History Chapter 5 Rome MC Test
11. What did this virtue mean
Pietas meants the dutiful execution of one's obligations to one's fellow citizens, to the gods, and to the state.
10. What was the highest Roman virtue
Pietas.
8. To what field did Cicero make his most serious contribution
Politics.
Who was in the First Triumvirate
Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar.
What class was Julius Caesar from
Populares.
2. List the geographic advantages of Rome:
Productive farmland which supported a large population, access to the sea and was far enough to be safe from pirates, built on 7 hills, it was easily defended, situated to where Tiber could be forded, and it was the center of Italy leaving room to expand.
6. In what capacity did the proconsuls and propraetors serve
Ran provinces as rome expanded
7. How would you describe the political form of government in the new Rome
Republican form of government was established and a new Rome had emerged.
19. What did the council of the plebs do
Responsible for convoking it, and placing proposals before it. Gave the plebeians political leverage.
3. What was the immediate cause of the First Punic War
Romans decided to intervene in a struggle between two Sicilian cities by sending an army to Sicily.
7. What happened at the Battle of Cannae
Romans lost an army of 40,000 men, and we on the brink of disaster but refused to give up. The Carthaginians lacked the resources to lay siege so the Romans started to conquer other Italian cities and pursued a strategy.
4. What is the law of nature
Universal divine law derived from right reason; identical to the law of nature.
10. What other class was supposed to benefit from Gracchus' reform
Wealthy citizens; equestrian order.
3. How was a right relationship with gods achieved
With an exact performance of ritual.
Did Caesar deserve the death he died
Yes because he had disobeyed the state and was doing what was best for him.
4. Who performed religious rituals
college of priests
20. What was plebiscita
"The opinion of the plebs"
3. What did "imperium" mean
"The right/power to command"
1. How and when did the Romans codify their laws for the first time
(Define the word "codify.") In 450 BCE, the first codification of Roman law occured. Rome's chief made it, and they were memorized by kids. Codify: arrange (laws or rules) into a systematic code.
7. What bill did Tiberius Gracchus have the council of the plebs pass that in the end led to his assassination
(Redistribute land to slaves) A bill that authorized the government to reclaim public land held by large landowners and to distribute it to landless Romans.
12. What revolutionary change did Marius carry out in the Roman army
(recruited landless citizens) He created a new system of military recruitment that placed much power in the hands of individual generals. Made a professional type military of small farmers and people who didn't have any land or property, and gave them land.
What was Sulla's real and long-term legacy
(using personal army) Revised the constitution to restore power to the senate and eliminated most of the powers of the populate assemblies and the tribunes of the plebs. Gave more power to the ambitious men.
18. What was the legal minimum age for marriage
12, however it was most common at 14 years old.
9. What was the function of the senate
300 men who served for life advised the magistrates (a civil officer or lay judge who administers the law, especially one who conducts a court that deals with minor offenses and holds preliminary hearings for more serious ones.)
16. Who were the plebeians
A larger group of "independent, unprivileged, poorer and vulnerable men", as well as less wealthy landowners, craftspeople, merchants, and small farmers. Could vote but couldn't participate in government, could make legal contracts and marriages but could not marry a patrician. They wanted political and social equality with the patricians.
2. Who were nobiles
A relatively select circle of wealthy and powerful families, both patricians and plebeians.
15. What was a family likened to
A small state within a state, and the male's power over the family was the same as the state magistrates over citizens.
12. Who could become a member of the centuriate assembly
Adult men. Organized according to class and wealth
12. What did Romans come to value much more eventually, especially by the 2nd century B.C.
Affluence, status, and material possessions. Individualism instead of collective well-being.
9. How were slaves regarded by the Romans
As part of the family household.
7. What did quaestors do
Assisted the consuls and praetors in administration of financial affairs.
21. Whom was it binding on
At first only on the plebeians, not the patricians.
9. How and where did Scipio Africanus defeat Hannibal
At the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE in Northern Africa.
8. At whose expense would small farmers get land
At the large landowners.
18. What explains the Roman army's success
Because it was an army of citizens who wanted to defend their homeland, and also due to the aggressive behavior of the Roman military leaders.
6. Why was urban proletariat highly unstable
Because they did not have any property and were poor, and would create much trouble in depressed times.
1. Who controlled the senate
By Nobiles
16. How were daughters' marriages arranged
By fathers, occasionally women and daughters had an influence on the decision.
10. How did people become slaves
Capture in war, piracy and then their children were born into it.
1. What was the most formidable Mediterranean power that Rome faced
Carthage.
6. Who was the best lyric poet of the late Roman Republic
Catullus.
7. Who brought oratory to perfection
Cicero.
9. What invention allowed the Romans to build massive buildings
Concrete and curvilinear forms (arch, vault, dome).
What military duty made Caesar wealthy, strong, and famous
Conquered all of Gaul.
17. What was a legal relationship between fathers and their daughters
Cum manu, with legal control, meant the father controlled the woman, and passed her to the husband. That changed to sin manu, meaning the daughter remained in her father's power, creating more rights for women when the father passes.
How would you evaluate Caesar's domestic policies
Dangerous and selfish.
What is the basis of our current calendar
Egyptian solar year of 365 days, with changes implemented in 1582 BCE.
4. Which people lived to the north of Rome who ruled Rome for almost a century
Etruscans.
5. Who usually became proconsuls and propraetors
Ex-consuls and ex-praetors who had served their one year term.
15. Who were the patricians
Families who descended from original senators appointed during the period of kings. They had wealth from being landowners, and constituted an aristocratic governing class. Only they could be consuls magistrates, and senators. Controlled the centuriate assembly and many other facets of Roman life.
11. Name all the applications of slave labor
Farm laborers, shop assistants, or artisans, menial household workers, cooks, valets, waiters, cleaners, and gardeners, build roads, aqueducts, and other public facilities.
13. What percentage of the population did slaves make up
From 20-30%.
26. Why did the Romans build good roads
Good roads to all of the new settlements and connecting them assured themselves of an impressive military and communications network that enabled them to rule effectively and efficiently.
3. Under whose influence did the Romans develop the "law of nature"
Greek philosophy, primarily Stoicism, led them to develop the idea of law of nature.
1. What is the meaning of Horace's "Captive Greece took captive her rude conqueror"
Greek thought captivated the less sophisticated Roman minds, and they became transmitters of Greek culture. They were taken over, but took Rome back over by being their teaching them their ways.
5. Who led the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War
Hannibal, the greatest of the Carthaginian generals.
17. What four lines of battle did the infantry have
Hastati, principes, triarii, and poor (The hastati: youngest recruits, armed with most weapons and shields, in the 1st line. The principes: armed and protected like the hastati and formed the 2nd line. The triarii: 3rd ranked men, ready to move up to a 1st or 2nd level to fill gaps. The poor: no protection, very little weapons, were skirmishers who returned to the back to form backup reserves.)
10. How did Hannibal die
He commited suicide "Let us free Rome of her dread of one old man"
6. How did he march on Rome to attack it
He marched from the north, and crossed the Alps Mountains with his elephants and horses.
9. What reform was the most important goal for Tiberius' brother Gaius Gracchus
He wanted to benefit the equestrian order, a rising group of wealthy citizens who wanted a share in the political power held by the aristocracy.
12. What were latifundia
Huge gangs of slaves living in pitiful conditions worked large landed estates known as latifundia.
5. What was "the peace of the gods"
If rituals were performed correctly, the Romans would obtain the "peace of the gods", and would have success in their empire.
What does the crossing of the Rubicon mean
Illegally crossing the river that formed the southern boundary of his province. Today it means "taking a decisive action from which there is no turning back".
2. Who founded Carthage
In 800 BC by the Phoenicians from Tyre.
7. In whose honor did the Romans stage games
Jupiter Optimus Maximus.
As a result of Caesar's gains, what did the senate command him to do
Lay his command down and return as a private citizen.
25. What did Roman citizenship mean to newly naturalized Romans
Loyal allies could could improve status and even aspire to becoming Roman citizens.
3. How did the Greeks influence Rome
Make a list: Through direct contact with the Romans, they cultivated olives and grapes, passed on their alphabetic system of writing, and provided artistic and cultural models through their sculpture, architecture, and literature.
6. What political change occurred in 509 B.C.
Monarchy changed to Republican government.
22. Critical thinking: How democratic was the Roman Republic
More democratic since everyone could vote, however not very democratic since the majority of the city could not participate in the government or be officials; only the rich men.
What did the Battle of Actium signify
Octavian and Anthony's fight for power, as it was too small for them to run together.
3. What two types of aristocratic leaders existed at that time
Optimates and populares.
4. How were they distinguished from each other
Optimates controlled the senate and wished to maintain their oligarchy privileges, while the populates were usually other ambitious aristocrats who used the people's assemblies as instruments to break the domination of the optimates.
1. Where was Rome located
Rome was located in the center of Italy, was 18 miles inland on the Tiber River, and was on the plain of Latium on the Italian peninsula.
5. What was their most enduring product
Rome. They also brought urbanization to northern and central Italy.
16. Why were senators so interested in foreign wars
Senators, appealed by the glory and economic benefits, perceived new opportunities for foreign wars and slave labor.
14. Who led the most famous slave revolt
Spartacus, a slave who had been a Thracian gladiator.
8. What was the function of aediles
Supervised public games, watched over the city's grain supply.
14. What do historians mean by saying that Rome's imperial expansion was "opportunistic"
That it was not their original plan, but had given them the opportunity for a stronger security, as more threats showed up the more they conquered.
2. Who were the CEO's of the republic
The CEO's were the consuls and praetors. Two consuls chosen administered the government and led the army and possessed imperium.
24. What precedent for the conquered peoples emerged from the creation of the Roman Confederation. In other words, how did the Romans create loyalty among people they had conquered?
The Roman Confederation allowed people especially Latins to have full Roman citizenship; they were allowed to remain to their local affairs but were required to send soldiers to Rome. They also made allies with other communities.
11. What was the centuriate assembly
The Roman army functioning in its political role.
4. What was were the results of the First Punic War
The Roman fleet defeated the Carthaginian navy; Carthage left Sicily & payed indemnification to Rome
8. What happened to Spain as a result of the Second Punic War
The Romans pushed the Carthaginians out of Spain.
14. Who was involved in the Struggle of the Orders
The council of plebs.
13. Whom were soldiers loyal to
The general, not the state.
5. What did the Romans use to justify their legal system
The laws of nature gave Roman jurists a philosophical justification for systemizing Roman law according to basic principles.
15. What unwanted consequence inevitably happened as a result of Rome's expansion
The more they expanded, the more threats to their security appeared, involving them in more conflicts.
11. Which Roman senator advocated the complete destruction of Carthage
The politician Cato.
4. What was the primary function of the praetors (both of them)
The primary function was the execution of justice; in charge of civil law. They possessed imperium and governed Rome if the consuls were away, lead armies. Both of them were used to judge cases.
11. What did the Gracchus brothers' reforms eventually produce in the Roman Republic
They opened a door to more instability and further violence.
What did the civil wars end around 31 B.C.
The republic.
5. How did latifundia push small farmers out of the market
The small farmers could not afford to stay on their land, so they joined the city with no property.
2. What did the Romans understand by their "law of nations"
These laws were needed, and they were applied to both the Romans and the foreigners.
13. What led Rome to conquer the Eastern Mediterranean as well
They became involved in Hellenistic politics and wanted them freed. At first they tried to not control their land but that did not work, and Macedonia was made a province. When some tried to revolt, Rome taught them a lesson and they were placed under their government.
8. What were they originally
They consisted of chariot racing in the Circus Maximus, then animal hunts and theatrical performances were added. Aldo gladiatorial contests were the main focus.
13. What did the centuriate assembly do
They elected the chief magistrates and passed laws.
1. How did the republican government meet the threats from Rome's neighbors
They expanded their military that led to the conquest of the entire Italian peninsula. They also developed political institutions that were determined by the social divisions in the community
10. What role did the senate acquire by the 3rd c. B.C.
They had the force of law.
14. What did generals have to do to keep paying their soldiers
They had to get legislation passed that would provide land for their veterans.
2. How did Rome deal with other religions
They simply adapted the deities of their conquerors.
12. What happened to Carthage as a result of the Third Punic War
They were destroyed and their land was made into a province called Africa.
18. What was the function of tribunes of the plebs
They were given the power to protect plebeians against arrest by the patrician magistrate.
6. Who were the paterfamilias
They were head of the family who ensured that religious obligations were properly fulfilled; made sure it was a proper ritual.
17. How did the plebeians force the patricians to a compromise
They withdrew physically from the state. The patricians realized they could not defend Rome by themselves so they agreed to compromise.
23. What virtues did Livy stress in his works (See the document on p. 94)
duty and simplicity