Ancient Rome and Historical Sources Study Guide

Vocabulary flashcards covering key historians, foundational myths, constitutional milestones, civil wars, and imperial figures from Roman history notes.

Livy (Titus Livius)

Roman historian (64/59 BC–AD 17) from Patavium who wrote a romanticized, moralistic history of Rome in 142 books titled 'From the Founding of the City'.

Periochae

Ancient summaries of the books of Livy's massive history of Rome, preserving outlines of lost works.

Polybius

Greek aristocratic hostage taken to Rome in 168 BC who wrote a major historical account analyzing the checks and balances of Rome's mixed constitution.

Sallust

Roman historian (86–35 BC) renowned for his account of the Catilinarian debate between Julius Caesar and Marcus Porcius Cato.

Suetonius

Imperial biographer (110–120 AD) who wrote a detailed biographical account of Julius Caesar's assassination.

Tacitus

Roman senator and historian who wrote the 'Annals' (110–120 AD), providing a sharp indictment of imperial tyranny, palace intrigues, and the reign of Nero.

Aeneas

Trojan hero characterized by piety and paternal devotion who migrated to Italy after the fall of Troy and founded Lavinium as the father of the Latin people.

Ascanius (Iulius)

Son of Aeneas and legendary ancestor of the Roman Julian clan.

Romulus and Remus

Twin legendary founders of Rome, born to the Vestal Virgin Rhea and Mars, raised by a she-wolf (Lupa) and shepherds, who restored King Numitor before establishing Rome.

April 21, 753 BC

The traditional date for the founding of Rome by Romulus following his lethal dispute with Remus.

Tarquin the Proud

The seventh and final king of Rome, an arrogant monarch of Etruscan descent whose overthrow marked the end of the monarchy.

Rape of Lucretia

The 509 BC tragedy under Tarquin the Proud that incited the Roman populace to overthrow the monarchy and establish the Republic.

First Secession of the Plebs

The 494 BC strike by Roman plebeians that forced patrician concessions and created the office of the tribunes.

Twelve Tables

The first written law code of Rome, formulated between 451 and 450 BC to establish transparent legal rights.

Cincinnatus

Roman statesman called from exile in 458 BC to serve as dictator during a military emergency, revered for stepping down immediately after resolving the crisis.

Marcus Furius Camillus

Roman general who conquered Veii after a 10-year siege and was later recalled from exile as dictator to save Rome after the Gallic sack in 390 BC.

River Allia

The 390 BC battlefield defeat known as Rome's 'Dark Day,' which allowed the Gauls to invade and sack the city of Rome.

Novus Homo ('New Man')

A term describing an individual who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or become consul, such as Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Popularis

A political approach or leader in the Late Roman Republic who championed the interests, land rights, and political power of the common citizens.

Catilinarian Conspiracy

A 63 BC plot led by Lucius Catiline to violently seize consular power, which was uncovered and suppressed by the consul Cicero.

Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger)

Optimate leader and tribune-elect who successfully persuaded the Senate in 63 BC to order the immediate execution of the Catilinarian conspirators.

Battle of Alesia

The decisive 52 BC siege battle in which Julius Caesar trapped and defeated the united Gallic resistance under Vercingetorix.

Rubicon River

The boundary in northern Italy crossed by Julius Caesar and his legion on January 10, 49 BC, sparking the Caesarian Civil War.

Battle of Pharsalus

The 48 BC battle in which Julius Caesar decisively defeated Pompey the Great, leading Pompey to flee to Egypt where he was killed.

Ides of March (March 15, 44 BC)

The date on which Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate by conspirators calling themselves 'Liberators.'

Battle of Philippi

The 42 BC clash in Macedonia where Caesarian leaders Marc Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius.

Battle of Actium

The decisive 31 BC naval engagement in which Octavian defeated Marc Antony and Cleopatra, securing absolute power over the Roman world.

Princeps

A title meaning 'first citizen' or 'first among equals' used by Augustus to wield autocratic power while preserving republican facades.

Teutoburg Forest

The AD 9 battle where Germanic tribes destroyed three Roman legions, definitively halting Roman expansion across the Rhine River.

Seneca the Younger

Cordoba-born Stoic philosopher, tutor and advisor during Nero's 'Five Golden Years,' and author of the '124 Letters on Morality to Lucilius' who was forced into suicide in 65 AD.

Great Fire of Rome

A devastating fire in 64 AD that destroyed large sections of Rome during Nero's reign, leading to rumors that he performed on his kithara while the city burned.

Trajan

Roman emperor (98–117 AD) and first of the adoptive emperors, celebrated for military conquests of Dacia, Armenia, and Parthia, and commemorated by Trajan's Column.

Hypocaust

An ancient Roman heating system that circulated warm air beneath raised floors, widely used in Roman public bathhouses.

Marcus Aurelius

Stoic Roman emperor (161–180 AD) known as the 'Philosopher Emperor,' who governed the empire through a devastating plague beginning in 166 AD.

Stoicism

A Hellenistic and Roman philosophy emphasizing that individuals cannot control external outcomes, requiring mastery of desires, emotional restraint, and the pursuit of virtue.