Rome Flashcards
Romulus and Remus
Demi-god twins raised by wolves/woodpecker, realized they were royal, Romulus killed Remus, Rome was created
Aeneas
Trojan hero/refugee of Troy in Virgil’s Aeneid
Etruscans
Originally from Anatolia, colonized Italy until Celtics, Greeks, and finally Romans invaded, who borrowed bronze, religion, (originally greek>) calendar, olives/grapes, alphabet, and military legions in phalanx formation
Social classes?
Patricians (landowners) and plebeians (commoners)
Roman republic organization?
Representative democracy of 2 consuls (exec.) praetor (jud.) 300 senate, assemblies of people, tribunes (legis.)
Roman forum
Center of political and legal activity (senate, assemblies, trials, etc)
Consuls
2 consuls, 1 yr term, commander of legions (army), kingly power, head of state, during war Romans chose a dictator
Praetor
Judges court, assumed authority when a consul was away
Senate
300 aristocratic elders, served for life, advised consuls, made and ratified laws
Assemblies of the people
Centuriate and Tribal assembly voted on legislative
Tribunes
Legislators elected by plebeians, to prevent civil war
Magistrates
High govt officials who advised
Twelve Tables
Written law code (everyone innocent until proven guilty, everyone equal under law, right for jury, criminal law, civil rights law, family, debt , business etc)
Punic wars
Rome vs Carthage, Rome won b/c general Hannibal of carth tried to conquer surrounding land with elephants but his soldiers grew tired by the time they reached Rome and we defeated so land they conquered was gained/start of empire outside Italy
1st Triumvirate
1st triumvirate (Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus), rises in popularity, names self dictator, centralize govt, land to poor, building projects, aristocrats threatened/assassinate
2nd Triumvirate
(Caesars grandnephew) Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus, divided empire with Antony taking east with Cleopatra Egypt, Octavian kills them thought they were taking over Rome (renames himself Princeps), end of republic begins empire (renames himself Augustus)
Augustus’ Empire
Monarchy disguises as republic w/ senate, increase centralization of political/military
Pax Romana
Roman peace (roadwork [The Appian Way], trade, concrete, aqueducts, sewage, colosseum, Circus Maximus, gladiator games “bread and circuses” distracted ppl from boredom, poor class increase, rich richer) “5 good emperors” after Augustus’ death
Paterfamilias
Dominant males, sons/male relative guardian, arranged young marraige
Slavery
1/3 of pop, feared for murdering owners, more slaves more prestige
Diocletian
Split the empire into east and west
German groups that invaded western Rome
the Huns (like from that awful movie Mulan) and the franks
Fall of western Rome
Invasion of Huns/Visigoths, inflation, Rome enters the dark/ Middle Ages 476, 1000 yrs later Byzantine empire invaded by Ottoman Empire Turks
Christianity
teaching of Jesus of Nazareth (Palestinian Jew grew up in Galilee), not tolerated by polytheistic Romans and Jews, offered hope to poor
