World History Module 10: Ancient Rome

Etruscans

Civilization that influenced early Roman culture.

Tiber River

Major river in Italy, crucial for Rome's development.

Mediterranean Sea

Sea that influenced trade and culture in Rome.

Alps

Mountain range in northern Italy, natural barrier.

Latins

Early settlers of Rome around 1000 BCE.

Greeks

Colonized southern Italy, impacting Roman culture.

Punic Wars

Conflicts between Rome and Carthage establishing dominance over the Meditteranean.

Julius Caesar

Military leader who became dictator for life of Rome. Introduced many reforms, and was later murdered

Pompey

Roman general and political rival of Caesar.

Crassus

Wealthy Roman politician, part of the First Triumvirate.

Cleopatra

Last Ptolemiac Pharaoh of Egypt, allied with Julius Caesar

Pax Romana

Period of peace and stability across the Roman Empire.

Goths

Germanic tribe that invaded Roman territory and participated in the Sack of Rome(410)

Attila the Hun

Leader of Huns

Diocletian

Emperor who spilt the empire into halves

Constantine

Emperor who reunited the Roman Empire and founded Constantinople.

Romulus and Remus

Legendary twins credited with founding Rome.

Servius Tullius

Sixth king of Rome, organized census and army.

Tarquin the Proud

Last king of Rome, overthrown due to tyranny.

Lucretia

High priestess whose rape led to Roman revolt.

Roman Republic

Form of gov. in which power to govern rests in people/citizens

Patrician

A member of a noble Roman family.

Plebeian

One of the common people of Rome, not a noble.

Tribune

Role that represented the common people and governed by majority rule.

Consul

The two most powerful officials in the Roman Republic.

Veto

To reject or prohibit actions of government officials.

Senate

A council of wealthy and powerful citizens who advised Rome's leaders.

Twelve Tables

Rome's first written law code produced on 12 bronze tablets displayed in the Forum.

Dictator

A ruler with nearly unlimited power.

Legion

A unit of the Roman army including up to 6,000 soldiers.

Carthage

A significant trading city built by Phoenician settlers, Rome's main rival in the region.

Tiberius Gracchus

Older Gracchus brother who proposed Lex Sempronia Agraria, which is a land reform, and was later beaten to death by the Senate.

Gaius Gracchus

Younger Gracchus brother who reproposed Lex Sempronia Agraria and commits suicide.

Civil war

War within the same country.

Triumvirate

A group of three men holding power.

Gaul

Western Europe (Modern day France).

Rubicon River

The river Julius Caesar crossed that began the civil war that would end the Roman Republic.

Gaius Cassius + Marcus Brutus

The assassins of Julius Caesar.

Octavian / Augustus Caesar

The first emperor of Rome and established Pax Romana.

Mark Antony

Roman general and assistant to Julius Caesar who fought against Octavian after Caesar's death.

Battle of Actium (31 B.C.)

Mark Antony vs. Octavian, where Antony's fleet was defeated and he fled back to Egypt.

Imperator

Commander.

Inflation

Price increase (One of the many factors why Rome fell).

Mercenary

A professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.

Constantinople

Constantine's new capital in what is now Turkey means the city of Constantine.

Byzantium

An ancient Greek colony and transit point that became the location of the Byzantine Empire's capital city, Constantinople.

Visigoths

One of the many barbaric tribes that raided and moved into Roman territory.

Sack of Rome (A.D. 410)

The event where the Goths sacked/destroyed Rome after the Romans stopped making payments.

Fall of the Roman Empire

Factors include weakened by corruption, difficulty communicating, political unrest, falling to invaders (Barbarians), disease, inflation, and Rome's low population.

Lepidius

A powerful politician who was apart of the second triumvirate with Octavian and Antony. He was later forced into retirement

What were Caesar's five reforms?

Gives citizenship to provincial populations, expanded Senate, infrastructure, colonized new lands, paid soldiers more

What problems cause the empire to split and the western half to collapse?

Barbaric Invasions, disease, Rome's vast size

How did Augustus' rule change the Roman empire politically, economically, and socially?

Augustus orchestrated Pax Romana, and he stablized the frontier, glorified Rome, created civil sense, Denarius(coin, and Praetorian Guard