chapter 7 and 8

republic

A form of government in which the leader is not a king and certain citizens have the right to vote.

patrician

A social class of wealthy, powerful landowners, who formed the ruling class in the Roman Republic.

plebeian

In the Roman Republic, a social class made up of minor landholders, craftspeople, merchants, and small farmers.

consul

A chief executive officer of the Roman Republic; two were elected each year to run the government and to lead the army into battle.

praetor

An official of the Roman Republic in charge of enforcing civil law.

triumvirate

A government by three people with equal power.

dictator

An absolute ruler.

imperator

Commander in chief; the Latin origin of the word.

paterfamilias

In the Roman social structure, the dominant male head of the household.

insulae

Roman apartment blocks constructed of concrete with wooden-beam floors.

Latins

People from the ancient country of Latium, an area in what is now the country of Italy.

Latium

A plain in central Italy on which the city of Rome was built.

Etruscans

Northern Italian society that initially dominated the Romans and helped convey Greek concepts.

Etruria

Northern region of Italy; home to the Etruscans.

Roman Confederation

System whereby Rome allowed some peoples to have full Roman citizenship, while most remained allies.

Livy

Roman historian.

Cincinnatus

The temporary Roman dictator who willingly gave up power after defeating a neighboring tribe.

Senate

300 elected members from Rome's upper society.

centuriate assembly

Elected the chief officials, such as consuls and praetors, and passed laws.

council of plebs

Assembly for the plebs only; received the right to pass laws.

struggle of the orders

A great social conflict between patricians and plebeians for political representation.

tribunes of the plebs

Roman officials elected by the Council of the Plebs to protect plebeians.

Twelve Tables

Rome's first code of laws; adopted in 450 B.C.

Law of Nations

Grew out of the Twelve Tables and included standards of justice still used today.

Carthage

An ancient city on the north coast of Africa.

Sicily

An island in the Mediterranean Sea off the southwest tip of the Italian peninsula.

First Punic War

Conflict from 264 B.C. to 241 B.C. over control of Sicily.

Hannibal

Carthaginian military commander who attempted a surprise attack on Rome.

Second Punic War

War in which Carthaginian General Hannibal entered Roman territory seeking revenge.

Battle of Zama

Battle in 202 B.C. where Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal.

Scipio Africanus

Roman general who defeated Hannibal.

Third Punic War

Conflict in which Romans destroyed Carthage 50 years later.

Cato

Roman senator who declared that 'Carthage must be destroyed.'

Tiberius Gracchus

Roman politician who wanted to give land to the poor.

Gaius Gracchus

Tribune who attempted land and citizenship reform in the Roman Republic.

Marius

A Roman general who recruited volunteer warriors loyal to him.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla

Roman consul who battled Marius in a civil war.

First Triumvirate

Political alliance of Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey.

Second Triumvirate

Political alliance of Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus.

Cleopatra VII

Egyptian monarch allied with Antony.

Battle of Actium

Battle in 31 B.C. for control of the empire won by Octavian.

Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius.

Five Good Emperors of Rome

Pax Romana

200-year period of peace in Rome.

Hadrian's Wall

Built by Hadrian in Britain to keep out the Picts and the Scots.

Caracalla

Granted Roman citizenship to every free person in the empire.

Virgil

Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid.

Horace

Wrote satires.

Livy

Wrote The Early History of Rome.

Spartacus

A Roman gladiator who led the most famous slave revolt in Italy.

Circus Maximus

Venue for horse and chariot races.

Jupiter

God of sky and thunder.

Juno

Goddess of love and marriage.

Minerva

Goddess of wisdom and war.

Mars

God of war.

procurator

An official in charge of a province in the Roman Empire.

clergy

Church leaders.

laity

Regular church members.

plague

An epidemic disease.

inflation

A rapid increase in prices.

bishopric

A group of Christian communities under the authority of a bishop.

monk

A man who dedicates himself to God, living in a monastery.

monasticism

The practice of living the life of a monk.

missionary

A person sent out to carry a religious message.

nun

A woman who dedicates herself to God, living in a convent.

abbess

The head of a convent.

wergild

'Money for a man'; the value of a person in money based on social status.

ordeal

A means of determining guilt based on the idea of divine intervention.

patriarch

The head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, originally appointed by the Byzantine emperor.

icons

Pictures of religious images.

idolatry

The worship of religious images.