Study Guide 2 Semester Finals Flashcards
Romulus and Remus
Twin brothers who were abandoned near the Tiber River. Rescued by a wolf, raised up by a shepherd. Romulus attacked Remus and killed him. Romulus became the first king.
Aeneid
Story of the Trojan hero Aeneas. Landed at the mouth of the Tiber. Through warfare and then marriage to the local king’s daughter. He thus became the “father” of the Romans. Historians are not sure how Rome began.
The Etruscans
Rome’s early growth was influenced by the Etruscans. Laid out streets, temples, and buildings. Exposed the Romans to a new style of dress. Short cloaks and togas.
A Republic
A form of government in which the leader is not a king or queen but someone put in office by citizens with the right to vote.
Legion
Each had about 6,000 men and was further divided into groups of 60 to 120 soldiers. Armed with a short sword called a gladius and a spear called a pilum.
Patricians and Plebians
Divided into two classes: Patricians were wealthy landowners. Plebians consisted of artisans, shopkeepers, and owners of small farms.
Tripartite
Had a three part government. 1. One group ran the government. 2. One group made laws. 3. One group acted as judges.
Consuls
The top government officials. 1. Headed the army and ran the government. Could veto, or reject, the others decisions.
The Senate
Most important legislative or lawmaking body. Group of 300 patrician men who served for life. Gave advice to the consuls.
Roman Dictator
An oppressive ruler with complete control over the state. Senate appointed a dictator. Soon as the danger was past dictators gave up their power.
Cincinnatus
Best-known a Roman dictator. He left his farm, gathered an army, and defeated the enemy. He returns home afterwards. Did not want power.
The Twelve Tables
Rome’s first code of laws. Laws carved on bronze tablets that were placed in Rome’s marketplace.
The First Punic War
Both Carthage and Rome wanted to control the island of Sicily. Punicus: Latin word for “Phoenician”. Romans realized they could not defeat a sea power like Carthage. Quickly built a large fleet of ships and confronted their enemy at sea. Rome crushed Carthage.
The Second Punic War
Carthage expanded into southern Spain. To punish Rome, Carthage sent its greatest general, Hannibal. Gathered 46,000 men, horses, and elephants. Marched east to Italy. Suffered severe losses crossing the Alps. The Romans suffered a severe loss. Romans raised another army with a general named Scipio. Scipio’s troops defeated Carthaginians.
Problems for Farmers: Latifundia
Large farming estates created by wealthy Romans.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus
Two prominent officials. Brothers who thought that many of Rome’s problems were caused by the loss of small farms. They asked the Senate to take back public land and divid it among the landless Romans. Senators killed Tiberius. 12 years later Gaius met the same fate.
General Marius
Began to recruit soldiers from the poor. He paid them wages and promised them the one thing they desperately wanted… Land. Individual generals, good reason to become involved in politics.
Triumvirate
Three men were on top: Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar. They formed the First political alliance of three people.
Caesar
Each had a military command in a remote area of the republic. Caesar became a hero to Rome’s lower classes. 49 B.C. the Senate ordered Caesar to give up his army and come home.
Caesar Marches on Rome
Caesar decided to hold on to his 5,000 loyal soldiers. Crossing the Rubicon. “Crossing the Rubicon” is used today to mean making a decision that you cannot take back.
Caesar Rises to Power
Caesar had himself declared dictator of Rome for life. Reforms: Provided land for the landless. Created work. Created a calendar with 12 months, 365 days, and a leap year.
Caesars Death
These opponents led by the Senators, Brutus and Cassius, plotted to kill him. “Beware the Ides of March” (March 15) Caesars enemies surrounded him and stabbed him to the death.
The Second Triumvirate
Octavian took the west. Antony the the east. Antony fell in love with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Octavian declared war on Antony. Octavian, 32, stood alone at the top of the Roman World.
Augustus
Octavian also took the title of Augustus “the revered or majestic one.”
Pax Romana
Augustus paved peace and prosperity. A long era of peace began with Augustus and lasted until A.D. 180. Pax Roman, or “Roman Peace.”
Augustus’s Achievements
“I found Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble.”
Nero
Vicious, killed his mother and two wives. Fiddled while Rome burned, and committed suicide.
Vespasian
During his reign, Vespasian began construction of the Coliseum. A huge amphitheater, in central Rome.
Geography of Rome
Long, narrow peninsula with a distinctive shape. As a result, the people who settled in Italy were not split up into, small, isolated communities as as the Greeks.
