Problems in the Roman Republic and the Rise of Generals

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts regarding the expansion problems in the Roman Republic and the rise of influential generals.

Latifundia

Large estates in ancient Rome created by wealthy aristocrats after small independent farms disappeared.

Proscription

A practice used by Roman generals like Sulla to publicly identify and condemn political enemies, allowing them to be hunted down.

Populares

A political faction in Rome that favored policies benefiting the common people.

Optimates

A political faction in Rome that favored policies that benefited the wealthy aristocrats.

Equestrians

Emerging middle-class citizens in Rome who sought political power corresponding with their growing wealth.

Tiberius Gracchus

Older brother of the Gracchus brothers who proposed land redistribution to restore small independent farms.

Gaius Gracchus

Younger brother of Tiberius who continued to support land reforms and faced violent opposition from the Senate.

Demagoguery

A political style in which politicians manipulate emotions and fears of the populace to gain support.

Marius

A Roman general who reformed the military by recruiting soldiers from the urban poor and offering them land and loot.

Sulla

A Roman general who became the first to use his army against the state, initiating a civil war.