Western Civ. - Fall Of The Roman Empire Quiz

Octavian / Augustus

The first Roman emperor; he stabilized Rome after civil wars and started the Pax Romana.

Battle of Actium

Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra, giving him control of Rome.

Pax Romana

A 200-year period of peace, stability, and prosperity in the Roman Empire.

The Good Emperors

Five stable rulers (Nerva to Marcus Aurelius) known for good governance and expansion.

Bread & Circuses

Free food and entertainment used to keep Roman citizens happy.

Nero

He ruled from 54 - 68 A.D. he was a cruel Roman emperor, blamed for Rome’s fire and persecuted Christians.

Virgil

Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid, celebrating Rome's origins.

paterfamilias

The male head of a Roman household with legal authority over the family.

Livy

A Roman historian who wrote the early history of Rome and taught Romans to value courage and loyalty.

Jesus & the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus, the founder of Christianity, taught love, forgiveness, and kindness in his Sermon on the Mount.

Peter

He was a Jewish fisherman who followed Jesus and was the first leader of the apostles.

Paul

He was an educated Roman citizen who originally didn’t follow Jesus, but later became a Christian and traveled around the Roman Empire teaching people about Christianity around the Asia Minor and Aegean Sea, and sending messages.

Petrine Doctrine

The belief that Peter was the first Pope and that popes inherit his authority.

Martyr

Someone who dies for their religious beliefs.

Edict of Milan

A law in 313 A.D. by Constantine granting religious freedom to Christians.

Constantine

Roman emperor who legalized Christianity and founded a new capital and the city Constantinople.

Diocletian

Emperor who divided the empire into East and West and introduced reforms.

Theodosius

Emperor who made Christianity the official state religion of Rome.

The Last Roman Emperor

Romulus Augustulus (deposed in 476 A.D.).

Characteristics of a great Roman city

Roads, aqueducts, baths, forums, amphitheaters, temples, trade centers, strong defenses.

Precedents established by Augustus

Professional army, civil service, tax reform, emperor as 'first citizen,' long-term stability.

Roman architectural achievements

Concrete, aqueducts, domes, arches, vault, roads.

Why roads were important

Allowed fast trade, troop movement, communication, and spreading ideas (including Christianity).

How Rome treated Jews

Tolerated at first, but tensions grew; high taxes, revolts, and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

How Judaism is the foundation of Christianity

Shared scriptures, monotheism, moral laws, and Jesus himself was Jewish.

How Christianity differed from Roman values

Emphasized equality, humility, charity, peace, and one God (vs. Roman pride and polytheism).

Why Christianity was appealing

Offered forgiveness, eternal life, moral comfort, community, and acceptance of all classes.

How Paul spread Christianity

He traveled across the Roman Empire, taught people about Jesus, wrote letters to churches, and helped Christianity reach non-Jews.

Economic factors in Rome's decline

Heavy taxes, inflation, trade decrease, reliance on slave labor, poor harvests.

Social factors in Rome's decline

Decline of civic duty, class conflict, population drop, loss of traditional values.

Political factors in Rome's decline

Corruption, weak emperors, civil wars, military loyalty shifting to generals.

Year Rome fell

476 A.D.