OCR GCSE Ancient History - Rome

Which city did Aeneas flee from?

Troy

Who was Aeneas’s son?

Ascanius

What did Ascanius do?

Founded Alba Longa

Who was Romulus' and Remus' grandfather?

Numitor

Where was Numitor king of?

Alba Longa

Who was apparently Romulus' and Remus' father?

Mars

Who overthrew Numitor for the power in Alba Longa?

Amulius

How was Amulius related to Numitor?

They were brothers

What did Amulius do to Rhea Silvia to stop her from having children?

He made her a Vestal Virgin

How were Romulus and Remus meant to die?

They were to be thrown into the river Tiber

What discovered and nurtured Romulus and Remus?

A she-wolf

Who looked after Romulus and Remus after the she-wolf?

Faustulus the shepherd and his wife

How did Romulus and Remus defeat Amulius?

Romulus organised an army, who killed Amulius and freed Remus from imprisonment

How did Romulus and Remus decide who would create and then rule their new city?

Augury

Which hills did each stand on to do the augury?

Romulus stood on the Palatine hill and Remus stood on the Aventine hill

Who saw what number of birds and in which order?

Remus saw six birds first and then Romulus saw twelve birds after Remus

How did Remus die?

The brothers disagreed and went to war with each other, with Remus being killed in the fight

OR

Remus mocked his brother by jumping over Romulus’ incomplete city walls. This act angered Romulus who murdered his brother

When was Rome founded?

753 BC

What did Romulus create when he founded Rome?

He introduced asylum for criminals and outcasts to live in the city.

He built a walled city on the Palatine hill so that it would be hard for attackers to take the city.

He is said to have created the patron-client relationship in Rome where 100 patriarchs would help out the rest of the city

He created the Senate where the 100 patriarchs would decide what new laws to introduce to the city.

What is the name for Romulus' elite and loyal soldiers that acted as his body-guards?

Celeres

What temple did Romulus create?

The Temple of Jupiter

Outline the events of the Rape of the Sabines

There were not enough women in Rome

He held a festival and invited all of the neighbouring cities and they all attended. Then on his command all of the women were stolen by the Romans and everyone else fled in fear.

The Sabines were furious and declared war on Rome, managing to take most of the city

The Sabine women then rushed out with their children and called for peace, which was agreed.

How did Romulus die?

He was taken up in a storm cloud while reviewing his troops OR he was killed by a mob of angry senators.

When did Romulus rule as a king from?

753 - 716 BC

Who was the second king of Rome?

Numa

When did Numa reign from?

715 - 673 BC

What did Numa allegedly bring to Rome?

Civilisation and Religion

What did Numa bring to Rome?

He created a priesthood for Mars, Romulus, and Quirinus.

He created the flamen Dialis as the priest of Jupiter, this role would ensure that the king completed his religious duties during war.

He created the pontiff, a role chosen by the Senate to overlook all religious practices in Rome.

He introduced the Vestal Virgins to Rome.

Which temple did Numa create?

The temple of Janus

What was Numa’s stance on Rome’s military?

He presented Rome as a ‘religious city’ and made sure Rome didn't attack anyone, and as a result nobody wanted to attack them

Who was the third king of Rome?

Tullus Hostilius

When did Tullus Hostilius reign from?

673 - 642 BC

What did Tullus do as soon as he took the throne?

He shook Rome from 'idleness'

Who was the Alban king while Tullus Hostilius ruled?

Mettius

Why did Tullus not fight a full-out war with Mettius?

Mettius said that they should not fight a full-on war as they both shared common heritage and that it could leave them both open to an attack from the Etruscans.

Which major city did Tullus Hostilius challenge in his reign?

Alba Longa

Which twins fought for Rome in the battle of the 3 Albans?

The Horatii triplets

Which twins fought for Alba Longa in the battle of the 3 Albans?

The Curiatii triplets

What happened during the battle between the triplets?

In the beginning it seemed that the Albans would win as they managed to kill two of the Horatii triplets. Then the final Horatii started to run away to make the Curiatii separate. Then he turned around and killed the first one, then the second one, then at last he killed the last Curiatii and won the battle.

What happened to Mettius after the battle of the triplets?

Mettius did accept that he lost the battle to he made an alliance with the Etruscan citiese. Tullus defeated the Albans and the Etruscans in battle and exposed Mettius' plan to destroy Rome.

How was Mettius killed?

Tullus was furious at his betrayal and tore his body apart with four chariots while he was still alive.

What happened to the final Horatii brother?

He killed his sister because she was lamenting over the death of her fiancé, who was one of the Curiatii brothers. Tullus said that he should not be tried for murder but rather treason and that he should have the right to appeal. Horatius appealed and he was equitted.

Where did the Albans live in Rome?

They lived on the Caelian hill

What political change did Tullus make?

He increased the Senate to 200 to accommodate for the increase in population

Why was Tullus Hostilius unpopular at the end of his reign?

When plague struck, he didn’t give his soldiers time to rest, leading to unrest

How did Tullus Hostilius die?

He didn’t perform religious duties correctly and was killed by the Gods with a thunderbolt

Who was the forth king of Rome?

Ancus Marcius

When did Ancus Marcius reign from?

642 - 617 BC

How is Ancus' character described?

As a mixture between Numa and Tullus

What did Ancus do for Rome?

He published Numa's teaching on oak boards.

He gave the tribes the opportunity to vote on whether they should go to war.

He also built Rome's first port at Ostia and salt works on the Tiber.

Who was the fifth king of Rome?

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus

When did Lucius Tarquinius Priscus reign from?

616 - 578 BC

What was the name of Priscus before he came to Rome?

Lucumo

Why did Priscus (Lucumo) come to Rome from Tarquinii?

He could not stand for office in Tarquinii as he was half-Greek, but he knew that a non-Roman - Numa - was accepted in Rome so he travelled there.

Outline the events of how Priscus became king of Rome?

When Lucumo and his wife, Tanaquil, were making their way to Rome an eagle came down from the sky and took Lucumo's hat, a few minutes later the eagle came back and put the hat back on Lucumo's head. Tanaquil read this as a sign that he would become king as the eagle was told by Jupiter to put the 'crown' back on Lucumo's head. When he arrived in Rome he quickly rose to prominence due to his wealth. He eventually became the favourite to inherit the power in Rome.

Who was Tarquinius Priscus’s wife?

Tanaquil

What political changes did Priscus make?

He added 100 ‘king’s men’ to the senate to consolidate his power

What did Tarquinius Priscus build?

The Circus Maximus and the Cloaca Maxima (a sewer)

What social changes did Priscus implement?

He increased the number of Vestal Virgins from four to six. He also introduced harsher punishments for Vestal Virgins who broke their vow of chastity.

What was Priscus' military record like?

He defeated many different Latin cities soon after his ascension to the throne. He also crushed many Sabine and Etruscan cities.

Who was the sixth king of Rome?

Servius Tullius

When did Servius Tullius reign from?

578 - 535 BC

What are the different origin stories of Servius Tullius?

One story is that he was a slave and Tanaquil heard a prophecy that he would save her family in its hour of need, so he was raised as her child and married her daughter. A different story says that he was the son of a general in another city; after a war with this city he was raised as the son of Priscus.

How did Servius Tullius become king?

Priscus was murdered by the sons of Ancus.

Tanaquil realised that Servius Tullius would not become the king in normal circumstances so she made it seem that Priscus was still alive and that Servius Tullius was just standing in for him.

Eventually, the public was told that Priscus was dead but Servius Tullius had already been king for a while so he stayed king.

What was the main social change introduced by Servius Tullius

The Census

What were the Servian reforms?

The census, introduction of a new voting system, introduction of a new tribal system, creation of the Servian walls, building of the temple of Diana, tackling plebeian poverty.

How many classes were created in the census?

Five, each of which were based off of wealth

What temple did Servius Tullius build?

The temple of Diana

Who was the seventh king of Rome?

Tarquinius Superbus

When did Lucius Tarquinius Superbus rule from?

535 - 509

How did Superbus become king?

The Servian reforms, along with it's increasing financial and military burdens made Servius unpopular, especially among the patricians.

Superbus had the support of many of the senators that his father Priscus had added, and won the support of the younger and more inexperienced ones using largesse.

Livy suggests Servius' old age and his daughter encouraging Superbus to take the throne were main factors.

Superbus eventually threw Servius Tullius down the stairs, killing him

What political changes did Superbus implement?

He decreased the influence of the Senate until he had total control.

Religious festivals were banned as he thought that groups of men could conspire to kill him if they were grouped together.

He turned all plebeians into labourers to stop them from uprising.

What were Superbus' military successes?

He is described as an effective diplomat and general. He conquered the Gabii. He defeated the Volsci, which allegedly started a 200-year war with them

What were the negative changes that Superbus introduced?

He removed the census

He banned religious ceremonies

He treated plebians badly

He greatly diminished the senate’s power

He killed those who disagreed with him

What religious and social changes did Superbus introduce?

He completed the Cloaca Maxima which improved sanitation in Rome. He extended the Circus Maximus. He built many temples in Rome.

What main temple did Tarquinius Superbus build?

Temple of Jupiter

Who was Lucretia married to?

Collatinus

Outline the events of the Rape of Lucretia

The sons of Superbus were drinking with their cousin Collatinus during the siege of Ardea, this led to a debate about the virtues of their wives. Collatinus was so confident that he would win that he convinced them all to ride back to Rome and spy on their wives. Sextus was so overcome with lust from drinking that he felt he had to have sex with Lucretia, the chaste wife of Collatinus. At first he threatened to kill Lucretia if she would not have sex with him, but she refused. Sextus did not give up and said that he would just have sex with her anyway and then kill her and kill a male slave too to make it seem as if there was an adulterous love affair. After the horrible act, Sextus left. As soon as Sextus left, Lucretia called for her father and husband, Collatinus brought a friend with him, Lucius Junius Brutus. Lucretia made a vow for revenge before killing herself. Brutus then took the knife and swore to remove the kings from Rome.

What were the signs that Lucius Junius Brutus would rule Rome?

During a trip to the Delphic Oracle with Superbus' sons, he was told that 'the first to kiss his mother would be the next king of Rome. The brothers argued about who would be the one to kiss their mother, but Brutus kissed the floor as he realised that the Earth was the mother of everyone.

Outline the events of how the Republic was founded

Brutus had to pretend to be stupid to evade the cautious eyes of Superbus, Brutus means 'foolish'. Using the death of Lucretia he stirred up the whole of Rome to help to remove Superbus.

Who were the first two consuls of Rome?

Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus

Who replaced Collatinus to become the third consul of Rome?

Valerius Publicola

Why did Collatinus step down as consul?

Since he was a member of the Tarquinius family, he was mistrusted by the people

What did Valerius Publicola do?

Gave plebians right to appeal

What did Superbus do in response to being overthrown?

He rallied his armies against Rome

What happened during the battle of Silvia Arsia?

Valerius had control of the army and Brutus had control of the cavalry, Superbus and his son Arruns had control over the Etruscan forces. Both Arruns and Brutus killed each other in battle. After this loss Valerius rallied his men and routed the Etruscans. After the battle he held a great funeral for Brutus.

How apparently did the Romans win the battle of Silvia Arsia?

The trees spoke and said that the Romans had lost one less man, so they won

How long were consuls in power?

1 year

How many consuls were there?

2

What did consuls do?

They essentially ruled Rome in place of kings, although many duties such as law-making were controlled by other institutions

How long were censors in power?

5 years

What was the role of the censors?

They performed the census and decided who could attend the senate

How long were dictators in power?

6 months

What was the role of the dictator?

They replaced the consuls and had absolute power

When were dictators appointed?

In times of war

Who was Lars Porsena?

The king of Clusium who allied with Tarquinius Superbus

What did the ‘master of the horse do?

Kept the power of the dictator in check

Who defended the bridge over the Tiber to stop the Clusian forces from entering Rome?

Horatius Cocles

What did Horatius Cocles do?

He bravely defended the bridge until all other Romans had crossed it and destroyed it. When the bridge had been destroyed Horatius swam across the river in full armour.

What did Gaius Mucius do?

He made his way into the tent of Lars Porsena but he killed the king's secretary as he did not know what Lars Porsena looked like. He told Porsena that he was only one of 300 who were ready and waiting to kill him, burning his right hand off to show his dedication. This made Porsena reach a compromise with Rome.