Chapter 7: The Roman Republic (Lessons 1 & 2)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, historical figures, battles, and sociopolitical institutions of the Roman Republic from Chapter 7, Lessons 1 and 2.

Gravitas

A core Roman virtue encompassing seriousness, solemnity, duty, dignity, and a deep sense of responsibility to the state and family.

Patricians

The wealthy, land-owning aristocratic class in ancient Rome who initially held all the major political power and religious offices.

Plebeians

The common citizens of Rome (artisans, merchants, farmers) who made up the majority of the population but initially had fewer political rights.

Etruscans, Latins, & Greeks

The three main cultural groups that influenced early Rome: Latins founded the original settlement, Etruscans provided architectural and military knowledge and ruled during the monarchy, and Greeks influenced culture, religion, and the alphabet.

Twelve Tables

Rome's first written code of laws, established in 451–450 BC to prevent Patrician judges from arbitrarily interpreting unwritten customary laws to disadvantage Plebeians.

Tribunes

Political officials elected by the Plebeians to protect their rights, endowed with the unique power to veto laws passed by the Senate or magistrates.

Republic

A form of government in which supreme power rests with citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by chosen representatives; established in Rome in 509 BC after overthrowing its last king.

Battle of Cannea

A catastrophic Roman defeat during the Second Punic War where Carthaginian general Hannibal surrounded and slaughtered a vastly superior Roman army using a double-envelopment tactic.

Hannibal Barca

The brilliant Carthaginian general who invaded Italy by crossing the Alps during the Second Punic War.

Scipio Africanus

The Roman general who studied Hannibal's tactics and ultimately defeated him at the Battle of Zama.

Battle of Zama

The final, decisive battle of the Second Punic War fought near Carthage, where Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal, forcing Carthage to surrender and establishing Roman dominance in the Western Mediterranean.

Proletariat

The urban, landless, and jobless lower class of Rome that grew rapidly as small farmers lost their lands to large estates and migrated to the city looking for work.

Latifundia

Massive, slave-run agricultural estates owned by wealthy Patricians that outcompeted and ruined Rome's traditional small independent farmers.

Spartacus

A Thracian gladiator who led a major, highly disruptive slave uprising (the Third Servile War) against the Roman Republic from 73 to 71 BC.

Gracchi Brothers

Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, two tribunes who attempted to pass land reform laws to redistribute public land to poor citizens and were assassinated by conservative Senators, introducing political violence to Roman governance.

Marius

A Roman general and consul who instituted the Marian Reforms, opening the army to the landless proletariat and shifting soldiers' loyalty from the state to individual generals.

Sulla

A general and rival of Marius who marched his own army on Rome, won a bloody civil war, declared himself dictator, and used proscriptions (hit lists) to eliminate political rivals.

Crassus

The wealthiest man in Rome who defeated the Spartacus rebellion and formed the First Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey.

Pompey

A highly successful general and consul who expanded Rome's territory in the East, initially allied with Caesar, and later became his chief rival in a civil war.

Julius Caesar

A brilliant general who conquered Gaul, won a civil war against Pompey, and made himself dictator perpetuo, which led to his assassination on March 15, 44 BC.

Dictator perpetuo

A title meaning 'dictator for life' assumed by Julius Caesar, which alarmed Senators who feared he intended to dismantle the Republic and crown himself king.

First Triumvirate

An informal, unofficial political alliance formed in 60 BC between Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus to dominate Roman politics.

Second Triumvirate

A legally sanctioned three-man dictatorship formed in 43 BC between Octavian, Marc Antony, and Lepidus to punish Caesar's assassins and restore order.

Marc Antony

Caesar's close general and co-consul who formed the Second Triumvirate, governed eastern provinces, allied with Cleopatra, and fought Octavian for control of Rome.

Cleopatra

The last Hellenistic pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt who aligned with Julius Caesar and later Marc Antony to protect Egyptian independence against Roman expansion.

Octavian

Caesar's adopted son and legal heir who defeated Antony and Cleopatra to become the undisputed master of Rome and its first Emperor, Augustus.

Battle of Actium

The decisive naval battle off the coast of Greece where Octavian's forces defeated the combined fleets of Marc Antony and Cleopatra, ending the final civil war of the Republic.

Conflict of the Orders

A centuries-long political struggle (c. 500–287 BC) in which the Plebeians fought for political equality with the ruling Patrician class.

Secession

A strike tactic utilized by Plebeians during the Conflict of the Orders where they abandoned the city and left it defenseless during wartime until their demands were met.

Defensive Aggression

Rome's strategic policy of justifying warfare by claiming to protect themselves or their allies from neighboring threats, initiating a continuous cycle of territorial expansion.

Civitas sine suffragio

'Citizenship without the vote'; a legal status granted to conquered Italian neighbors that gave them legal protection and trade rights in exchange for providing soldiers to the Roman army.

Jus Gentium

The 'Law of Nations'; a flexible branch of Roman law developed to resolve legal disputes between Roman citizens and non-citizens.