The Julio-Claudians/ Civil War and The Flavians/ The 5 good emperors

How was Domitian killed?

- he was stabbed in the groin by a member of his palace staff

What were reasons that Trajan did not head to India, as Alexander the Great had done? Mark all correct

- he was too old - he had to suppress revolts in other parts of the empire

Today, protests against what sometimes occur at the Colosseum?

- the death penalty

Who was Marcus Aurelius' heir?

Commodus

Which of the four emperors from the year 69 successfully claimed imperial control long term?

Vespasian

What class were imperial biographers usually from?

the senatorial class

Why is the Flavian Amphitheater called the Colosseum?

- Because of the Colossus of Nero

What was the alimenta?

- Child welfare program

Which of the following were reasons for going to war with the Dacians? Mark all correct.

- Domitian's loss to the Dacians was considered a humiliation that Trajan could avenge - Dacia possessed great mineral wealth that Romans wanted to rebuild Rome's ailing economy - the Dacians continued to threaten Roman interests in that part of the Empire - Rome was paying a large indemnity to Dacia's king, Decebalus

What two cultures principally inspired the design of the villa complex? Mark all that apply.

- Egypt - Greek

Why was the support of Egypt was so important to Vespasian's success?

- Egypt supplied Rome's grain, which meant that Vespasian could threaten a famine > Since Egypt was Rome's breadbasket, control of the province could effect a famine, literally starving an emperor of Rome of his support. Once Vespasian secured the support of Egypt, most of the Eastern empire quickly followed suit.

No one could cross Hadrian's wall.

- False

True or false: Nero had matured to adulthood by the time he became emperor.

- False Becoming princeps when he was just seventeen, Nero was even younger than Caligula when he became the most powerful person in the Roman Empire.

True or false: Claudius was groomed for the role of princeps from an early age.

- False Claudius was not groomed to be emperor, despite his royal pedigree. He was born with physical deformities and suffered from ill health. His family saw him as a "monster" and dull-witted, and they hid him away from public view, especially at an age at which he should have been making a name for himself on the public/political stage.

The construction of imperial palaces was a non-controversial way for emperors to gain support and live well.

- False Imperial palaces could sometimes provoke criticism and critiques that emperors were living in too much luxury.

Who was Tiberius' successor to the imperial throne?

- Gaius or "Caligula"

In what parts of the empire were there ongoing revolts at the time of Vespasian's accession? Mark all correct:

- Gaul - Judaea

What does Domus Aurea mean in Latin?

- Golden house

What is pictured here?

- Hadrians wall in Britain

How did Trajan die?

- He died from natural causes.

How did Marcus Aurelius die?

- He fell ill and died

Which of the following was NOT true about Nerva?

- He was Flavian

Whom did Marcus Aurelius name as his heir?

- His son, Commodus

What Jewish general, who switched sides during the war, wrote a history?

- Josephus

Which of the following is NOT true about the Great Fire of 64?

- Nero fiddled as Rome burned The Fire of 64 was likely accidental and was exacerbated due to the lack of fire codes for buildings in the crowded downtown residential areas of Rome. Nero is blamed for setting it, and also blamed for blaming the Christians for starting it. Whatever happened, it caused a social and economic crisis as many Romans were left homeless. Nero had to act to feed and house these Romans, as well as rebuild the parts of the city that were damaged.

Tiberius had villas on Capri and Sperlonga, near the Bay of Naples. The famous sculptural group from the grotto triclinium (dining room) at Sperlonga depicted what famous myth?

- Odysseus blinding Polyphemus

What title did Trajan take?

- Optimus princeps

Who did Vespasian prefer to employ in his administration? Mark all correct answers:

- Senators - equites (equestrians) > Vespasian conspicuously returned administrative powers to senators and equestrians which had previously been deferred by predecessors like Claudius and Nero to freedmen within the emperor's personal staff. As such, Vespasian made the business of government more transparent within the ruling class, and anticipated the rise of a more fully organized imperial bureaucracy.

The Colosseum was built on top of what?

- The Domus Aurea

What is a reported reason that Hadrian was so passionate about being an amateur architect?

- The architect Apollodorus of Damascus, who had worked with Trajan, criticized his designs

Nerva adopted this man as his heir.

- Trajan

Which emperors funded public buildings on a large scale? Mark all correct.

- Trajan - claudius - Domitian - Augustus

True or false: Nero was the last emperor to be directly related to Augustus by either blood or marriage, bringing the Julio-Claudian dynasty to an end.

- True

How did Titus come to power?

- Vespasian named Titus as his heir

What modern technology allows visitors to see the Domus Aurea as Nero did?

- Virtual reality

Which of the following was an event that marred Titus' reign? Mark all correct:

- a devastating fire in Rome - the eruption of Vesuvius

Which of the following factions did NOT support the choice of Caligula as emperor?

- all of these factions supported Caligula All the major constituencies at Rome were initially enthusiastic supporters of Caligula, largely due to Caligula's successful broadcasting of his connections to the imperial family.

What natural disaster occurred when Trajan was wintering in Antioch during his campaign against the Parthians?

- an earthquake

How did Trajan select Hadrian as his successor?

- he adopted him

What did Claudius do to secure the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's death, according to Suetonius?

- he bribed them with cash Claudius was the first emperor to rely on bribes to secure his succession, if we trust Suetonius and other ancient historians.

What happened to Nerva's alimenta under Trajan?

- he continued and expanded the program

How, according to Suetonius, did Nero arrange Agrippina's death? Mark all correct:

- he tried to build a machine to kill her in bed - he ordered her death, accusing her of treason - she drowned in a staged shipwreck - he attempted to poison her The historians preserve a number of variations on the death of Agrippina, but one common story seems to be that Nero supposedly staged some sort of shipwreck (made sure the boat she was traveling in would fall apart). Agrippina survived but realized Nero was trying to kill her. She tried to make peace with him, but failed. Back at Rome, her death was presented as Nero protecting the state from a traitor. Only later, after the Fire of 64, did Nero's detractors accuse him of matricide.

What was Caligula's claim to legitimacy within the Julio-Claudian dynasty? Mark all correct:

- he was a great-grandson of Livia, Augustus' wife, through Germanicus - he was Germanicus' son (who was also Tiberius' nephew) - he was the great-grandson of Augustus, through Julia (Augustus' daughter) Caligula's mother was Agrippina, a daughter of Augustus' daughter Julia, which was his most direct claim to descent from Augustus. But he was also Livia's great-grandson, via her son Drusus the Elder (Tiberius' brother), who was the father of Germanicus, Caligula's father. Germanicus had before his death been in line to receive the throne after Tiberius.

With what did Claudius occupy himself before he accepted the duties of princeps?

- he was a scholar, and wrote histories Claudius was an intellectual who devoted himself to the writing of histories, including a history of Augustus's reign and a history of Etruscan culture (none of which survive).

How did Caligula die?

- he was killed by a conspiracy of the Praetorian Guard He was killed (stabbed to death) in a conspiracy of the Praetorian Guard, led by the prefect, Cassius Chaerea. We will later learn about another emperor, Domitian, who was also assassinated by the Praetorian Guard.

How did Nerva come to power?

- he was proclaimed emperor by the senate

Which of the following did Domitian do during his reign? Mark all correct:

- increase legionary pay - angered senators (?) - engage in civic patronage

Why was Claudius' construction of a large, artificial harbor at the mouth of the Tiber river significant?

- it increased the size and weight of the ships that could use the harbor This large harbor could accommodate much larger and heavier ships, which greatly increased the amount of grain each transport ship could bring from Egypt. As well, it allowed the grain (and other imports) to come directly to Rome rather than via Sicily or Campania.

Who was Decebalus?

- king of the Dacians

Which of the following did Agrippina do to strengthen Nero's position after the marriage of Claudius and Agrippina? Mark all correct:

- married Nero to Octavia, daughter of Claudius and Messalina - had Nero adopted by Claudius Shortly after the marriage, while Britannicus was still too young to be named an heir, Agrippina had Claudius adopt Nero; and then strengthened Nero's position by marrying him to his step-sister Octavia.

Which of the following were motives for Rome to annex Britain?Mark all correct:

- mineral wealth - enhancing Claudius' prestige - slaves The two main attractions were slaves (people they captured in war) and mineral wealth. Rome went to Britain on the pretense of responding to a summons from an ally; but, in truth, it was an opportunity to Claudius to play the part of the military commander.

How did Nerva die in 98 AD?

- natural causes

How did the emperor Titus die?

- of natural causes

Which of the following are elements of Hadrian's reconstruction of the Pantheon. Mark all correct.

- retention of the original sponsor's name in the inscription on the front (Marcus Agrippa) - a large dome - Use of colorful marbles

Who did Nero reportedly blame for setting the fire in Rome in 64?

- the Christians Nero is said to have blamed the Christians for the Great Fire of Rome, initiating the first Roman persecution of Christians. In some Christian traditions, it was this persecution that was responsible for the deaths of the apostles Peter and Paul.

What is the primary cause of the historical bias that we find in the histories of certain emperor's reigns?

- the authors of the history were senators, who felt poorly treated by the emperor The cause is, as the podcast notes, senatorial bias--that is, emperors who in some way failed to maintain the favor of the Senate throughout their reign were treated badly and portrayed as crazy lunatics by the senatorial historians.

What military triumph does the Arch of Titus commemorate?

- the defeat of the First Jewish Revolt

What did Domitian add to the Colosseum

- the hypogeum

What was the purpose of the lex de imperio Vespasiani ("law regarding the command of Vespasian")? Mark all correct answers:

- to clarify that the emperor ruled by imperium rather than merely auctoritas - to ratify Vespasian as princeps

Agrippina the Younger was: (mark all correct)

- was the great-granddaughter of Livia - Gaius' ("Calgula") sister - the granddaughter of Julia - the niece of Claudius Agrippina the Elder had close ties to both the Julian and the Claudian side of the family. She had the particular advantage, from Claudius' point of view, of being a direct descendent of the Julian family. She was Augustus's great-granddaughter.

Trajan annexed ...

-Arabia

How did Tiberius respond to the Senate's offer to recognize him as princeps?

-he was non-committal Tiberius had been Augustus' last choice for successor, but once Augustus' other choices had died before him, he gave Tiberius tribunician power and began to set him up to rule. Tiberius seemed to be reluctant to rule, and even showed this after Augustus' death, although everything was in place for him to accept his role. Suetonius' passage shows him dragging his feet and reluctantly agreeing to become princeps, although he also suggests that this was a ploy to win the Senate's acceptance.

What good deeds were associated with Caligula's early reign? Mark all correct:

-measures to restore senatorial authority - the publication of an imperial budget Caligula's early rule was marked by popularity and good deeds. In addition to measures to diminish the secretive and brutal nature of the late Tiberian Principate, the imperial biographer Suetonius records the pietas ("piety, devotion") that he devoted towards members of his family -- the reverence he showed towards the deceased, especially in the form of burials and honors. He also provided entertainment to the people, paid out Tiberius' legacies, stopped the treason trials. He made a great effort to reverse many of Tiberius' most unpopular administrative policies.

Which of the following emperors died of natural causes?

Augustus

What is depicted on this sculptural relief?

Building a bridge over the Danube

Which of the Julio-Claudians invaded Britain with some success?

Claudius

True or false: in the absence of a clear successor to Domitian, Rome fell once again into civil war.

False

True or false: the transition between Vitellius and Vespasian's reigns at Rome was peacefully observed in the capital.

False

True or false: Vespasian came from a noble family of high distinction, with many ancestors serving in prestigious offices at Rome.

False None of Vespasian's family had served in office at Rome before him; he was a novus homo, or "new man".

Order the four emperors chronologically by the proclamation of their rule at Rome:

First: Galba Second: Otho Third: Vitellius Fourth: Vespasian

Which imperial monument is located at Tivoli?

Hadrian's villa

What was Tiberius' attitude towards becoming Augustus' successor?

He was unenthusiastic

Who came to power after Domitian?

Nerva

Where was Tiberius' grotto with sculptures inspired by the story of Odysseus?

Sperlonga

Under whose reign did Vesuvius erupt?

Titus

Which triumphal arch commemorates Roman conquest in Jerusalem?

Titus

Which emperor built a column commemorating victory over the Dacians?

Trajan

Who was the first Roman emperor born outside Italy?

Trajan

What is depicted here?

Trajan's column and forum

True or false: the iconic Roman monument, the Colosseum, was originally known as the "Flavian Amphitheater".

True

What is a triumphal arch?

a monument an emperor entered during a triumph??

Tiberius was known for his

cruelty

Why did Claudius divorce Messalina?

she married another man Ancient historians give varied accounts of the events but it seems that Messalina conspired with another senator, Silius to overthrow Claudius. She could not have actually married him before divorcing Claudius, but seems to have planned to have Claudius killed and then marry Silius and push for him to be emperor.

Which of the following was NOT part of Nerva's populist programs?

the building of a new amphitheatre

What is the curved colonnade around the man-made pool called?

the canopus

What law/decree solidified the control of the Flavian dynasty?

the lex de imperio Vespasiani

There were temples at Hadrian's villa at Tivoli. T/F

true Hadrian considered himself religious and included temples, including to the originally Egyptian goddess Isis.