States Questions—Novice Flashcards
What Roman consul put his own sons, Titus and Tiberius, to death for leading a conspiracy against the infant Republic?
(L. IUNIUS) BRUTUS
B1: In what year did Brutus serve as consul?
509 B.C.
B2: Titus and Tiberius were executed for attempting to restore what king?
TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS
According to legend, what early Roman ruler learned a spell which could control lightning thanks to his divine correspondence on the Palatine Hill with the nymph Egeria?
NUMA POMPILIUS
B1: That lightning spell would have been helpful for what other early Roman ruler who was killed when lightning struck the building in which he was performing sacrifices to Jupiter Elicius?
TULLUS HOSTILIUS
B2: What other early Roman ruler was said to be the consort of the goddess Fortuna,
whom he dedicated a temple to?
SERVIUS TULLIUS
At what battle of 218 BC did the future Scipio Africanus save his father’s life?
TICINUS
B1: What battle that same year did the defeat of Scipio and his co-consul Sempronius Longus convince the Gallic tribes to join Hannibal?
TREBIA
B2: At what battle of 206 did the future Africanus defeat Hasdrubal, effectively ridding Spain of Carthaginian influence?
ILIPA
Who deposed the last Roman emperor in the West in 476 AD?
ODOACER
B1: What earlier Visigothic king had sacked Rome?
ALARIC
B2: In what year did Alaric sack Rome?
410 AD
Who, the last member of the Severan dynasty, was killed in 235 A.D.?
SEVERUS ALEXANDER
B1: What very tall Thracian became emperor after the death of Severus Alexander?
MAXIMINUS THRAX
B2: Maximinus Thrax was the first of a series of military style emperors who ruled Rome until the rise of Diocletian. What name is given to these emperors?
BARRACKS EMPERORS
All those Julia’s! You might have found it hard to distinguish between them all. Which “Julia” was the mother of the wife of the founder of the Severan Dynasty?
JULIA DOMNA
B1: Which Julia was the mother of Elagabalus and the niece of Julia Domna?
JULIA SOEMIAS
B2: Which Julia was the mother of Julia Soemias?
JULIA MAESA
At what battle, in 53 B.C., did a Parthian army destroy three Roman legions?
CARRHAE
B1: What Roman commander was killed at this battle?
CRASSUS
B2: Of what Roman province was Crassus serving as proconsul at the time?
SYRIA
At what battle in 197 BC was Philip V finally defeated?
CYNOSCEPHALAE
B1: At what battle was Philip’s son, Perseus, finally defeated?
PYDNA
B2: What year was that battle?
168 BC
What hilltop fort, built by Herod the Great in 31 BC, proved to be the last stronghold of Jewish revolt against the Flavians, until it was finally taken after a six month siege?
MASADA
B1: Who was the Roman commander who finally took the fort?
FLAVIUS SILVA
B2: What year was Masada finally taken?
73 AD
Who was the first person to be buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus when he died of a fever in 23 BC?
Marcus Claudius MARCELLUS
B1: Which of the Five Good Emperors was the last to be buried in the Mausoleum when he died in 98 AD?
NERVA
B2: With Marcellus’ death, Augustus seemed to promote what man, who convinced Octavian to engage Antony at Actium and built the original Pantheon, as heir?
AGRIPPA
Who, in 458 B.C., left his plow in order to save the Roman army at Mr. Algidus?
CINCINNATUS
B1: What enemy tribe had trapped the Roman army at Mt. Algidus?
AEQUI
B2: Cincinnatus resigned his dictatorship after how many days in office?
16
Who divided the Roman world into four sections, a government known as the Tetrarchy, in 293 A.D.?
DIOCLETIAN
B1: Whom did Diocletian designate as his co-Augustus in the original Tetrarchy?
MAXIMIAN
B2: In what year did Diocletian abdicate and retire as emperor?
305 (A.D.)
What emperor retired twice in his career, once to Rhodes in 6 BC, and more famously to Capri in 26 AD?
TIBERIUS
B1: Name either of the grandson’s of Augustus whose deaths in 2 AD and 4 AD prompted Tiberius to return to public life.
GAIUS or LUCIUS CAESAR
B2: Name the other.
GAIUS or LUCIUS CAESAR
What temple, built in 2 BC, did Augustus build in his forum to celebrate his avenging both Crassus’ defeat at Carrhae and the assassination of Julius Caesar?
MARS ULTOR
B1: What temple in the Campus Martius, famous for its oculus was originally built by
Agrippa?
PANTHEON
B2: The Pantheon as it appears today is not the building built by Agrippa, but rather was built by what later Roman Emperor?
HADRIAN
The successful defense of the Republic from what event prompted the senate to bestow the title of pater patriae on Cicero?
CATILINARIAN CONSPIRACY
B1: One of the major arguments in the senate was over the punishment of the conspirators. What man, recently elected Pontifex Maximus in 63 BC, advocated for life imprisonment rather than execution of the conspirators?
JULIUS CAESAR
B2: Who defeated Catiline at the Battle of Pistoria, thus ending his threat to the Republic?
M. PETREIUS
Which emperor, preceded by his brother and his father, was assassinated in 96 A.D.?
DOMITIAN
B1: Who succeeded Domitian as emperor?
NERVA
B2: Against which enemy nation, ultimately conquered by Trajan in 106 A.D., did Domitian fight a war?
DACIA
The revolt of Lentulus Gaetulicus in 39 A.D. took place during the reign of what Julio-Claudian emperor?
CALIGULA
B1: In what year did Tiberius die, paving the way for Caligula to become emperor?
37 A.D.
B2: What tribune of the praetorian guard assassinated Caligula in 41 A.D.
CASSIUS CAEREA
What emperor’s numerous battlefield victories prompted the Senate to grant the title Restitutor Orbis in 272 AD?
AURELIAN
B1: Aurelian’s defeat of what Palmyran queen, helped prompt the senate to grant him the title Restitutor Orientis?
ZENOBIA
B2: Aurelian’s recovery of what eastern province also prompted the senate to give him the title Restitutor Orbis?
EGYPT
Prior to fighting successful wars against Fidenae, Veii, and the Sabines, what Roman king was forced to deal with Alba Longa when their king Mettius Fufetius refused to abide by the terms set forth by the result of the duel between the Horatii and the Curiatii?
TULLUS HOSTILIUS
B1: Give the praenomen of the only surviving member of the Horatii triplets, which is abbreviated P.
PUBLIUS
B2: Why did Publius Horatius kill his sister following the duel?
SHE MOURNED THE DEATH OF ONE OF THE CURIATII (TO WHOM SHE WAS ENGAGED)
What king of Pontus initially tried to commit suicide in 63 BC by ingesting poison, but was unsuccessful due to a tolerance that he had built up?
MITHRIDATES (VI)
B1: What Roman commander had victories over Mithridates at Cyzicus in 73 BC and Cabria in 72, but was unable to continue his war due to a mutiny by his troops in 69?
LUCULLUS
B2: Who finally defeated Mithridates in 66 at Nicopolis?
POMPEY
In what Roman province was Saguntum located, the city which was besieged by Hannibal in 219 BC, the casus belli of the Second Punic War?
HISPANIA
B1: What river in Spain did Hannibal cross to break the Carthaginian treaty with Rome?
EBRO / IBERUS
B2: Name one of Hannibal’s brothers who also held command of the Carthaginian army during the Second Punic War.
HASDRUBAL / MAGO
Who built the first stone wall around Rome and was the first to divide Rome into classes based on wealth?
SERVIUS TULLIUS
B1: What wife of Tarquinius Priscus secured the throne for Servius Tullius?
TANAQUIL
B2: What happened that Tanaquil predicted Tullius’ accession to the throne?
HIS HEAD BURST INTO FLAMES BUT HE WAS UNHARMED
Which enemy king was defeated at Cynosephalae in 197 B.C.?
PHILIP V
B1: What Roman was victorious in this battle?
(T. QUINCTIUS) FLAMININUS
B2: Historians point to this battle as proof of the superiority of the Roman legion over what Greek battle formation?
PHALANX
The battles of Trebia River, Ticinus River, Lake Trasimine, and Metaurus River all occurred during which war?
SECOND PUNIC WAR
B1: Who was victorious at the first three battles in this conflict?
HANNIBAL
B2: What brother of Hannibal was defeated at Metaurus River?
HASDRUBAL
What office was assumed for only 16 days by the farmer Cincinnatus in order to save a Roman army in 458 BC?
DICTATOR
B1: How long was one legally allowed to hold the dictatorship?
6 MONTHS
B2: At what battle did Cincinnatus defeat the Aequi to save the army of Minucius?
MT. ALGIDUS
Who was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 306 AD, but did not gain control of the Western Empire until 313 AD after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge?
CONSTANTINE I/THE GREAT
B1: Where was Constantine proclaimed emperor by his troops?
EBURACHUM/YORK
B2: Constantine finally became sole emperor when he executed what co-emperor in 324 AD?
LICINIUS
Which of Rome’s kings established the first census?
SERVIUS TULLIUS
B1: Servius Tullius established a temple to which goddess on the Aventine Hill?
DIANA
B2: Who succeeded Servius Tullius as king?
TARQUINIUS PRISCUS
Who, after seeing a vision in a dream on the eve of a battle in 312 A.D., led his soldiers to victory and then converted to Christianity?
CONSTANTINE
B1: Constantine had this dream on the eve of what battle?
MILVIAN / MULVIAN BRIDGE
B2: What Latin phrase was reportedly said to Constantine as the chi-rho monogram flashed before him?
IN HŌC SIGNŌ VINCĒS
What province did Julius Caesar conquer from 58-52 B.C.?
GAUL / GALLIA
B1: What Gallic chieftain defeated Julius Caesar at Gergovia in 52 B.C.?
\VERCINGETORIX
B2: Where did Julius Caesar defeat Vercingetorix later that year?
ALESIA
What king, whose hut the Romans claimed was on the Palatine Hill, was discovered by a shepherd as a baby after being left in the River Tiber by his great-uncle, Amulius?
ROMULUS
B1: What was the name of the shepherd who found Romulus and his brother, Remus?
FAUSTULUS
B2: What was the name of that shepherd’s wife?
ACCA LARENTIA
What emperors immediately preceded and succeeded Nerva?
DOMITIAN & TRAJAN
B1: From what years did Nerva reign?
96-98 AD
B2: What did the senate force Nerva to do in order for him to become emperor?
ADOPT TRAJAN AS HIS HEIR
What war in Roman history began as a territorial dispute over the island of Sicily and lasted from 264 to 241 B.C.?
FIRST PUNIC WAR
B1: What battle ended this war?
AEGATES ISLANDS
B2: Who was the victorious Roman admiral at this battle?
(Q. LUTATIUS) CATULUS
Who lost three Roman legions at Teutoburg Forest, prompting Augustus to have a meltdown?
VARUS
B1: What year was this battle?
9 AD
B2: Who was the victorious German commander?
HERMAN/ARMINIUS
Who, following failures by Hostilius Mancinus and Quintus Pompeius, succeeded in capturing the Celtiberian stronghold of Numantia in 133 BC after previously proving himself in the decade prior when he led the destruction of Carthage?
SCIPIO AEMILIANUS
B1: What future tribune, who had served under Scipio at Carthage, saved Hostilius Mancinus by signing a treaty with the Numantines in 137 BC?
TIBERIUS GRACCHUS
B2: What colony did Tiberius Gracchus’ brother Gaius attempt to found on the site of the destroyed Carthage in 122 BC?
JUNONIA
What emperor from Lugdunum reigned from 41-54 AD?
CLAUDIUS
B1: What emperor from Italica reigned from 98-117 AD?
TRAJAN
B2: What emperor from Leptis Magna reigned from 193-211 AD?
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
During what emperor’s reign did Avidius Cassius lead the second Roman sacking of the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon in 166 AD?
MARCUS AURELIUS // LUCIUS VERUS
B1: During what emperor’s reign had Ctesiphon first been sacked by the Romans?
TRAJAN
B2: In Cary & Scullard’s A History of Rome, the spoil that the Romans stripped off the Parthians during the campaign of Avidius Cassius is described as a shirt of Nessus. Why?
THEY BROUGHT BACK THE (ANTONINE) PLAGUE
Who pursued the last major persecution of Christians in the Western Roman Empire through a series of edicts starting in 303 AD?
DIOCLETIAN
B1: Diocletian was most famous for dividing the empire into a tetrarchy. Who was
Diocletian’s co-Augustus?
MAXIMIAN
B2: Who were the two co-Caesars who also helped rule the empire?
GALERIUS and CONSTANTIUS
Lipari Islands, Cape Passaro, Aegates Islands, and Mylae were all battles fought during what war which lasted from 264-241 BC?
FIRST PUNIC WAR
B1: What admiral won Rome’s first ever naval victory at Mylae?
Gaius DUILIUS
B2: At what battle of the First Punic War did the Praetor Valerius Falco take command of the fleet and win the war for the Romans?
AEGATES ISLANDS
Name both of the two major battles that Julius Caesar lost
GERGOVIA and DYRRHACHIUM
B1: Who was the Gallic chieftain who defeated Caesar at Gergovia?
VERCINGETORIX
B2: Of what Gallic tribe was Vercingetorix the head?
ARVERNI
What Roman commander, after a ten year war, sacked the Etruscan city of Veii in 396 A.D.?
CAMILLUS
B1: Give Camillus’ full name.
MARCUS FURIUS CAMILLUS
B2: Because he convinced the Romans not to abandon the city after the Gauls invaded in 390 B.C., what name was given to Camillus?
SECOND FOUNDER OF ROME
Which emperor retired to the island of Capri in 26 A.D.?
TIBERIUS
B1: During Tiberius’ absence in Rome, what Praetorian Prefect dominated the government?
SEJANUS
B2: In what year did Tiberius die?
37 A.D
What Dalmatian peasant came to power after defeating the emperor Carinus in 285 AD, which led to the institution of the tetrarchy eight years later?
(GAIUS AURELIUS VALERIUS) DIOCLETIAN / DIOCLETIANUS
B1: At what battle did Diolcetian defeat Carinus to take control of the empire?
RIVER MARGUS
B2: Name the three men who made up the other members of the tetrarchy, along with Diocletian.
(CONSTANTIUS) CHLORUS, MAXIMIAN, GALERIUS