Unit 2 Exam Flashcards
Prophetic Revolution
o 730-500 BC
o Threats from surrounding kingdoms (I.e., Assyrians), provoked a major change in the religion of the Israelites. This time period is referred to as the _______ _________.
o Judaism got a new emphasis through teaching of Prophets: men who claimed to be inspired by God.
o Most famous prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
o Major ideas of Prophets:
Monotheism- Prior to ___ _____, the Israelites believed the gods of other peoples existed. They didn’t worship their gods, but they accepted the difference in beliefs. Now, they viewed that there is ONLY ONE GOD.
God=good, evil=man and comes from people’s sins.
God demands ethical behavior from his believers, they should act morally and clean up their act.
First Triumvate
o Came about after the slave-gladiator revolt led by Spartacus.
o Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar joined forces to direct and run the Roman empire and the Senate.
o In 58 BC, Caesar goes after Gaul (one of the first to look west instead of east {Eastern side of Rome=RICH}).
He also invaded Britain and began fighting with them.
o Caesar emerges at the top of the ___ ___.
o Crassus gets killed on the battlefield.
o Pompey vs Caesar: Caesar is victorious 49 BC.
Pompey fled to Egypt b/c it was rich and wanted an ally w/ Pharaoh to defeat Caesar.
• Ptolemy (Pharaoh) beheaded Pompey and sent his head to Caesar to befriend him.
• Caesar gave his support to Ptolemy’s co-rule, Cleopatra VII (had an affair together and had a son).
Caesar returned to Rome and became dictator where he launched the Julian calendar.
Was then stabbed to death (44 BC) by members of the Roman Senate (led by Brutus) because he had lots of power and the Romans were afraid, he’d become a king.
Cleopatra
o This was the queen of Egypt whom Julius Caesar had an affair with and had a son together.
o Mark Anthony of the 2nd Triumvirate also fell victim to her beauty and poise; they had 3 children together.
o She was not necessarily drop-dead gorgeous, BUT she was funny, smart, well-educated, and paid attention to the wants and desires of the man she was with –> proved very useful in keeping a man wrapped around her finger.
o In 31 BC, she committed suicide.
Octavian/Caesar Augustus
o This was the adopted son of Julius Caesar.
o He was a part of the 2nd Triumvirate along with Mark Anthony and Lepidus.
Together they led an attack against Brutus and defeated him in 42 BC.
o Mark Anthony and _____ had some tension between them and eventually Mark Anthony lost power to ____.
o ____ defeated Mark Antony in 31 BC and took control of Egypt.
o He returns to Rome in 27 BC and is immediately appointed consul and is elected as the emperor/supreme ruler (NOT KING).
He preferred to be called the “Princep” meaning “first citizen”.
This period is called the Pricipate, under the Princep.
o Takes title of Augustus, meaning “blessed one”.
Marc Antony
o This guy was a part of the 2nd Triumvirate (him, Octavian, and Lepidus) and led an attack against Brutus, whom they defeated in 42 BC.
o He left for Egypt after defeating Brutus where he met Cleopatra.
He fell victim to Cleopatra’s beauty, poise, and her nature. They had 3 children together.
• During this time, he lost power to Octavian and was defeated in 31 BC by Octavian.
Battle of Actium
o 31 BC.
o This was the battle that broke out between Octavian and Marc Antony of the 2nd Triumvirate.
o Octavian came out as the victor.
Principate
o This is the period of time in which Octavian rules over the Roman Empire as Consul and Supreme Ruler (AGAIN NOT KING).
o Also, the period of time that Rome is under the rule of Princeps (STARTED BY OCTAVIAN).
o 27 BC
o It is called this b/c Octavian preferred to be called “Princep” meaning “first citizen” b/c he knew that if he was called Emperor, the Senate would kill him.
Tiberius
o This was the stepson of Augustus who was the heir who succeeded Augustus’ throne after his death.
o He was a claudian – of Julius Caesar’s family.
o He came to power at 55 years of age and proved to be an ok leader during the The Year of the 4 Emperors (all claudians).
Each Emperor succeeded each other through violence.
Praetorian Guard
o This was the Palace Guard.
o They killed Nero in 68 AD.
o Tiberius killed the head of the ____ ____ after they had overstepped his power in TIberius’s absence.
Five Good Emperors
o Around 96AD, Rome started to improve.
o 96-180AD.
o “Golden Age” of Rome.
o This was a period of stability in Roman Empire.
Fixed their succession problem.
• Current emperor appoints his successor in his lifetime and they work together and successor takes over when the emperor dies.
o 5 _____: Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pius, Marcus Aurelius.
o Nerva- Ended the laws that let Domitian rule as a tyrant.
o Trajan- “Model emperor”, expanded the empire.
o Hadrian- Built a wall at the narrowest point in the island to keep Barbarians out and tell the army where to stop.
o Antonius Pius- Most popular and longest period of peace under his reign.
o Marcus Aurelius- Stoic general, last of the ___ ___ ____.
Viewed Christianity as a disruptive force and had it persecuted.
Left the throne to his son, Commodus.
Commodus
o Son of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the 5 Good Emperors.
o After his father died, he left the throne to ____, who was a selfish jerk.
o Believed he was the reincarnation of Hercules and spent most of his time at gladiatorial games.
o His mistress’ friends strangled him in a bathtub.
Age of Anxiety
o 235-285AD.
o Unstable period of Rome.
o 26 emperors in 50 years, where only 1 died a natural death.
o External foes = Persians and Germans.
o No rule, insecurity in Roman power, and no security.
o Common people rioted when they didn’t get food or entertainment.
o No reliable succession —> Life and Political uncertainty.
o Army sucked: no discipline, no professionalism, plague created shortage of men.
Barracks Emperors- Put into power by their troops, lasted very briefly. —> Troops only wanted the benefits of having their general as Emperor.
Army became CORRUPT.
Diocletian
o Emperor 285-305AD.
o Ended the Age of Anxiety in Rome.
o He divided the Empire into 2, making it easier to rule.
West=poor, East=rich.
o Got rid of “Barracks Emperors”.
Reestablished the 5 Good Emperors succession method (“Emperor-in-waiting”).
Constantine
o 312-337AD
o United Western and Eastern Roman Empire.
o Became a Christian after winning a battle and being inspired by a Christian vision.
Battle at Millikan Bridge 312AD.
o Founded a new capital at Byzantium, called it Constantinople.
o There were many different forms of Christianity and he wanted to unify the belief and make it strong.
Led to the creation of the Council of Nicaea 325AD.
• Nicacean creed (Short version = Apostle’s Creed.
• Statement of belief for Christianity —> 3 Gods, 1 Being
o God the Father, Jesus the Son, Holy Spirt (energy, generates faith).
o Made Orthodox (standard Christianity) belief enforced by the State.
5th century AD when Rome falls, ppl who don’t accept the beliefs of the Holy Trinity will be prosecuted by the Eastern Empire.
Theodosius
o Emperor who pacified the Goths by giving them territory in the Balkans.
o 379-395AD.
o Major policy decision during his reign: Make Christianity the official religion to supreme paganism and Christians who didn’t accept the Orthodox belief / Standard definition of who Jesus Christ was.
o Divided the empire between his 2 sons, they competed against each other and used Barbarians as a weapon against the other.
