history rome

Latin

language of the Romans

tribunes

plebeians elected to fight for the rights of ordinary citizens

Centuriate Assembly

assembly made up of citizen soldiers

legion

5000 heavily armed foot soldiers

imperator

title for victorious commanders and emperors

bread and circuses

Roman rulers appeased their citizens with bread handouts and violent shows in the Colosseum

Colosseum

amphitheater in Rome where gladiators fought and sporting events were held

Diaspora

Jewish migration across the world following failed rebellions

Edict of Milan

change in policy put into place by Constantine the Great that established tolerance for Christians

natural laws

philosophical law system based on right and wrong decisions and human nature over laws set in stone and judicial action

New Testament

second half of the Bible that presents history

concrete

building material

Hannibal

son of defeated general Hamilcar Barca

Julius Caesar

elected consul and promoted Pompey and Crassus' legislation

Cincinnatus

model dictator who helped lead Rome to victory and then returned to his farmland

Paul

persecuted missionary

Jupiter

king of the gods in Roman mythology

Mercury

god of shopkeepers

Minerva

goddess of wisdom

Etruscans

people from northern Italy who inhabited early Rome

consuls

two powerful officials in place of a king

Council of Plebs

assembly of the plebeians

Punic Wars

series of three wars between Rome and Carthage

Pax Romana

200 years of peace and prosperity across the Roman empire

mosaics

traditional Roman art

aqueducts

large stone channels that carried water from hilltops to cities

martyrs

people who die for their beliefs

barbarians

Greek word used by Romans to describe all people outside of the empire

paterfamilias

male head of a Roman family

parables

short stories about everyday life that taught a religious or moral lesson

rule of law

the principle that the law applies to everyone

Marius

Roman general who was elected consul numerous times

Mark Antony

worked with Octavian to punish Caesar's assassins

Virgil

classical Roman poet who wrote the Aenied

Constantine the Great

Roman emperor who adopted Christianity and stopped the persecution of Christians

Neptune

god of the sea; symbol is a trident (Greek equivalent: Poseidon)

Apollo

god of music

Vesta

goddess of the hearth

patricians

wealthy landowners

Senate

legislative branch of Roman government that consisted of 300 members

praetors

eight judges chosen by the Centuriate Assembly

that oversaw criminal and civil courts

latifundia

estate

gladiators

slaves or criminals that fought each other to the death in the Colosseum

Forum

open-air market that became the center of Roman religious

Gospels

four books of the New Testament that describe the teachings of Jesus (Matthew

epistles

letters written by Paul in the New Testament to early Christian churches

inflation

increase in prices

Pantheon

group of Roman gods that were adopted from Greek culture

Trinity

the belief that God

Crassus and Pompey

granted extraordinary powers by the Senate in time of crisis

Cleopatra

Egyptian pharaoh that had relationships with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar

Jesus Christ

man whose teachings are the basis of Christianity

Diocletian

Roman emperor who divided the empire into the eastern and western parts

Pluto

god of the underworld

Bacchus

god of wine

Ceres

goddess of the harvest

Venus

goddess of love

Mars

god of war and agriculture

Juno

goddess of women

plebeians

poor farmers and craftsmen

Twelve Tables

Roman code of laws written down on bronze tablets

dictator

a leader who rules with total power

triumvirate

a group of three leaders that shared control of the government.

Messiah

anointed one

Stoicism

enduring of pain or hardship without displaying feelings or complaining

Pompeii

city in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius that was destroyed in a violent eruption on August 24

pope

bishop of Rome

frescoes

painting made on a wall of wet plaster

apostles

closest followers of Jesus

Roman Catholic Church

Christian church that is headed by the pope

Spartacus

gladiator who led a slave revolt from 73 to 71 BC

Augustus Caesar

first emperor of Rome

Peter

first bishop of Rome

Attila the Hun

sole ruler of barbarian Huns that invaded Roman Empire