Test 1 - All Content

All of the vocabulary terms, dates, and events from both history and daily life lectures needed for the first test

Date: Regal Period

753 - 510 B.C.

Date: Republic

509 - 31 B.C.

Date: Roman Empire

31 B.C. - 476 A.D.

Date: Earliest graves found in the Forum area

1000 - 900 B.C.

Date: Traditional date for the founding of Rome

21 April, 753 B.C.

Date: Stone wall built around the base of the Palatine

750 - 725 B.C.

Date: Rome becomes a large and complex city

550 B.C.

Date: L. Tarquinius Superbus is expelled

510 B.C.

Date: First year of the Republic

509 B.C.

Date: Capitoline Temple is dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva

12 September, 507 B.C.

Date: Battle of Lake Regillus

496 B.C.

Date: First Secession of the plebians

494 B.C.

Date: Treaty between Rome and the Latin League

493 B.C.

Date: Decemviri are elected

451 - 450 B.C.

Date: Defeat of Veii

396 B.C.

Date: Conquest of Rome by the Senones

390 B.C. (actually likely 386 B.C.)

Date: Servian wall is finished

378 B.C.

Date: Latin League is defeated at Naples

340 B.C.

Date: Dissolution of the Latin League

338 B.C.

What is the abbreviation for Aulus?

A.

What is the abbreviation for Appius?

Ap.

What is the abbreviation for Gaius?

C.

What is the abbreviation for Gnaeus?

Cn.

What is the abbreviation for Decimus?

D.

What is the abbreviation for Lucius?

L.

What is the abbreviation for Marcus?

M.

What is the abbreviation for Manius?

M’.

What is the abbreviation for Numerius?

N.

What is the abbreviation for Publius?

P.

What is the abbreviation for Quintus?

Q.

What is the abbreviation for Servius?

Ser.

What is the abbreviation for Sextus?

Sex.

What is the abbreviation for Spurius?

S. or Sp.

What is the abbreviation for Titus?

T.

What is the abbreviation for Tiberius?

Ti. or Tib.

What is the abbreviation for Vibius?

V.

Other than the tria nomina, what would be apart of someone’s name in official records?

The name of their father, their grandfather, and their tribe

How did women’s names function in Rome?

Women would take the feminine form of their father’s nomen (praenomina died out for women early) and Prima/Secunda/Tertia or Elder/Younger to differentiate from siblings, adding their husband’s name when marrying → later in the empire women did also acquire names similarly to men, though the nomen was often all that was used

How did names work for the enslaved in Rome?

Slaves would have only one name, their birth name, but if freed they would adopt their previous master’s praenomen and nomen, retaining their own name as cognomen → where a name would usually refer to a father, a freedmen would refer to their master

What are the two major differences between the alphabet used in English and the one used by Romans?

The alphabet of the Romans was only 21 letters, omitting j, u, w, y, and z, and the alphabet was only majuscule, the miniscule forms only appearing in 9th century France

When were the omitted letters of the Latin alphabet added to match the one used today?

• Y → added in first century B.C. and comes from the Greek upsilon

• Z → added in first century B.C. and comes from the Greek zeta

• J → medieval development, appears as way to represent consonantal form of ‘i’

• V → medieval development, appears as wall to represent consonantal form of ‘u’

• W → added in fourth century A.D. for Germanic and Celtic names as prononciations shift

What were the three main determining factors of class in Rome?

1. Citizenship status → prior to in Rome being citizens, hierarchy of citizenship was important determination of status

2. Freedom → current or previous enslavement heavily impacts place in society

3. Wealth → can superseded freedom (previously enslaved could rise due to wealth), most wealthy are at the top of society

What does it mean to be patrician or plebian?

Patricians are the wealthy elite, passing land (wealth) down through inheritance while plebians are all the other citizens who were often discriminated against by patricians → names reflect status as patrician or plebian making transferring between classes difficult; even after classes have lost practical meaning, discrimination based on a name being patrician or plebian continues

How were the plebians discriminated against in Roman society?

They were largely illiterate, and therefore had no knowledge of laws, meaning they would be punished for crimes they had no knowledge of committing → needed protection for their rights, something that is found with the Tribune of the Plebs starting in 494 B.C.

Aside from the traditional land-ownership, what form of wealth and income arises after the Second Punic War?

• Wealth from business

• Still inferior to land-owning elite

• Requirements to serve in military still

• Often are cavalry, an expensive rank → called equestrians

What were the two elite class clubs one might have membership to?

• Senatorial club → not allowed to have businesses, must at least be elected quaestor, wealth requirement of 800,000 sesterces

• Equestrian club → not allowed to be in politics, allowed to hold businesses, wealth requirement of 400,000 sesterces

Individuals might want to become members of either club or switch membership in order to enter politics or business

What is the patronage system?

The symbiotic relationship between a client and patron where the client offers goods and services in return for the patron’s assistance with any issues they may have, ex. patrons making use of clients often in politics to campaign, clients unable to afford togas mandatory in certain settings borrowing their patron’s toga → arises due to the state not caring for the people, only being designed to look after itself, leaving the vast majority of people poor and helpless

Why is the patronage system significant?

It was an important factor in the functioning of society at the time, later providing the basis for a legal system as well as the position of emperor → emperor acting as patron for all in the empire, even addressing seemingly insignificant issues of clients

How are slaves typically acquired in Rome?

• Kidnapping

• Sale of babies that couldn’t be cared for

• Punishment for crime → no formalised prisons

• POWs

• Being born to slave parents

How are slaves treated over time in Rome?

Initially, they are treated as property with little to no legal protections or rights, but over time (in the Empire), they begin to be treated more like employees with more rights, though are still enslaved

How could a slave gain freedom?

Could negotiate buying freedom, be freed in a master’s will, or could be outright freed → all required favour from master; freedom called manumission and had ceremony with a magistrate where the slave was given a pileus

What was the hierarchy of those enslaved?

Slaves were also subject to societal hierarchy where barbarians were treated the worst and those with skills and of Roman or Greek descent would get better positions:

• Lower positions:

  • mines → cramped conditions, high mortality, often cheaper for a master to repeatedly replace slaves than to invest in their survival

  • farms → latifundia as massive factory farms run by hundreds of slaves, often employing barbarians

• Higher positions:

  • government has many state-owned slaves performing public services

  • skilled slaves employed as doctors, accountants, poets

  • most citizens (even poor) employ slaves to maintain the household → paedagogus caring for children and acting as tutor, overseeing their education (often Greek)

How were slaves kept from escaping or revolting?

• Discouraging revolts/escape → slaves caught escaping would be charged with theft; if any slave in a household revolted, all slaves would be killed, a measure that encouraged slaves to report any plans for revolt to their master in order to survive

• Making reaching the public undiscovered difficult → many slaves given obvious markers similar to dog tags that can’t be easily removed and give information on the master; citizens found harbouring a slave, even accidentally, would be charged with theft, making a slave being aided in their escape unlikely

• Use of slave hunters → people specifically employed to re-capture a slave for a reward

What was the famous slave revolt that lasted from 73 - 71 B.C.?

Spartacus initiated a slave revolt of gladiators, assembling between 70,000 - 100,000 slaves and successfully defeating several major generals before being stopped → 6,000 slaves survived the revolt and were crucified along a major route to intimidate slaves and discourage future revolts

How were apartments constructed in Rome?

They were made of timber or sun-dried brick and therefore fragile, being limited in size and vulnerable to events like earthquakes and fires (frequent due to lighting and cooking), were often poorly maintained, infested with insects, and cramped → officially limited to 5 storeys, but were often much taller

How were apartments structured in Rome?

• Centre around a courtyard for natural light

• Shopfronts around the outside with apartments within and on top

• Windows only having shutters → during the summer they would stay open as the only form of airflow, but in the winter they would be closed to preserve heat, necessitating the use of fire for light and increasing the risk of the building catching fire

• One apartment would house an entire family → common kitchens and latrines shared between families

• Decrease in quality going higher in a building → lower units might have balconies, nicer decorations, and be less cramped; higher units would not have balconies, be in poorer condition, and would be cramped

How did home ownership work in Rome?

Vast majority of people lived in apartments, though many were homeless → wealthy families could afford actual houses ranging from:

• Cheaper houses outside of cities → simple structure with fewer rooms, limited decorative features, includes a productive garden to supply food for the household

• Expensive houses within cities, often called villas due to large size → sprawling footprints with many rooms, frequent decorative features, aesthetic pleasure gardens instead of productive ones, might even have indoor plumbing and working taps

What city’s houses are the ones referenced as the basis for how houses are structured throughout Rome?

Those in Pompeii, especially of the third/fourth century B.C., though is representative of Roman houses in general

What event provides the background for the Trojan war by angering Discordia?

The wedding of Peleus and Thetis → Discordia was not invited and tried to cause chaos

What did Discordia do to inject chaos into the wedding of Peleus and Thetis?

She addressed an apple to ‘the prettiest goddess’, sparking argument between Juno, Minerva, and Venus

How is the debate over the most beautiful goddess resolved?

Hermes is sent to appoint Prince Paris of Troy as judge, who is then approached by each goddess with an attempt to cheat and accepts an offer to marry Helen, sparking the Trojan war

How does each goddess attempt to win Paris’ loyalty?

• Hera → offers kingship of Europe and Asia

• Minerva → offers wisdom and skill in war of the world

• Venus → offers marriage to Helen of Troy

How does Paris’ decision of Venus being the most beautiful start the Trojan war?

Helen’s being taken from Troy angers her husband and King of Sparta Menelaus, who alongside brother King Agamemnon of Mycenae sail on Troy

How do Menelaus and Agamemnon gain entry to Troy?

They present the Trojan Horse, a statue dedicated to Juno that secretly contained soldiers, who, as the statue was taken into Troy, emerged and slaughtered the surprised Trojans

Who famously escaped from Troy?

• Aeneas

• His father Anchises

• Son Ascanius

• Wife Creusa

What happens upon Aeneas’ arrival in Latium?

He is accepted by ruler Latinus who has heard of Aeneas, giving him daughter Lavinia’s hand in marriage and asking for Aeneas’ help in war

What two settlements are founded as a result of Aeneas’ voyage to Latium?

Lavinium, which is established as a gift to Lavinia, and Alba Longa which is established by Ascanius, who wants his own settlement but doesn’t want to wait for his father’s death

Why is the founding of Alba Longa by Ascanius significant?

Alba Longa would go on to have 14 kings, the last of which being Numitor and Amulius who set up the founding of Rome by Romulus and Remus

How did Amulius try to secure his rule over Alba Longa?

He drove his brother out and made Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, a Vestal Virgin to keep her from having children → does so in place of killing her, which Amulius couldn’t bring himself to do

How are Romulus and Remus born?

Rhea Silvia is raped by Mars and gives birth to the twins, who Amulius discover and order to be drowned in the Tiber → the henchmen are unable to drown Romulus and Remus, instead leaving them on the banks to die, but they are cared for by the She-wolf until being discovered by shepherd Faustulus

How do Romulus and Remus return to Alba Longa?

Discovering they are the ‘Lost Sons’ descended from Mars, at 18 they gather an army and defeat Amulius, restoring Numitor to the throne

How do Romulus and Remus start their settlements?

Mirroring Ascanius, they try to establish one settlement but begin arguing on the site, Romulus favouring the Palatine and Remus the Aventine

How does an augury decide the foundation of Rome?

To determine which hill is favoured by the gods, Romulus and Remus consult birds → Romulus decides the Palatine is favoured due to seeing 6 vultures first, Remus decides the same for the Aventine due to seeing 12 vultures in total, both then founding separate settlements but conflict grows between them

How does Remus try to sabotage Romulus’ settlement?

He attempts to break the Pomerium, meaning the settlement could never be defended, but Romulus realises he can restore the Pomerium by killing Remus and does so

Why was the Palatine ideal for settlement?

The higher ground was easily defensible, soil was fertile, and the nearby Tiber easily supplied water and provided route for transport/trade

Why was Rome a successful settlement?

It acted as a natural crossroads between existing richer Etruscans and Greeks attracting people and establishing a trade network and was rich in natural resources → forests for fuel/building, stone, metal deposits (iron, lead, copper, silver), and salt pans (very valuable at the time)

What is the physical evidence for early settlement of Rome?

Evidence of buildings and walls at base of Palatine dating to mid-8th century, tombs found nearby the Palatine outside the Pomerium dating to 1000-900 B.C., and market places with underground rivers and Curia from around 550 B.C.

Why does Rome propose the Rape of the Sabine Women?

Rome starts as a sanctuary city, sheltering criminals escaping consequence, causing most of the population to be men and the birth rate to be low → to counter this, the Romans decide to kidnap notoriously beautiful Sabine women and bring them back as wives

How does the Rape of the Sabine Women occur?

The Romans set up a celebration and invite the Sabines who would be unsuspecting → jump out and grab the women while fully prepared army suppresses unprepared Sabine men

How does the Rape of the Sabine Women resolve?

Initially, the Sabine men have to retreat and the women are integrated into Roman society before the men return, now able to face the Romans, but women, who don’t want to see their fathers/brother murder their husbands/sons, stand between the two and prevent fighting → communities decide to mix and Sabines begin to make up the Roman population; a Sabine ruler, Titus Tatius, is established alongside Romulus

How does inheritance play a role in the early kings of Rome?

Inheritance is not seen initially, the family of a King are favoured during their rule but return to normalcy afterwards → first instance of a sort of inheritance occurs with L. Tarquinius Priscus passing onto favoured slave Servius Tullius

How does Servius Tullius take kingship of Rome?

A slave of L. Tarquinius Priscus, he is favoured by Tanaquil and made a prince and after Priscus’ death in a revolt, Tanaquil ensures Tullius becomes King rather than the revolting relatives of Anus Marcius

How does Lucius Tarquinius Superbus take the throne from Servius Tullius?

Being in love with Tullia the Younger, he plots with her to kills his current wife Tullia the Elder, her current husband Arruns Tarquinius, and then Servius Tullius → successfully does so, marrying Tullia the Younger and becoming King

What is the inciting event in the overthrow of Roman monarchy?

The Rape of Lucretia

What was the Rape of Lucretia?

Sextus Tarquinius uses his power as son of King L. Tarquinius Superbus to kidnap and rape Lucretia, who commits suicide out of shame → in response her father, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, and his friend, Lucius Junius Brutus, assemble an army and drive the royal family out of Rome, establishing a new governing system

How did the governing system in Rome change with the removal of monarchy?

Individual power like that of a king was deemed problematic and avoided by splitting the same power over various frequently elected magistrates, as well as by establishing veto-power for the consuls

How did L. Tarquinius Superbus respond to his being exiled?

He sought help from Etruscan King Lars Porsenna and cities Veii, Tarquinii, and Clusium to assemble an army and march on Rome → Porsenna eventually bails and the attack fails

How does Rome enter an alliance with the Latin League in 493 B.C.?

Amidst Latin Wars, both Rome and the Latin League are weakened and vulnerable to attacks from the Acqui and Volsci, causing the two to realise they must ally in order to stand a chance against external threats → agree to terms of general peace, military cooperation against aggressors, a joint army (½ Roman, ½ Latin), and a series of rights for citizens

What are the decemviri and why are they established?

Plebians continue to be discriminated against in law, particularly because the laws are not well established and only known by Patricians → decemviri are 10 elected individuals working to write down the concrete laws of Rome so that all could know them

Why is Appius Claudius overthrown as head decemvir?

Claudius falls in love with and kidnaps Virginia, claiming her a slave and accusing her father Virginius and fiancé of sedition when they complain → unable to save his daughter, Virginius stabs Virginia to preserve her innocence and showing the public the truth of the situation, who throw Claudius out, at which point he commits suicide

What causes Rome’s territory to significantly grow in 396 B.C.?

Victory over major rival Veii, giving Rome all of their territory that is double the size of Rome

What French people began settling in Northern Italy and would come into conflict with Rome?

The Gaul, who in 500 B.C. came over the Alps and settled in Northern Italy, being called transalpine and cisalpine by the Romans → cisalpine tribe of the Senones would attempt to take Rome

When did the Senones try to take Rome?

According to the Romans, 386 B.C., however the Roman chronology is out by 4 years, so the true year is likely 390 B.C.

What crucial moment saves the barricaded Romans from the Senones?

Marcus Manlius Capitolium notices and counters a covert Senones’ attack where soldiers climbed the Capitoline, causing sacred geese to honk and alert Capitolium

How is the Senones’ siege of Rome concluded?

King Brennus realises that their home territory is vulnerable and decides to withdraw, but tells Romans he will only do so if given 1000 lbs of gold → trapped Romans agree, give over 1000 lbs of gold due to famous incident of Brennus throwing his battle sword onto the scale

Why is the Senones’ sack of Rome suspicious?

There is no real evidence that Rome was destroyed, Roman expansion seemed unimpacted by the event, Rome is able to completely recover territory, restore treaties, and return to expansion in just 30 years

How does Roman expansion take form around 385 B.C.?

Romans established settlement colonies in foreign territories that came under the same rights of the Latin League (were citizens with rights) and established Roman religion, tradition, and culture, being loyal to Rome → broke tradition of just massacring a conquered people or allying with another territory, were instead quite forgiving

How does the dissolution of the Latin League occur?

The Latin League revolts in 341 B.C. in fear of being incorporated into Rome but are eventually defeated in 340 B.C. at Naples → League is officially dissolved in 338 B.C. and all conquered members are given civitas optimus iure

Why is the dissolution of the Latin League significant?

In response, Rome creates a new system for incorporating conquered territories that would be the basis for all later Roman expansion → creates graded citizenship with full citizenship as a desired incentive for cooperation, ensuring loyalty to Rome

What are the two divisions within those given civitas foederatae?

• Latin allies → given commercium and conubium with Rome, but not one another (treaty is with Rome)

• Free allies → vary between treaties, are individual agreements with territories