Ancient Rome and the Empire-Test 1

Magna Graecia

"Great Greece," Latin name given to the Greeks by the Romans.

Cloaca Maxima

"Great Sewer" built by the Etruscans to drain the site of the Roman Forum; one of the earliest sewage systems ever built

Imperium

"The right to command." In the Roman Republic, the chief executive officers possessed the imperium. A military leader was the imperator.

Mos Maiorum

"way of the elders," plural mores, with maiorum a genitive plural; cf. English "mores" is the unwritten code from which the ancient Romans derived their social norms. It is the core concept of Roman traditionalism, distinguished from but in dynamic complement to written law.

Polybius

(200-118 BCE) Remember that he was the one who wrote the book about roman history that covered 264 - 146 BCE, the rise of the roman republic and the domination of Greece. He's also the one who thought about the separation of powers. His ideas led to the drafting of United States Constitution.

Pyrrhic Wars

(281-275) cause: people of tarentum pick a fight w rome and get king pyrrhus to help, 3 wars: pyrrhus and italian allies win first 2 but lose so many men that they can't fight in the 3rd

Censor

(in ancient Rome) overseer of morals (also taking the census); person who eliminates inappropriate matter

Comitia Plebis Tributum

) is made up of all plebeian citizens, grouped into their respective tribes. It elects both the plebeian aediles and the tribunes of the plebs. It is also empowered to enact laws binding upon the entire citizenry (called plebiscites) and to try legal cases solely involving members of the plebeian order that do not involve permanent removal of citizenship.

How many tribunes were there?

10

How wide were the walls of Allia?

12 feet

Comitia Centuria

193 Centuries 18 Equites 80 Class 1 20 Class 2 20 Class 3 20 Class 4 20 Class 5 15 "Hangers On"

How consul were there?

2

How many Roman citizens were in the army in 227? Allies? Rowers in the Fleet?

200,000 500,000 100,000

How many Citizen colonies were there?

23

How tall were the Walls of Allia?

24 feet

How large of army did Pyrrhus have?

25,000 infantry and 50 elephants

How many Latin colonies were there?

34

how many miles around the city did the walls of Allia stretch?

5.5 miles

Res Publica

500 BCE Res Publica, or "the peoples matter" or "the public business"; the romans name for their republic. The republic distributed power by electing officials and making laws in open meetings of male citizens.

Terence

: He was a comedic playwright that lived from 195-159 BCE. His plots were more complex, and strove for consistency by avoiding Roman references in his Greek plots. The language of his plays were that of everyday life as opposed to elaborate language.

Genus

A classification grouping that consists of a number of similar, closely related species

Senate

A group of 300 men elected to govern Rome in the Roman Republic.

Syracuse

A large city located on the island of Sicily, which is just off the coast of Italy. In 421 BC, there was a truce between the Sparta and her allies and Athens and her allies called the Peace of Nicias. This treaty was to last 50 years and return to the two groups to the pre-war status quo. After this peace was reached, Athens turned it's attention to the city of Syracuse. The city of Syracuse was wealthy and powerful, a potential ally to the Athenians. Therefore, Athens amassed the largest army ever seen in the Greek world, and sailed off to conquer what they believe would be an easy destination. The expedition eventually fell to ruins and Athens had to retreat back to Attica.

Legion

A military unit of the ancient Roman army, made up of about 5,000 foot soldiers and a group of soldiers on horseback.

Populus

A people

Senatus Populusque Romanus

A phrase meaning "the Roman Senate and people" meaning both the patrician senate and plebian assembly

Plebiscites

A vote by the people of an area to determine to which country they wanted to belong: examples in the Treaty of Versailles included Schleswig, Silesia, and the Saar.

Latins

An ancient people living in the region of Latium, Italy, who believed that they descended from Latinus, the father-in-law of Aeneas

Tribe

Any system of social organization made up of villages, bands, or other groups with a common ancestry, language, culture, and name

Appius Claudius Pulcher

Appointed consul in 143BC, and desperately wanted a triumph. So he attacks the Salassi without reason, eventually destroying them. When Roman leadership refused him a triumph, he paid for one out of his own pocket. Allied closely with Tiberius Grachus, and supported his land bill, helping Tiberius and Gaius distribute the land. Helps flout conventions and exploits the plebs for personal gain.

Maleventum

Benevento was certainly in the power of the Romans in 274 BC, when Pyrrhus was defeated in a great battle, fought in its immediate neighborhood, by the consul Curius Dentatus. Six years later (268 BC) they further sought to secure its possession by establishing there a Roman colony with Latin rights. It was at this time that it first assumed the name of Beneventum, having previously been called Maleventum, a name which the Romans regarded as of evil augury, and changed into one of a more fortunate signification. It is probable that the Oscan or Samnite name was Maloeis, or Malieis (Μαλιείς in Ancient Greek), whence the form Maleventum would derive, like Agrigentum from Acragas (modern Agrigento), Selinuntium from Selinus (the ruins of which are at modern Selinunte), etc.

Pontifex Maximus

Chief Priest of Rome, in charge of the state religion, feasts, morals and every priest was answerable to him. Every emperor became pontifex maximus, it came with a house in the forum.

Slave

Classical empires saw a rise in _____. This form of labor was a major part of the production of food and other goods (Corvée for example). Although some civilizations relied greatly on this (like Rome) while in others such as China it was an extremely small percentage of the population.

Lars Porsena

Etruscan king who led army against Rome to try and return Tarquin the proud to the throne, later made peace with Rome

Princeps Senatus

First citizen of the senate. Given to most distinguished senator. (Octavian)

Curia

Give the Latin word for 'senate house'.

Tiber River

In 753 B.C. the Latins built an outpost on this river for their colony to get safety from the Etruscans.

Magister Equitum

In Rome, the consul who was "master of the cavalry" and responsible for invasion, defense, and was person who oversees the censor.

Equites

In ancient Italy, prosperous landowners second in wealth and status to the senatorial aristocracy. The Roman emperors allied with this group to counterbalance the influence of the old aristocracy and used the equites to staff the imperial civil service.

Patrician

In the Roman Republic, a member of the upper, ruling class.

Centuries

In the Roman army, soldiers were gathered into smaller groups of 80-100 people.

Dictator

In time of emergency republic was suspended was appointed for 6 months to solve problems was expected to leave office when problem passed

Oscans

Italic tribes occupied Italy at the time of Etruscan ruling over Rome. First to settle at Pompeii

Praetor How many were there?

Judge who created most of the laws of rome through decisions in court cases 2, later 8

Civis

Latin word for citizen. It also can be used as belonging such as to a civilization or city.

Plebians

Members of the lower class of Ancient Rome including farmers, merchants, artisans and traders

Patron-Client Relationship

Neofeudal relations in which "patrons" gain the support of "clients" through the mutual exchange of benefits and obligations

Etruria

Northern region of Italy; home to the Villanovan Culture and later, Etruscans

Campania

Pompeii and Herculaneum were located on the coast of the bay of naples in the region known as "CAMPANIA" south of Rome.

"Pyrrhic Victory"

Pyrrhus defeated the Romans at Heraclea, but his army was almost completely decimated

Heraclea

Pyrrhus' Invasion of Roman Italy; Romans led by P. Valerius Laevinus defeated by Pyrrhus' introduction of war elephants after initial attacks; won his first battle against the Romans

Apennine Mountains

Rocky "backbone" through the Italian peninsula. Very high and rocky making them difficult to cross. Lacking rich soil. More sheep herding than farming.

Livius Andronicus

Roman culture, like Greek culture, brought back a captured slave who became the Father of Roman Literature = could translate Homer's Iliad and Odyssey

Plautus

Roman playwright who avoided the censorship of the sponsors by setting his plays in Greece instead of Rome. He criticized Roman society. Always had slaves in his plays

Second Samnite War

Samnium became threatened by the successes of Rome in the great Latin war and by Alexander of Epirus who had come to the aid of Tarentum in the south. In such a context, war broke out again in order to determine the supreme power of central Italy, Rome or Samnium. At the end of the war the Samnites were defeated and their chief city, Bovianum, was captured by the Romans.

Aricia

Servius in his commentary on the lines in question explained that Virgil had been referring to the town Aricia, using the epithet "mother" with the town's name in honor of Octavian Augustus whose mother was a native of Aricia. Indeed, Aricia was a location holy to Diana (equated with Artemis) near Rome where Egeria, the spirit of a nearby stream, shared with Diana the guardianship of childbirth, and where Hippolytus (Virbius) was said to have been brought by Artemis after his resurrection.

Marcus Junius Brutus

Statesman of ancient Rome who (with Cassius) led a conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. He was one of Caesars friends. Defeated by Pompey at Mutina.

Hastati

Strong, young soldiers

Arretium

The Battle of Arretium, which was probably fought in 283 BC, is a poorly documented event in the History of the Roman Republic because it occurred in a period for which some of the books of the Roman History by Livy, the most thorough ancient historian for early Rome, have been lost. The battle is only explicitly referred to in a text by Polybius, the ancient Greek historian, which does not give much detail and puts it in the context of other events. A text by Appian talks about these events, but does not make any explicit reference to the Battle of Arretium. It was fought between the Romans and Gauls of northern Italy who may have been from the Senone tribe Roman Casualties: 13,000

Camorinum

The Battle of Camerinum in 298 BC was the first battle of the Third Samnite War. In the battle, the Samnites, assisted by the Gauls, defeated the Romans, who were commanded by Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus. Scipio was supposed to have stopped the Gauls from crossing a mountain pass in the Apennines, but failed, and the combined force of Samnites and Gauls defeated Scipio's two legions

Camillus

The Roman general who had an Etruscan city under siege and refused to use the children of the town to make them to surrender. He was a great military leader who kept being exiled, but then brought back again.

Comitia Centuriata

The Roman voting assembly, based upon the division of the Roman people into five classes and 193 centuries. Only a magistrate with imperium could summon this body. It had the power to vote on the elections of magistrates with imperium, declare war and peace, and enact laws.

Samnites

The Samnites were one of the Italian peoples that allied with King Pyrrhus of Epirus during the Pyrrhic War. After Pyrrhus left for Sicily, the Romans invaded Samnium and were crushed at the Battle of the Cranita hills, but after the defeat of Pyrrhus, the Samnites could not resist on their own and submitted to Rome. They joined and aided Hannibal during the Second Punic War. The Samnites were the last tribal group holding out against Rome in the Social War (91-88 BC). By 82 BC, the Roman dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla conducted an ethnic cleansing campaign against this most stubborn and persistent of Rome's adversaries and forced the remnant to disperse. So great was the destruction brought upon them that it was recorded that "the towns of Samnium have become villages, and most have vanished altogether."

Latium

The fertile plain that Rome was built on. It was ideal for farming and the site of conquest by the Etruscans

Ten Tables

The first code produced by the decemviri, ten bronze tablets (451 BC).

Latin League

The latin league, established in Italy, was a military alliance consisting of about 30 allies that were willing to come to each others aid in battle. It lasted from 7th-4th century BCE, although Rome was only a part of it from 493-426 BCE. The Latin League was designed to be equal, and they worked to find ways to defend themselves better; every city in the Latin League had an equal part. Since the Romans were much bigger and organized than the rest of the other cities and had more on the line, they felt that they deserved more power in the league than the other cities. For this reason, they left and the League eventually disbanded.

Tarentum

The most powerful Greek colony in southern Italy; sank several Roman ships docked in their harbor provoking a fight with the Romans; went to Pyrrhus for military aid knowing the Romans would react to the unprovoked attacks soon after they happened

pterfamilia

The pater familias was the oldest living male in a household.

Pyrrhus of Epirus

This man's brother-in-law Demetrius Poliorcetes sent him as a hostage to Ptolemy I of Egypt, during which time he married Ptolemy's stepdaughter Antigone. He was killed after a woman dropped either a pot or a roof tile on his head. This man's best known campaign began as an effort to support the city of Tarentum against incursions into Magna Graecia. This commander spent the winter in Campania after defeating (*) Publius Valerius Laevinus. At the 280 BCE Battle of Asculum, and a year later at Heraclea, this man's elephant-laden army suffered heavy casualties against his Roman foes despite carrying the day. For 10 points, name this king of Epirus who lends his name to a type of costly victory.

VETO!

To reject a bill and prevent it from becoming a law

Romulus and Remus

Traditional story of how Rome began. Twins abandoned and rescued by a wolf, raised by a shepherd . Grew to build Rome. Romulus later killed Remus

Consuls

Two officials from the patrician class were appointed each year of the Roman Republic to supervise the government and command the armies

Veii

What: Wealthy, powerful Etruscan city-state ~10 miles from Rome; had fought with Rome over land/the leadership of smaller city-states in 5th century BC, but in 396 BC, Rome conquered Veii and it was no longer an autonomous city-state. Veii's land became Roman territory and some of its citizens became Roman citizens; rest of population enslaved or expelled; Veii became center for nearby Romans

Ptolemy of Egypt

Who created a map of the world that endured/ served mankind for 1200 years

Naples (Neopolis)

Who showed how different constructions of family can conflict with eachother? ex./ same-sex partners and friends who constitute intimate relations and more real family than her biological family

Mount Vesuvius

___is a volcano that erupted on August 24, A.D. 79. Rocks and ashes from the explosion burried a town called Pompeii. It was burried under 23 feet volcanic debris.

Testudo

a Roman battle formation where soldiers put shields over their heads to protect them from bows and arrows

Hangers on

a person who associates with another person or a group in a sycophantic manner or for the purpose of gaining some personal advantage.

Campus Martius

a region in Rome along the Tiber river, home of the Pantheon and Theater of Pompey. North of the Capitoline Hill, this low-lying area was used as a training ground for soldiers.

Sexto-Licinian Rogations

a series of laws proposed by the tribunes of the plebs Lucius Sextius Lateranus and Gaius Licinius Stolo, Two of these laws were passed in 368 BC, after they had been elected and re-elected tribunes for nine consecutive years and had successfully prevented the election of patrician magistrates for five years (375-370 BC). These laws provided for a limit on the interest rate of loans and a restriction on private ownership of land. A third law which provided for one of the two consuls to be a plebeian was rejected. In 367 BC, during their tenth tribunate, this law was passed.

Prorogue

a session, but only when the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment.

Slingers

a soldier who handled a sling

Pilum

a spear that Roman soldiers used- similar to a javelin

Tributum

a stated payment, contribution, tribute

Latin Rights

a system of rewards given to conquered peoples which always required military aid for Rome and would eventually lead to citizenship

Terramarra Culture

a technology complex mainly of the central Po valley, in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, dating to the Middle and Late Bronze Age ca. 1700-1150 BC. It takes its name from the "black earth" residue of settlement mounds.

Fabius Pictor

active ca. 200 BCE Hailed as the first Roman historian. Served as a senator and perhaps a member of the decemviri sacris faciundis. Wrote, in Greek, of Rome's foundation, and of recent historical events. A source for Polybius of the first two Punic Wars.

Po River Valley

area on Italian peninsula that provided good pastureland and farmland

Comitia Curiata

assembly of adult arms-bearing men organized into curiae who would vote to give advice according to their ethnic ward

Contios

aware of and responding to one's surroundings; awake.

Decimatio

destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot)

Familia

family

Capua

gate at intersection of Via Apia and Via Latrina in Italy, included portraits of ancient Roman emperors and Frederick II

Syncretized

he combining of different beliefs, while blending practices of various schools of thought.

Quaestor How many were there?

in charge of treasury and public records, could command a wing of calvary and procure supplies for army 20

Clusium

n the early 4th century BC (391 BC according to Varronian chronology) it was besieged by Gauls, and the Clusines called upon Rome to intermediate. However, in the following negotiations, one of the Roman delegates, of the gens Fabia, killed a Gallic leader. When the Romans refused to hand over the Fabii and in fact appointed two members of the family as consuls for the next year, the enraged Gauls broke up their siege and under the leadership of Brennus they marched onto and subsequently sacked Rome

Nefas

not speak-able, a grave crime

Cavalry

part of an army in which the soldiers ride horses

Epirus

region where Pyrrus came with elephants to fight for the Greek colony Tarentum, against the Romans, also where Olympius was from

Aedile How many were there?

responsible for maintaining roads, buildings, and bridges, supervised trading in marketplace and traffic regulations, had grain imported, paid for ludi 4

Nobiles

select group circle of wealthy and powerful families- both patricians and plebians, that were essentially the men whose families were elected to the more important political offices of the Republic.

Denarius

small silver coin first minted about 211 BC during the Second Punic War. It became the most common coin produced for circulation

Principes

spearmen, and later swordsmen who could afford decent equipment. They were the heavier infantry of the legion

Cisalpine Gauls

the Gallish lands in Northern Italy south of the Alps, which became Rome's third province around 220 BCE.

Villanovan Culture

the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, abruptly following the Bronze Age Terramare culture and giving way in the 7th century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture influenced by Greek traders, which was followed without a severe break by the Etruscan civilization. The Villanovan culture and people branched from the Urnfield culture of Central Europe. The Villanovans introduced iron-working to the Italian peninsula; they practiced cremation and buried the ashes of their dead in pottery urns of distinctive double-cone shape.

Consul Suffectus

the highest consular position

Gellius Ignatius

the leader in clan Varriani, of the Samnites during the Third Samnite War, which broke out in 298 BC. By the end of the second campaign the Samnites appeared completely defeated, however in the following year Gellius Egnatius marched into Etruria, and roused the Etruscans to a close co-operation against Rome. This had the effect of withdrawing Roman troops from Samnium for a period of time; but the forces of the confederates were defeated by the combined armies of consuls Lucius Volumnius Flamma Violens and Appius Claudius Caecus. In the fourth campaign in 295 BC Egnatius induced the Gauls and the Umbrians to join the confederacy; but due to the withdrawal of the Etruscans and the Umbrians, the Gauls and the Samnites fell back beyond the Apennines, and were met by the Romans near the town of Sentinum. A decisive battle, marked by the heroic devotion of P. Decius Mus, ensured that the Samnites were defeated and their leader Egnatius was slain.

Etruschans

the modern name given to a powerful, wealthy and refined civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio. As distinguished by its unique language, this civilization endured from before the time of the earliest Etruscan inscriptions (c. 700 BC) until its assimilation into the Roman Republic, beginning in the late 4th century BC with the Roman-Etruscan Wars. Culture that is identifiably Etruscan developed in Italy after about 800 BC, approximately over the range of the preceding Iron Age Villanovan culture. The latter gave way in the 7th century to a culture that was influenced by ancient Greece, Magna Graecia, and Phoenicia. At its maximum extent, during the foundational period of Rome and the Roman Kingdom, Etruscan civilization flourished in three confederacies of cities: of Etruria, of the Po Valley with the eastern Alps, and of Latium and Campania.[2] The decline was gradual, but by 500 BC the political destiny of Italy had passed out of Etruscan hands.[3] The last Etruscan cities were formally absorbed by Rome around 100 BC. Although the Etruscans developed a system of writing, the Etruscan language remains only partly understood, and only a handful of texts of any length survive, making modern understanding of their society and culture heavily dependent on much later and generally disapproving Roman sources. Politics were based on the small city, and probably the family unit. In their heyday, the Etruscan elite grew very rich through trade with the Celtic world to the north and the Greeks to the south, and filled their large family tombs with imported luxuries. Archaic Greece had a huge influence on their art and architecture, and Greek mythology was evidently very familiar to them. The latest mitochondrial DNA study (2013) shows that Etruscans appear to fall very close to a Neolithic population from Central Europe and to other Tuscan populations, and are ancestral to the modern inhabitants of Casentino and Volterra.

Triarii

the oldest and among the wealthiest men in the army, thus they could afford high quality equipment.

Cursus Honorum

the path of honor, to move up a level in the political sense; sequence of magistracies(high to low): censor, consul, praetor, quaestor(aedile and tribune are optional)

Colonia

the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Maniple

unit of 60 to 120 soldiers within a Roman legion that could act independently in battle

Civis Sine Suffragio

was a level of citizenship in the Roman Republic which granted all the rights of Roman citizenship except the right to vote in popular assemblies.

Comitia Trbuta

was a nonmilitary civilian assembly. It accordingly met within the city inside the pomerium and elected magistrates who did not exercise imperium

Conflict of Orders

was a political struggle between the Plebeians (commoners) and Patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic, in which the Plebeians sought political equality with the Patricians.

Third Samnite War

was not only between the Romans and the Samnites, but also between many of the peoples of Italy, all of whom were seeking independence from the expanding Rome. The Romans successfully defeated and eventually subdued all the peoples, thus taking possession of central Italy.

Tarquinius Supurbus

was the legendary seventh and final king of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.

Novas Homo

was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul.

Battle of the Allia

which battle leads to the sack of rome