Rome Review Flashcards
geographical impacts on rome
warm weather
peninsula
mediterranean sea - trade
location (center of italy)
broad fertile plains
who were the early settlers
etruscans (early patricians)
etruscans impact on shaping the city
- alphabet from greeks
- arch in construction
- engineering techniques to drain the lands along the tiber
- etruscan gods and goddesses and merged them with the roman religion
start of the roman republic
romans drove out their etruscan ruler
in early republic, _____ made all laws and controlled the government
senate
who was in the senate
300 patricians
consul
an official appointed by a government to live in a foreign city and protect and promote the government’s citizens and interests there.
the senator’s job
- nominated two consuls from patricians
- supervised the business of government
- command the armies
(similar to president)
what might the senate do in the event of a war
choose a dictator (ruler who has complete control over government)
each dictator was granted power to rule for __________
6 months
no dictators took advantage of _______, did what was best for the well being of the Republic
power
cincinnatus
roman farmer chosen to be dictator
what did cincinnatus do
he was admired because he organized an army, led romans to victory
plebeians forced the senate to
choose plebeians as consuls, admit plebeians as members of the senate.
this made rome’s government more democratic
3 social groups
patricians, plebeians, slaves
subjects
people conquered by rome, not citizens but allowed to maintain their local government and traditions if they pay their taxes
slaves
people owned by romans, forced to work either in the fields or in the home
make up 1/3 of total population and do almost all the work
tribunes
an official in ancient rome chosen by plebeians to protect their interests
what could tribunes do
they could veto or block laws that they thought were harmful to plebeians
rome’s marketplace
the forum
why were the 12 tables created
plebeians argued that the citizens didn’t know what the laws were because they weren’t written down
what did the laws of the 12 tables make possible for plebeians
it made it possible for plebeians to appeal a judgement handed down by a patrician judge
role of women
- played a bigger role in society than greek women
- could own property and run a business.
- most women worked at home, raising their families
military unit
legion
dictator
elected during crisis, absolute control for up to 6 months
fight between rome and carthage
punic wars
hannibal
led carthage army in second punic war
effects of punic war
- rome is now the regional power
- carthage is destroyed
- rome has imperialism
problems of roman republic (decline of the republic)
- senate and political leaders both wanted to rule
- political leaders wanted to weaken senate
tiberius and gaius gracchus
- patrician brothers
- reformers (made changes to improve rome)
- murdered by patricians
- starts the civil war
- both tribunes
julius caesar
military commander
why was julius caesar famous
famous for conquering gaul
julius caesar was named dictator for ____
life
how did julius caesar die
he was stabbed to death by senators
what did people do because they were scared of caesar’s fame
pompey persuaded the senate to order caesar to disband his army and return to rome.
caesar defied this order, crushed pompey and his supporters, then forced the senate to make him dictator
triumvirate
3 men working together to run the government
mark antony
loyal friend of caesar and his chief general
ends up in egypt and falls in love with cleopatra
octavian
caesar’s grandnephew
what does octavian take advantage of
antony’s absence, becomes the only person in charge. he gets the title “augustus” from the senate after he defeats antony
reforms of julius caesar
- he launched a program of public works to employ the jobless
- gave public land to the poor
- granted citizenship to more people
- most important reform was the introduction to the new calendar
where and how did julius caesar die
murdered on the senate floor
augustus’ economic reforms
- ordered a census (population count) of the empire to make the tax system more fair
- set up a postal service and issued new coins to make trade easier
- he put the jobless to work building roads and temples and sent others to farm
the death of an emperor often led to __________
intrigue and violence
how long did pax romana last
200 years
road system in rome benefits
- all roads lead to rome
- encourages trade, leads to rome’s success
- provides easy and fast travel for military
bread and circuses
there are many holidays, supplied with free food, money, and entertainment
why are they needed- people didn’t think about being unemployed and very poor
rome decline
- invasians
- rise of christianity
- lack of faith in govt and emperor
- mercenaries start to fight for rome
diocletian
emperor of rome who divided the empire into east and west to rule the territory more effectively
509 BC
founding of the roman republic
27 BC - 188 AD
pax romana
322 AD
legalization of christianity by emperor constantine
476 AD
fall of western empire of rome
