Ancient Rome Vocabulary

Flashcards about Ancient Rome

The Roman Forum

Served as a public meeting place at the heart of Rome.

753 BC

According to legend, this is the year Rome was founded.

Augustus

Became Rome’s first emperor in 27 BC.

509 BC

The Roman Republic was founded in this year.

Julius Caesar is assassinated

This event occurred in 44 BC.

Punic Wars

Rome and Carthage fought in these wars between 264–146 BC.

The last western Roman emperor is overthrown

This event occurred in AD 476.

Alps

Mountains that cover much of the Italian Peninsula.

Aeneas

A Trojan hero who, according to the Aeneid, fled to Italy after the Greeks destroyed Troy.

Romulus and Remus

Twin brothers who, according to Roman legends, were the founders of Rome.

Republic

A government in which people elect leaders to govern them.

Dictators

Rulers with almost absolute power appointed during difficult wars in the Roman Republic.

Cincinnatus

A famous dictator from the early Roman Republic who resigned and returned to his farm.

Plebeians

Common people of Rome.

Patricians

Powerful nobles of Rome.

Magistrates

Elected officials in Rome.

Consuls

The two most powerful magistrates in Rome.

Roman Senate

A council of wealthy and powerful Romans that advised the city’s leaders.

Majority rule

The group that has the most members has the power to decide what the government will do.

Veto

To prohibit actions by other officials.

Latin

The Romans’ language.

Checks and balances

Methods to balance power and keep any one part of a government from becoming stronger or more influential than the others.

Forum

Rome’s public meeting place.

Legions

Groups of up to 6,000 soldiers.

Punic Wars

A series of wars against Carthage.

Hannibal

A brilliant general from Carthage who attacked Rome.

Gaius Marius

A Roman consul who encouraged poor people to join the army.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

A politician who became consul in 88 BC and later dictator.

Spartacus

A former gladiator who led a slave revolt.

Cicero

A gifted philosopher and orator who called on Romans to make Rome a better place.

Julius Caesar

The greatest general in Roman history who rose to power and became the sole ruler of Rome.

Pompey

A powerful man in Rome and ally of Julius Caesar.

Cleopatra VII

Queen of Egypt and ally of Julius Caesar.

Brutus

A senator who was an attacker in the death of Caesar.

Marc Antony

Caesar’s former assistant who worked to punish the people who had killed Caesar.

Augustus

Also called Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son and later called Augustus.

Provinces

Areas outside of Italy that the Romans controlled.

Currency

Money that Romans used for trade.

Pax Romana

A peaceful period in Rome that lasted until about AD 180.

Diocletian

An emperor who took power in the late 200s and divided the empire.

Clovis

A Frankish king who built a huge kingdom in Gaul.

Attila

A leader of the Huns who raided Roman territory.

Corruption

The decay of people’s values.

Galen

A Greek surgeon who made many discoveries about the body.

Aqueducts

Channels used to carry water from mountains into cities.

Virgil

A writer who wrote a great epic about the founding of Rome, the Aeneid.

Ovid

A writer who wrote poems about Roman mythology.

Satire

A style of writing that pokes fun at people or society.

Romance languages

Languages that developed from Latin.

Civil law

A legal system based on a written code of laws.