what?

A

The fiction was kept alive that Augustus was only a leading citizen and not the absolute ruler. This was done out of respect for the Senate.

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22
Q

What was Senate?

A

Body which had controlled Rome earlier in the days when it was a republic. It was a body that represented aristocracy, meaning the wealthiest families of Roman and later, Italian descent

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23
Q

Most Roman histories that survive were written by?

A

People from senatorial background

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24
Q

The three players of the Roman Empire?

A
  1. Emperor.
  2. Senate.
  3. Army.
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25
The army in Rome was a______ army
Conscripted. (forcibly recruited.)
26
Talk about the Roman Army.
It was a conscripted army. Romans had a paid professional army, soldiers had to put in minimum 25 years of service.
27
However, mutinies caused by soldiers?
Soldiers constantly asked for better wages and service conditions. This often led to rebellion if they felt laid down by their generals or the emperor.
28
What was Senate’s take on the army?
The Senate hated and feared the army. It was a source of unpredictable violence, especially in the third century when government was forced to tax more heavily to pay for its military expenditures.
29
Explain the family tree of the first two emperors
Julius Caesar l Augustus l Tiberius Augustus was the adopted son and heir of Julius Caesar. Tiberius was adopted son of Augustus.
30
What is the Augustan age known for?
The empire inherited by Tiberius from August was already so vast that further expansion felt unnecessary. In fact, the ‘ Augustan Age’ was remembered for the peace. It assured in after decades of internal strive and centuries of military conquest.
31
Explain the gradual extension of the Roman empire
This was accomplished by absorbing a whole series of ‘ dependent’ kingdoms into the Roman provincial territory. Kingdoms that lay west of Euphrates were swallowed up by Rome. Some of these kingdoms were extremely wealthy. Eg: Herod’s kingdom yielded 5.4 Million Denarii per year.
32
What was denarius
It was a Roman silver coin containing about 4 1/2 g of pure silver
33
Great urban centres?
1. Carthage 2. Antioch 3. Alexandria
34
The great urban centres were the _______ of the imperial system
True bedrock
35
Where did Roman Empire get its wealth from?
The Roman government used cities as its administrative centres to collect taxes from the rural countryside, which was its main source of empire’s wealth
36
How did local upper class help?
The local upper classes actively collaborated with the Roman state in administering their own territories and raising taxes from them. They also supplied most of the cadre that govern the provinces and commanded the armies.
37
Which new elite was formed?
The local upper classes came to form a new elite of administrators and military commanders, who became much more powerful than the senatorial class because they had the backing of emperors.
38
Who consolidated the rise of this elite?
Gallienus. He did so by excluding senators from military command. He did not allow Senators from serving in the army or having any access to it in order to prevent the control of the Empire falling into their hands.
39
A city in Roman sense?
A city in Roman sense was an urban centre with its own magistrate, city, Council and a territory containing villages under its jurisdiction
40
What was one crucial advantage of living in the city?
It was better provided for during food shortages, and famines than the countryside
41
One striking feature of Roman urban life
Public bath
42
Main points of third century crisis?
1. The third century showed the first major signs of internal strain. 2. A new and aggressive dynasty emerged in Iran. The Sasanians. And within just 15 years, they were expanding a rapidly in the direction of Euphrates. 3. Germanic tribes(Alamanni, Franks and Goths) began to move against the Rhine and Daube frontiers. The Romans were forced to abandon much of the territory. 4. The rapid succession of emperors in the third century. 25 emperors in 47 years.
43
___,__,___ were traded and consumed in huge quantities
Wheat, wine and olive oil
44
Where did wheat wine and olive oil mainly come from?
Spain, North, Africa, Egypt, etc
45
What was amphorae?
Liquids like wine and olive oil were transported in containers called amphorae
46
The Spanish olive oil was a?
Vast commercial enterprise
47
The Spanish olive oil was mainly carried in a container called?
Dressel 20
48
What was circulated very widely
Spanish olive oil
49
What do we know about Spanish producers?
The wide circulation of Spanish olive oil shows that Spanish producers succeeded in capturing the markets for olive oil from their Italian counterparts
50
Why did Spanish producers succeeded in olive oil market?
Because they supplied a better quality oil at lower prices
51
Success of Spanish olive oil was repeated by
North African producers in third and fourth century
52
After North Africa, who became major exporter?
In the fifth and sixth centuries, South Asia became major exporter of wine and olive oil
53
The best kinds of wine came from?
Campania.
54
Who exported large quantities of wheat to Rome?
Sicily and Byzacium
55
Large expenses of Roman territory were in the same advanced state. True or false?
False
56
Main points of Roman economy?
1. Water powered milling technology. 2. Use of hydraulic mining techniques. 3. Well-organised, commercial, and banking networks.
57
Labour in the Roman economy was performed by?
Slaves
58
How many slaves were under Augustus?
3 million in a total of 7.5 million Italian population
59
Slaves were an_______
Investment
60
Who were brutal towards their slaves?
The Roman upper class
61
Who showed compassion sometimes much more than the Roman upper class?
The ordinary people
62
When the supply of slaves tend to decline, uses of slave, had to turn to?
1. Slave breeding. 2. Cheaper substitutes such as wage labour.
63
What kind of labour was extensively used in public works?
Free labour
64
Who were freedmen?
Slaves who had been set free by the managers
65
What did columella recommend?
He recommended that land owners should keep a stock of tools to ensure continuity of production “ for the loss in slave labour”
66
What was the general assumption?
The general assumption was that without supervision, no work would ever get done
67
Columella recommended squads of?
10 claiming that it was easier to supervise when workers were grouped into gangs
68
Who condemned the use of slave gangs?
Elder Pliny
69
Why was slave gangs condemned by elder?
He condemned the use of slave gangs as the worst method of organisation of production, mainly because slaves who worked in gangs were chained together by their feet
70
Pliny described conditions in the frankincense factories. What were they?
The conditions in the frankincense factories of Alexandria were such that a seal was put on on the workmen’s apron. They had to wear a mask or net with a close mesh on their heads, and before they were allowed to leave the premises they had to take off all their clothes.
71
What was law of 398?
This referred to workers being branded so that they could be recognised if they run away or try to hide
72
Debt contracts were a way to ensure ______
Tighter control
73
Describe the leading social groups of the early empire
1. Senators. 2. The equestrian class 3. The respectable section of the people who were attached to Great houses. 4. The unkempt lower class who were addicted to circus and theatrical displays 5. Sleeves.
74
Leading groups of late empire?
The Senators and the equities had merged into a unified and expanded the aristocracy. They were enormously wealthy, but less powerful than the pure military elites.
75
The mass of lower class was known as?
Humiliores
76
The middle class was consisted of considerable mass of persons connected with what?
Connected with imperial service
77
The monetary system of late empire broke why?
The monetary system of the late empire broke with the silver based currencies because the Spanish silver mines were exhausted and government ran out of sufficient stocks of metal to support a stable coinage.
78
There was a great deal of ______ in the judicial system
Corruption
79
Which element was a remarkable feature of the classical world?
Criticism
80
The Roman state rarely tolerated descent, how did it usually respond?
It usually responded to protest with violence
81
What was the Roman law that emerged in the fourth century?
Emperors were not free to do whatever they liked, and law was actively used to protect civil rights
82
What does late antiquity mean?
This term describes the final and fascinating period in the evolution and break up of the Roman Empire
83

History 11 (5 decks)

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