Ancient Rome
Diocletian
Roman emperor who divided Rome into two parts in a desperate attempt to prevent the fall of Rome
Constantine
Roman emperor who gave religious tolerance to all (Christians) and moved the capitol to Constantinople ("New Rome")
patricians
Roman members of the landholding upper class
Virgil
Roman poet who tried to immortalize Rome and tell of it's glory and history in poetry; wrote the Aeneid
Ptolemy
Roman scientist who was the first to propose a geocentric model of the solar system
Julias Caesar
a Roman general who conquered Gaul and invades Rome to become the first dictator
republic
a form of government where citizens elect representatives
Hadrian
a man who codified Roman law and built a wall across Britain to protect Rome from attackers
mosaic
a picture made from chips of colored stone or glass; a popular art form in Ancient Rome
Gaius Gracchus
a powerful Roman politician who helped feed the poor and restricted the power of the senate
Tiberius Gracchus
a powerful and popular (with the plebes) politician in Rome who distributed land to poor farmers
Augustus
aka: Octavian; the first Roman emperor, rids Rome of its republic
Huns
A group of nomadic horsemen that pushed the Germanic tribes into Rome as they migrated from Asia to Europe
Pax Romana
A period of Roman Peace
Greece
The civilization that heavily influenced Roman architecture (and pretty much every other feature of their culture)
polytheism
The type of religion that Rome had
aqueducts
bridge-like structures that carried water from the hills into Roman cities
Hannibal
brilliant war strategist who lead the Carthage army through the Alps to attack Rome in the Second Punic war
Etruscans
civilization that controlled central Italy during the beginning of Rome's empire and introduced Rome to the toga and alphabet
plebeians
farmers, merchants, artisans, and traders of Rome; the name for the bulk of Rome's population
mercenaries
foreign soldiers serving for pay, used by Rome toward the end of its reign
consuls
in Roman government, those who supervised government and commanded the army
Latifundia
large Roman farms that hurt small farmers because they produced more food
tribunes
officials elected by plebeians to represent them in government
dictator
ruler who has complete control over a government
Punic Wars
series of wars between Rome and Carthage, first over trading rivalry and then for revenge; Rome wins all of them and takes more of Carthage each time until it is destroyed completely
Constantinople
the new Roman capital, established by Constantine (used to be called Byzantium but was changed with the creation of "New Rome")
Latins
the people who founded Rome
12 tables
the place where all the Roman laws were written down to be seen by all
imperialism
the policy of establishing control over foreign lands and peoples (Rome uses this)
fall of Rome
when the Germanic leader, Odacer, ousted the Roman emperor it caused the _______ _______ _______
