6th Grade Ancient History- Unit 8 Vocabulary

Empire

A group of states or territories controlled by one ruler

Constantinople

A large and wealthy city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine empire and later the Ottoman empire, now known as Istanbul

Italian Alps

craggy mountains that separate Italy from European lands to the north

Italian Peninsula

a boot-shaped peninsula in southern Europe extending into the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

This body of Water separates Europe and Africa

Tiber River

River that runs through Rome

Representative democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

Checks and balances

A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power

Branches of government

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Civic participation

taking part in government

Consul

An elected official who led the Roman Republic

Assemblies

a group of people gathered together in one place for a common purpose.

Roman Senate

a council of wealthy and powerful Romans that advised the city's leaders

Patricians

The wealthy, hereditary aristocrats during the Roman era.

Twelve tables

Completed in 449 BCE, these civil laws developed by the Roman Republic following demands by plebeians.

Plebeians

All non-land-owning, free men in Ancient Rome

Slaves

a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.

Julius Caesar

100-44 B.C. Roman general who became the republic's dictator in 45 B.C.

Assassination

murder of a public figure, usually for political reasons

Augustus Caesar

The first emperor of Rome, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, help Rome come into Pax Romana, or the Age of Roman Peace

Pax Romana

A period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire, lasting from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180.

Aquaduct

A large pipe or channel designed to transport water from a remote source over a long distance

Arch

chief, first, rule

The Colosseum

a large amphitheater built in Rome around ad 70; site of the contest and combats between people and animals

Dome

a rounded vault forming the roof of a building or structure, typically with a circular base.

Sanitation

maintaining a clean condition in order to promote hygiene and prevent disease

Polytheism

belief in more than one god

Deities

gods and goddesses

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Messiah

Anointed one, savior sent by God

Jesus

A Jew from Galilee in northern Israel who sought to reform Jewish beliefs and practices. He was executed as a revolutionary by the Romans. He is the basis of the world's largest religion.

Paul

A.D. 11-67 Follower of Jesus who helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman world

Diaspora

the dispersion of the Jews outside Israel

Expulsion

the process of driving or forcing out

Constantine

Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)

Diocletian

(245-313) Emperor of Rome who was responsible for dividing Rome into different provinces and districts. Eventually, the eastern portions of the Empire became known as the Byzantine Empire.

Maximian

the co- emperor that took the western providences while Diocletian had the eastern

Germanic Tribes

Nomadic groups that invaded the Roman Empire from the North and East. They caused the fall of Rome.

Huns

Warlike people who migrated from Eastern Europe into territory controlled by Germanic tribes, forcing them to move into areas controlled by Rome

Goths

an East Germanic people, two of whose branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe.