Pavlac: Rome

Roman Empire

The vast state ruled by Rome, controlling much of Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.

Rome

City-state that grew into the center of the Roman Republic and Empire.

Latin

Language of Rome, used in government, law, literature, and throughout the western empire.

Republic

Roman government in which elected officials and the Senate shared political power instead of a king.

Senate

Powerful Roman governing body that advised leaders and shaped laws and policy.

Checks and balances

System where different Roman offices and institutions limited each other’s power.

Patricians

Rome’s hereditary aristocratic class, nobiltiy.

Plebeians

Free Roman citizens outside the patrician class who fought for greater political rights.

Legion

Large, organized unit of the Roman army, usually made up of several thousand soldiers.

Tribunes

Elected representatives of the plebeians who could protect their interests.

Romanization

Spread and adoption of Roman language, laws, customs, and culture throughout the empire.

Forum

Central public gathering space in a Roman city.

Theory of natural law

Idea that universal principles of justice exist in nature and apply to all people.

Carthage

Powerful North African city-state and Rome’s major rival in the western Mediterranean.

Punic Wars (264-146 BC)

Three wars between Rome and Carthage that ended with Rome destroying Carthage.

Hannibal

Carthaginian general who invaded Italy and famously crossed the Alps with war elephants.

Proletariat

Roman labor-class citizens who owned little or no property.

Proscription

Official declaration that a person was an enemy of the state

Tiberius & Gaius Gracchus (d. 133 BC)

Brothers who tried to reform Rome by redistributing land and helping poorer citizens.

Julius Caesar (r. 46-44 BC)

Roman general and dictator whose rise to power helped end the Republic and led toward imperial rule.

Julian Calendar

Calendar introduced by Julius Caesar that established a 365-day year with a leap year every four years.

Octavian or Augustus Caesar (r. 31 BC-AD 14)

Caesar’s heir and Rome’s first emperor, who established lasting imperial rule.

Pax Romana (27 BC-AD 180)

Long period of relative peace and stability throughout the Roman Empire.

Principate (27 BC-AD 284)

Early Roman Empire in which emperors maintained the appearance of republican government while holding supreme power.

Praetorian Guard

Elite soldiers who protected the emperor.

Bureaucracy

System of government officials and administrators who managed the empire.

Dominate (284-ca. 650)

Later Roman imperial system in which emperors ruled more openly as absolute monarchs.