Rome republic

Aeneas

Trojan hero (son of Venus) who fled Troy and settled in Latium, carrying the Penates; Romans used him (e.g. in Virgil's Aeneid) to link Rome to the Greek heroic world and give it an old pedigree.

Aetolian League

Federation of Greek cities that allied with Rome against Philip V (c. 212 BC) in the First Macedonian War; later felt unrewarded and turned on Rome, showing how alliances became dependence.

Allia Complex

Roman fear of invasion rooted in the defeat by the Gauls at the Allia river (c. 390 BC) and the sack of Rome; fed a security-driven outlook on expansion. (Check how your professor defines the phrase.)

Anakyklosis

Polybius's theory of the cycle of constitutions: monarchy to tyranny, aristocracy to oligarchy, democracy to mob rule, then back; he argued Rome's mixed constitution checked the cycle.

Cannae

Roman disaster (Aug 2, 216 BC) where Hannibal's double envelopment killed tens of thousands; some allies defected but most stayed loyal, showing the strength of Rome's Italian system.

capite censi

"Counted by head": the poorest citizens, too poor to be assigned a property class and normally exempt from army service; later opened to service (traditionally by Marius, 107 BC).

Cartago Nova

"New Carthage," Carthaginian base in Spain founded by Hasdrubal (c. 228 BC); Scipio captured it in a surprise attack in 209 BC, giving Rome a major base and resources in Spain.

C. Porcius Cato

Listed separately from M. Porcius Cato; unclear which figure the course means (possibly a typo or another family member, e.g. the consul of 114 BC). Check notes or ask the professor.

Cincinnatus

Farmer-aristocrat who left his plow to become dictator in 458 BC, beat the Aequi in sixteen days, then returned to his farm; model of civic virtue and giving up power willingly.

Civitas sine suffragio

"Citizenship without the vote": given to some conquered communities with Roman legal protection and military obligations but no political voice; a gradual way to absorb neighbors.

Cloaca Maxima

The "Great Drain," sewer that drained the Forum valley, traditionally built under the Tarquins; reflects large-scale Etruscan-style public works of the late monarchy.

Coloniae

Settlements of Roman or Latin citizens planted on conquered land; served as garrisons, rewarded citizens with land, and bound Italy to Rome.

Comitia Centuriata

Assembly organized into military-style centuries by wealth; elected consuls and praetors and voted on war and laws; the rich voted first and held most centuries, so it favored the upper classes.

Concilium Plebis

Assembly of plebeians only, organized by tribes; elected tribunes and passed plebiscita, which eventually bound the whole state.

Dictator

Emergency magistrate appointed for up to six months with supreme command; met crises without creating a king; fell into disuse after Hannibal.

Fabius Cunctator

"The Delayer": Quintus Fabius Maximus, dictator in 217 BC after Trasimene, who avoided pitched battle and wore Hannibal down; unpopular but kept Rome alive.

Fasces

Bundle of rods with an axe carried by lictors before magistrates as the symbol of imperium; Etruscan in origin, showing how officials inherited royal authority.

The Fetters

Three key fortresses in Greece (Demetrias, Chalcis, Corinth) held by Philip V that controlled the country; Flamininus made their liberation a theme of his campaign.

fides

Good faith and trustworthiness; the moral basis of patron-client ties, treaties, and promises; Romans used it to justify their dealings with other states, often self-servingly.

First Macedonian War

War (215-205 BC) fought during Hannibal's invasion; Rome allied with the Aetolian League to keep Philip V busy; ended inconclusively but was Rome's first serious involvement east of the Adriatic.

Hannibal Barca

Carthaginian general (247-183 BC) who crossed the Alps in 218 and won at Trebia, Trasimene, and Cannae but could not force Rome to surrender; defeated at Zama.

Hortensian Law of 287

Made plebiscites binding on all Romans without senatorial approval; traditionally ends the Struggle of the Orders, though it mainly merged plebeian and patrician elites rather than creating democracy.

Interregnum

The "between-kings" period when patrician senators held power in rotation (five days each) until a new king was chosen; shows the Senate's role under the monarchy.

Lars Porsenna of Clusium

Etruscan king who besieged Rome to restore the Tarquins (c. 508 BC); source of the Horatius and Scaevola legends; some scholars suspect he actually took the city.

leges regiae

The "royal laws," early rules (mostly on religion and family law) attributed to the kings; not reliably historical but show how Romans imagined early law.

Lucius Junius Brutus

Led the expulsion of the kings and became one of the first consuls (509 BC); remembered as founder of the Republic and for executing his own sons for plotting to restore the Tarquins.

Lucretia

Noblewoman raped by Tarquin's son Sextus who killed herself after telling her family; her death sparked the revolt against the Tarquins and embodies ideals of female virtue.

M. Porcius Cato

Cato the Elder (234-149 BC): conservative censor (184) famed for moral severity, hostility to Greek luxury, and ending speeches with "Carthage must be destroyed."

Magna Graecia

Greek-colonized cities of southern Italy and Sicily; contact spread Greek culture to Rome and drew it into conflicts such as the one with Tarentum.

Maniple tactics

Flexible army formation of small units in lines that replaced the rigid phalanx; linked to the Samnite Wars and suited to rough terrain.

Marcus Furius Camillus

Dictator who captured Veii (c. 396 BC) and was credited with rallying Rome after the Gallic sack; called the "second founder."

Numen

Divine power or will believed present in places, objects, and events; Roman religion focused on correct ritual to keep the pax deorum (peace with the gods).

paterfamilias

Male head of a household with patria potestas over wife, children, slaves, and property; the model for Roman authority generally.

Patricians and Plebeians

Patricians: hereditary aristocracy that monopolized offices and priesthoods; plebeians: everyone else, including some wealthy families; their conflict (c. 494-287 BC) shaped the Republic's constitution.

Patronage

Relationship between a powerful patron and dependent clients, exchanging loyalty for protection and favors; structured Roman society and Rome's dealings with allies and conquered peoples.

Penates

Household gods who guarded the storeroom and family wellbeing; worshipped in homes and by the state; Aeneas supposedly brought Rome's Penates from Troy.

Philip V

King of Macedon (221-179 BC) who allied with Hannibal after Cannae, starting the First Macedonian War, and was defeated by Rome at Cynoscephalae in 197.

Plebeian tribunes

Officials created after the first plebeian secession (traditionally 494 BC) to protect plebeians; could veto magistrates (intercessio) and aid citizens (auxilium); sacrosanct.

Polybius

Greek historian (c. 200-118 BC), hostage at Rome after 168 and friend of Scipio Aemilianus; wrote the Histories explaining Rome's rise, crediting its mixed constitution and military discipline.

Pyrrhus of Epirus

Greek king who aided Tarentum against Rome (280 BC); won costly victories at Heraclea and Asculum ("Pyrrhic victory") but lost at Beneventum (275); showed Rome could withstand a Hellenistic army.

Romulus

Legendary founder and first king of Rome (traditionally 753 BC) who killed his brother Remus; fixes kingship and violent origins at the start of Roman tradition.

sacrosanctitas

Inviolability of the plebeian tribunes, enforced by a sacred oath of the plebs; anyone who harmed a tribune could be killed with impunity.

Saguntum

Spanish city allied to Rome that Hannibal besieged in 219 BC; the attack set off the Second Punic War, and ancient writers argued over whether Carthage broke a treaty.

Samnite Wars

Three wars (343-290 BC) against hill peoples of central Italy, including the humiliation at the Caudine Forks (321); forced tactical flexibility and built Rome's wider Italian network.

Scaevola

Gaius Mucius, who infiltrated Porsenna's camp to kill him and thrust his right hand into a fire to show Roman fortitude; the tale persuaded Porsenna to make peace.

Scipio Aemilianus

Adopted grandson of Africanus who destroyed Carthage in 146 BC and took Numantia in 133; Polybius's patron and a leading figure in the Scipionic intellectual circle.

Scipio Africanus

Took New Carthage (209 BC), drove Carthage from Spain, invaded Africa, and defeated Hannibal at Zama (202 BC); symbol of new aristocratic prestige.

Servian Wall

Major stone circuit wall of Rome attributed to Servius Tullius but actually built in the 4th century BC (c. 378) after the Gallic sack.

Tarentum

Wealthy Greek city in southern Italy that invited Pyrrhus to fight Rome (280 BC); Rome took it in 272, completing the conquest of the peninsula south of the Po.

Tarquinii

Etruscan city north of Rome and home of the Tarquin dynasty; shows strong Etruscan influence on early Rome (fasces, public building, religion).

Tarquinius Superbus

"Tarquin the Proud," seventh and last king, portrayed as a tyrant ruling without the Senate; expelled in 509 BC, launching the Republic and a lasting hatred of kingship.

The XII Tables

Rome's first written law code (c. 451-450 BC), created by a board of ten after plebeian demands for fixed law; limited arbitrary magistrate power and founded Roman law.

timocratic system

System where political rights and duties depend on wealth; the Servian constitution divided citizens into property classes and centuries, shaping the Comitia Centuriata.

Titus Quinctius Flamininus

Roman general who beat Philip V at Cynoscephalae (197 BC) and proclaimed the "freedom of the Greeks" at the Isthmian Games (196); extended Roman influence without direct rule.

Veii

Powerful Etruscan city about ten miles from Rome, conquered by Camillus after a ten-year siege (c. 396 BC); roughly doubled Roman territory.

Villanovan culture

Early Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy (c. 900-700 BC) known for cremation burials in urns; archaeological precursor of the Etruscans.

Wrath of the Barcas

Hostility of Hamilcar Barca and his family toward Rome, especially after Rome seized Sardinia (238 BC); Polybius cites it as a cause of the Second Punic War.

Zama

Battle in North Africa (202 BC) where Scipio defeated Hannibal, ending the Second Punic War; Carthage lost its empire and fleet and became a dependent state.