roman history last test

Who were the principal leaders of the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar?

Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus were the ringleaders.

What did Caesar reportedly say when he saw Brutus among his attackers?

Caesar reportedly said in Greek, “καὶ σὺ τέκνον;” (“You too, my child?”). The famous “Et tu, Brute?” comes from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.

Why did Brutus oppose killing Mark Antony along with Caesar?

Cassius favored killing Antony too, but Brutus opposed it because he wanted the conspirators to appear to have pure motives. Gaius Trebonius distracted Antony outside the Senate house during the attack.

What did Brutus’s Ides of March coin depict?

It celebrated the assassination with two daggers and the cap given to a freedman, symbols associated with the killing and liberation.

What was Mark Antony’s position in 44 B.C.?

He was Julius Caesar’s colleague as consul.

What was Mark Antony’s family background?

Antony was a plebeian noble. His grandfather Marcus was a noted orator, consul in 99, and censor in 97 B.C.; Marius’s supporters killed him in 87 B.C.

What happened to Antony’s father?

His father Marcus was praetor in 74 B.C. and received a command against pirates.

Who was Antony’s mother, and whom did she marry after his father died?

His mother was Julia, a relative of Julius Caesar. She later married a man who had been among the Catilinarian conspirators executed by Cicero in 63 B.C.

Who were Antony’s brothers, and what happened to them?

Antony had younger brothers Gaius and Lucius. Lucius was consul in 41 B.C.

How did the public initially react to Caesar’s assassination?

The assassins expected to be celebrated as tyrant-killers and liberators, but only a minority of the public welcomed Caesar’s death.

What political compromise followed the assassination?

Caesar’s acts and decrees were declared valid, and an amnesty was promised to those involved in the killing. The amnesty was later revoked, and most assassins died violently.

How did Mark Antony gain an advantage after Caesar’s death?

Antony obtained Caesar’s money and memoranda from Caesar’s widow Calpurnia. The money strengthened him, and he was suspected of forging documents and claiming they came from Caesar.

Who inherited most of Caesar’s estate?

Caesar’s great-nephew Gaius Octavius had been adopted by Caesar and was named heir to three-quarters of the estate. He was eighteen and in Apollonia in Illyria when Caesar died.

What names did Octavian use over his lifetime?

He was born Gaius Octavius in 63 B.C.; after adoption he became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus.

Who became Pontifex Maximus after Caesar’s death?Who became Pontifex Maximus after Caesar’s death?

What were the two broad political sides between March and November 44 B.C.?

One side wanted to restore the Republic as it had existed before the Civil War; Cicero was associated with this position. The Caesarians supported Caesar, but initially Antony and Lepidus were stronger than Octavian.

Which armed leaders remained important after Caesar’s death?

Brutus, Cassius, Decimus Brutus, and Sextus Pompeius had armies that made them important until they were defeated.

What sources help historians study the period from Caesar’s death to the Triumvirate?

Cicero’s letters and Philippics, letters written to Cicero, later accounts by Plutarch, Suetonius, Appian, and Cassius Dio, and summaries of Livy’s lost books 116–120.

How does historian Matthias Gelzer characterize the immediate aftermath of Caesar’s death?

The assassination caused terror and a political vacuum rather than an immediate Senate takeover. Gelzer argued that the events led toward another civil war lasting thirteen years.

What question did Gaius Matius reportedly raise about the political crisis?

Matius asked, that if Caesar—with all his genius—could not find a solution, who could now find one? Cicero quoted him in a letter to Atticus.

What did Gelzer argue about Caesar’s legacy?

Despite his assassination, Caesar remained the victor because subsequent political developments followed the lines he had established. Rome’s popular oligarchy gave way to a military monarchy backed by a standing army.

Why did Brutus’s approval of Caesar’s public funeral become a fatal error?

The will revealed that every Roman citizen was to receive 75 denarii and that Caesar left gardens across the Tiber to the people. Antony’s emotional eulogy and display of Caesar’s bloodied, stabbed robe stirred public anger.

What happened after Antony’s funeral speech?

The crowd called for the assassins to be killed, burned Caesar’s body on a huge pyre, and tried to burn the assassins’ houses.

Who was Cinna the poet, and what happened to him?

The mob killed the tribune C. Helvius Cinna, a supporter of Caesar, after mistaking him for the praetor L.

Where and when was Octavian born, and who were his parents?

He was born on September 23, 63 B.C., at Velitrae. His father, Gaius Octavius, became praetor in 61 and proconsul in Macedonia but died when Octavian was four.

What did Octavian do during Caesar’s Spanish campaign in 45 B.C.?

Although only about seventeen, he joined his great-uncle in Spain despite a shipwreck and dangerous roads, earning Caesar’s respect.

How did Octavian secure Caesar’s inheritance and citizen bequests?

He returned to Rome after the assassination to claim his inheritance. When Antony refused to give him the money Caesar had left to each citizen, Octavian paid the bequests from his own resources.

Why did Octavian temporarily ally with the aristocrats against Antony?

He opposed Antony and joined the optimates. Cicero believed he could use Octavian to defeat Antony and then dispose of Octavian, a major miscalculation

What were Cicero’s Philippics?

Between September 2, 44, and April 21, 43 B.C., Cicero delivered fourteen speeches attacking Mark Antony.

Why did Antony besiege Mutina, and what happened there?

Antony tried to take control of Cisalpine Gaul from Decimus Brutus and besieged Mutina. On April 21, 43 B.C., Aulus Hirtius and Octavian defeated Antony, who fled to Gaul and joined Lepidus.

What happened to the consuls during the Mutina campaign?

Hirtius was killed at Mutina. The other consul, Gaius Vibius Pansa, died two days after the earlier Battle of Forum Gallorum from his wounds.

Why did Octavian refuse to cooperate with Decimus Brutus after Mutina?

Decimus Brutus had been one of Caesar’s assassins, and Octavian refused to cooperate with him.

How did Octavian become consul in 43 B.C.?

He demanded election, marched eight legions to Rome, and was elected consul on August 19 at age nineteen alongside his relative Quintus Pedius.

Why was the month Sextilis renamed?

Octavian chose to have Sextilis, the month of his first consulship, named for himself rather than September, the month of his birth. Sextilis later became August.

How did Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian form their alliance in 43 B.C.?

They negotiated near Bologna on a small island and divided the Roman world among themselves. Their most difficult dispute concerned which people would be killed in the proscriptions.

What were the proscriptions of 43 B.C.?

They were lists of people marked for execution and confiscation of property, modeled on Sulla’s earlier proscriptions. The three leaders exchanged enemies and even sacrificed relatives and allies.

What was the human cost of the Second Triumvirs’ proscriptions?

About three hundred men were proscribed and killed, including Cicero. Cicero’s head and right hand were displayed over the rostra.

What marriage briefly linked Octavian and Antony’s family?

What did Plutarch criticize about the Triumvirs’ exchange of victims?What did Plutarch criticize about the Triumvirs’ exchange of victims?

Plutarch considered it especially cruel that each leader surrendered relatives or friends to be killed in exchange for killing his own enemies.

What law established the Second Triumvirate, and when?

The lex Titia, proposed by tribune P. Titius, established it on November 27, 43 B.C.

Who were the Second Triumvirs, and what powers did they receive?

Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian became triumviri rei publicae constituendae (“triumvirs for restoring the state”). The lex Titia gave them sweeping powers, including consular imperium, for five years.

How long did the Second Triumvirate last formally?

It was initially authorized through the end of 38 B.C. and renewed for another five years.

How did Cicero’s son fare after the proscriptions?

Cicero’s son Marcus survived and became suffect consul in 30 B.C.

How did Ronald Syme assess Cicero’s final political actions?

Syme described Cicero as humane and cultivated but argued that his decision to raise Caesar’s heir against Antony made the last year of his life ruinous for the Roman people.

What happened at the two battles of Philippi in 42 B.C.?

Brutus and Cassius commanded nineteen legions against Antony and Octavian. In the first battle Brutus defeated Octavian, while Antony defeated Cassius; Cassius mistakenly thought all was lost and committed suicide.

What happened to Porcia after Philippi?

Porcia, Brutus’s wife and daughter of Cato the Younger, killed herself after learning that her husband and her brother had died.

Who were the last major Republican forces after Philippi?

Sextus Pompeius, based in Sicily, remained the principal Republican force. He was defeated in 36 B.C.

How does Shakespeare portray Brutus’s death and Antony’s judgment of him?

What responsibilities did Octavian and Antony take on after Philippi?What responsibilities did Octavian and Antony take on after Philippi?

Octavian returned to Italy to settle veterans by confiscating land, while Antony went east to Asia Minor and extracted large sums of money from the province of Asia.

Why did Octavian face unrest in Italy after Philippi?

He had to provide land for many veterans by displacing Italian farmers, who resisted. He lacked money to compensate the evicted farmers, while Sextus Pompeius’s control of the seas blocked food imports to Rome.

How did Antony’s meeting with Cleopatra begin?

What was Sextus Pompeius doing during these civil wars?

What did Appian identify as the cause of military insubordination?

Why did desertion become common in the civil wars, according to Appian?

Desertion, once unpardonable, could be rewarded. Since each side claimed to serve the country and no side clearly fought a common foreign enemy, soldiers could justify switching sides.

What was the Perusine War of 41–40 B.C.?

Lucius Antonius, Mark Antony’s brother, and Fulvia led an anti-Octavian movement in Italy. Octavian’s forces besieged them at Perusia (Perugia), forced their surrender, and sacked the city.

What happened to Lucius Antonius and Fulvia after the Perusine War?

Lucius Antonius was pardoned and sent to Spain, where he died soon afterward. Fulvia, Mark Antony’s wife and previously married to P.

What was the Pact of Brundisium in 40 B.C.?

What is the significance of Vergil’s Fourth Eclogue in this period?

What was the Treaty of Misenum in 39 B.C.?

The Triumvirs Antony and Octavian reached an agreement with Sextus Pompeius.

Why did the Treaty of Misenum fail?

The agreement soon broke down and war resumed. Sextus never received the Peloponnesus.

What did Sextus Pompeius’s coin legends communicate?

His coin used MAG(NVS) PIVS IMP(ERATOR) ITER(VM): Magnus echoed his father’s name, Pius signaled loyalty to his father’s memory, and Imperator for the second time claimed military distinction.

How was Sextus Pompeius defeated in 36 B.C.?

What happened at the Battle of Naulochus?

On September 3, 36 B.C., Sextus Pompeius risked everything in a naval battle and was defeated.

Who was Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa?

Agrippa (c. 63–12 B.C.) was a key commander and admiral for Octavian.

What were Agrippa’s major military achievements and family connections?

He defeated Sextus Pompeius at Mylae and Naulochus in 36 B.C. and Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 B.C.

What was Octavian doing in Illyria in 35–33 B.C.?

He conducted the Illyrian War in 35 B.C., with further campaigning in 34 and 33 B.C.

What happened in Antony’s campaigns against Parthia?

What were Antony’s later campaigns in Armenia?

Who was Cleopatra VII?Who was Cleopatra VII?

Cleopatra VII (69–30 B.C.) was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt.

What were the Donations of Alexandria in 34 B.C.?

Antony assigned kingdoms to Cleopatra’s children, including some territory that had been part of Roman provinces. Alexander Helios was proclaimed ruler of Armenia, Cleopatra Selene ruler of Cyrenaica, and Ptolemy Philadelphus ruler of Syria and Cilicia.

What children did Antony have with Cleopatra?

They had twins Alexander Helios (“sun”) and Cleopatra Selene (“moon”), and a younger son, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

Who was Ptolemy Caesarion, and was he Julius Caesar’s son?

Caesarion was Cleopatra’s son by Julius Caesar. Ancient and modern opinion is divided over whether he was truly Caesar’s son; Plutarch treats him as Caesar’s child, while Suetonius discusses the question.

How did Octavian use Antony’s will in the final confrontation?

Octavian learned that Antony’s will was deposited with the Vestal Virgins, seized it, and read it to the Senate. It included Antony’s wish to be buried alongside Cleopatra, which Octavian could use as propaganda against him.

How did Octavian prepare politically for war against Antony and Cleopatra?

Octavian had war declared on Cleopatra and had Italy and the western territories swear allegiance to him. The consuls of 32 and many senators fled to Antony.

What forces did Antony and Octavian reportedly bring to Actium?What forces did Antony and Octavian reportedly bring to Actium?

According to Plutarch, Antony had 500 warships, 100,000 infantry, and 12,000 cavalry. Octavian had 250 warships, 80,000 infantry, and nearly as many cavalry as Antony.

When and where was the Battle of Actium, and who won?

The decisive naval battle was fought on September 2, 31 B.C., at Actium in northwest Greece. Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa’s forces won for Octavian.

What happened during the Battle of Actium?

Antony’s ships unusually kept their masts and canvas aboard. Cleopatra escaped from the bay with sixty ships and sailed for Egypt; Antony followed.

What did Octavian’s victory at Actium mean?

It made Octavian master of the Roman world and ended the struggle with Antony and Cleopatra

What was built after the Battle of Actium?

Octavian built the city of Nicopolis, meaning “victory city,” near Actium to commemorate the victory.

What years did Augustus rule?

31 B.C. to A.D. 14.

Who was Livia Drusilla?

Augustus’s wife (58 B.C.–A.D. 29) and the mother of Tiberius.

How was Livia represented on a Roman coin?

As Pietas, the personification of duty and devotion, on a dupondius.

What was a dupondius worth according to the slides?

One-eighth of a denarius.

What major change to Rome’s territory occurred under Augustus?

Rome continued expanding, adding territories and using client kingdoms.

What happened at Actium on September 2, 31 B.C.?

Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra’s fleet; Antony’s land army surrendered soon afterward.

Where did Antony and Cleopatra go after Actium?

They returned to Egypt.

Why did Octavian go to Brundisium in early 30 B.C.?

He heard that troops he had sent to Italy had mutinied.

How did Octavian reach Egypt in 30 B.C.?

He marched through Macedonia, Asia Minor, and Syria.

What happened at Alexandria on August 1, 30 B.C.?

How did Mark Antony die?

He committed suicide after being misled into believing Cleopatra had killed herself.

How did Cleopatra die?

She killed herself on August 12, 30 B.C., reportedly by an asp’s bite.

Which of Antony and Cleopatra’s children did Octavian have killed?

Caesarion and one of Mark Antony’s sons by Fulvia; he spared the other children.

What special status did Egypt have under Roman rule?

It was the emperor’s personal possession, governed by an equestrian prefect or governor; senators needed special permission to enter.

What triumphs did Octavian celebrate in August 29 B.C.?

Three triumphs on successive days: for victories in Dalmatia, at Actium, and in Egypt.

How did Horace react to Cleopatra’s death in Odes I.37?

He began “Nunc est bibendum” (“Now is the time for drinking”), celebrating victory while admiring Cleopatra’s courage in avoiding a Roman triumph.

What did Horace accuse Cleopatra of threatening?

How did Velleius Paterculus describe Octavian’s victory?

As ending civil and foreign wars, restoring peace and the laws, and restoring dignity to the Senate and the traditional form of the republic.

When did Velleius Paterculus write his history?

A.D. 30, during Tiberius’s reign.

When was the Second Triumvirate established, and under what law?

The Lex Titia established it in November 43 B.C.; it was later renewed for five years.

What happened to Lepidus in 36 B.C.?