Roman Empire Flashcards
Rome is located in the center of modern-day Italy on a __________, which is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides.
peninsula
Rome began as a collection of small towns located on seven hills near the shore of the ___________ in Italy around 753 BCE
Tiber River
Two major mountain chains, the ____ and ____, found in Italy had a significant impact on the development of ancient Rome.
Alps, Apennine Mountains
Rome developed about 15 miles form where the Tiber River empties into the ____________
Mediterranean Sea
True or False
The mild climate enabled Romans to grow wheat, grapes, and olives and build a consistent food supply that supported the people and allowed Rome to prosper
True
True or False
Tax collectors were not allowed to travel on Rome’s roads
False
True or False
Romans were the first people to create and use coins
False
True or False
The Tiber River provided a source of water for crops and important routes for trade and transportation
True
The most famous of Rome’s seven hills is _________
Palatine Hill
The building of Rome’s ______ were a priority for Rome’s military, because it was important for troops to be able to move quickly and easily to transport supplies from one part of the empire to another
roads
Ancient Rome’s first set of written laws (451 BCE) intended to bring suspected criminals t justice by ensuring they make it to trial in court were called the ___________
Law of the Twelve Tables
The Roman writer Virgil described the story of _______, a hero of the Trojan War, in an epic poem called the Aeneid
Aeneas
In approximately 509 BCE, the Romans established a republic, which is a form of government in which________
people elect their leaders
The two highest magistrates are called__________
Consuls
True or False
Although Romans were wary of one person obtaining to much power, they believed that in times of a crisis having a dictator, or one ruler with total control over the government, was a more effective form of leadership
True
True or False
The last of the Etruscan kings, a ruler named Tarquinius Superbus, ruled Rome from 534 BCE to 509 BCE and was adore by all the Romans because they believed that he demonstrated the ideal citizenship.
False
True or False
The patricians were common people,such as artisans, laborers, and farmers
False
Rome’s attempt to control shipping throughout the Mediterranean led to a series of three wars against Carthage, from 264 BCE to 146 BCE known as the ____________________.
Punic Wars
Roman Society consisted of three social classes, these classes were the __________, the _____________, and the _______________.
patricians, plebeians, and the slaves
The Roman Republic consisted of three parts: the __________, the ___________, and the ___________.
magistrates, senate, assembly
_______, who became the first emperor of Rome, was originally selected as a dictator.
Julius Caesar
Caesar joined with Pompey the Great and Crassus, two other political leaders to form an alliance that is known as the first _____________
Triumvirate
After Caesar’s death, war broke out ___________, Caesar’s nephew, claimed the throne.
Octavian
The Roman Empire was largest under the Emperor Trajan in 117 CE and included ____________.
a) Greeks
b) Celts and Gauls
c) Egyptians and Africans
d) All of the above
d) All of the above
True or False
In ancient Rome, a dictator was selected to rule the country in a time of war or problems. He was expected to return power to the regular government once the crisis was over.
True
True or False
After his success in Egypt, Caesar was declared dictator for life instead of the usual term of six months.
True
True or False
Caesar was murdered by his wife, Calpurnia, in his own house on March 15, the “Ideas March”
False
Caesar led his army across the _______________ into Italy to fight Pompey and his army.
Rubicon River
__________, one of the most unpopular of the Roman Emperors and last emperor of Julius Caesar’s line, had his mother killed and allowed a fire to destroy Rome.
Nero
The beginning of the Roman Empire was also the beginning of a time of peace and riches in the Roman Empire known as the _______________.
Pax Ramona
A Pyramid style ____________, or order, determined the roles of every person within the Roman society.
hierarchy
Some enslaved people were even forced to fight to the death as ____________.
gladiators
To prevent revolts, the Romans used the possibility of __________, the ability to buy one’s freedom.
manumission
As a spoken language, ___________ was used throughout Roman history.
Latin
True or False
The Roman women were expected to work outside of the home and earn an adequate wage to help out with family expenses.
False
True or False
Plebeians might be what were called clients and they sought the patronage, or support, of a member of the patrician class.
True
True or False
As Rome extended its territories to include most of Europe and North Africa, the enslaved population grew to about 900,000 enslaved people in Rome in the first century CE.
False
_________, a popular leader of enslave people, led a rebellion in Sicily that lasted from 136 to 132 BCE.
Eunus
An enslaved person named _________ led another rebellion in Sicily form 104 to 100 BCE where about 200,00 enslaved people protested their conditions.
Flavius
_________, a gladiator, led a third revolt from 73 to 71 BCE where more than 100,000 enslaved people took part.
Spartacus
The word emperor means _____________.
supreme military commander
By the 200s CE, the Roman Empire contained all or part of more than __________ countries that exist today.
30
Since they were no longer conquering new countries from which they could get money, the emperors got money to enrich their soldiers and pay off the barbarians by raising __________.
taxes
The Germanic tribes’ original home was in the Scandinavian lands of today’s __________.
Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
True or False
In 251 the Goths, a large Germanic tribe, crossed the empires’s northern boarder and defeated a Roman army, killing the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
False
True or False
Around 312, Constantine defeated his three rivals and became emperor.
True
True or False
Diocletian, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire, appointed a co-emperor, Maximian, to rule the Western Roman Empire.
True
In 330, Constantine abandoned Rome and moved the capital to the old Geek city of Byzantium, where he built a splendid “New Rome,” which he named ______________ “Constantine City.”
Constantinople
On August 24, 410, Rome’s city gates opened to Alaric’s soldiers an for the first time in 800 years, Rome was at mercy of a “__________” army.
barbarian
The last Western Roman Emperor was ____________, whose name meant “little Augustus”
Romulus Augustus
