Ancient Rome

First Punic War, 264-241

The war began in 264 BC with the Roman conquest of the Carthaginian-controlled city of Messina in Sicily, granting Rome a military foothold on the island. The Romans built up a navy to challenge Carthage, the greatest naval power in the Mediterranean, for control over the waters around Sicily. In naval battles and storms, 700 Roman and 500 Carthaginian quinqueremes were lost, along with hundreds of thousands of lives. Command of the sea was won and lost by both sides repeatedly. A Roman invasion of Carthaginian Africa was destroyed in battle and the Roman consul Marcus Atilius Regulus was captured by the Carthaginians in 255. In 23 years, the Romans slowly conquered Sicily and drove the Carthaginians to the west end of the island.

Pyrrhic Wars, 280-275

_________ was asked by the people of the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy to go to Italy to help them in their war with the Roman Republic. This was the fourth time that the Tarentines had asked for help from mainland Greece. They had called for the aid of Archidamus III of Sparta against the Messapii in 343 BC. Archidamus fought in the region until he died in battle in 342 BC. In 333 BC they called in Alexander I of Epirus to help them in their war with the Lucani.

Q. Fabius Maximus

a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed dictator in 221 and 217 BC. He was censor in 230 BC. His agnomen, Cunctator, usually translated as "the delayer", refers to the strategy that he employed against Hannibal's forces during the Second Punic War. Facing an outstanding commander with superior numbers, he pursued a then novel strategy of targeting the enemy's supply lines, and accepting only smaller engagements on favourable ground, rather than risking his entire army on direct confrontation with Hannibal himself. As a result, he is regarded as the originator of many tactics used in guerrilla warfare

Equites

a class of citizens who originally formed the cavalry of the Roman army and at a later period were a wealthy class of great political importance. constituted the second of the property based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class.

Plutarch

biographer and author whose works strongly influenced the evolution of the essay, the biography, and historical writing in Europe from the 16th to the 19th century. Among his approximately 227 works, the most important are the Bioi parallēloi (Parallel Lives), in which he recounts the noble deeds and characters of Greek and Roman soldiers, legislators, orators, and statesmen, and the Moralia, or Ethica, a series of more than 60 essays on ethical, religious, physical, political, and literary topics.

Hamilcar Barca

commanded the Carthaginian land forces in Sicily from 247 BC to 241 BC, during the latter stages of the First Punic War. He kept his army intact and led a successful guerrilla war against the Romans in Sicily. Hamilcar retired to Carthage after the peace treaty in 241 BC, following the defeat of Carthage. When the Mercenary War burst out in 240 BC, Hamilcar was recalled to command and was instrumental in concluding that conflict successfully. Hamilcar commanded the Carthaginian expedition to Spain in 237 BC, and for eight years expanded the territory of Carthage in Spain before dying in battle in 228 BC. He may have been responsible for creating the strategy which his son Hannibal implemented in the Second Punic War to bring the Roman Republic close to defeat.

Aedile

either of two (later four) Roman magistrates responsible for public buildings and originally also for the public games and the supply of grain to the city.

Ebro Treaty

he Ebro Treaty was a treaty signed in 226 BC by Hasdrubal the Fair of Carthage and the Roman Republic, which fixed the river Ebro in Iberia as the boundary between the two powers of Rome and Carthage. Under the terms of the treaty, Carthage would not expand north of the Ebro, as long as Rome likewise did not expand to the south of the river.

comitia centuriata

one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the __________ as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred men by classes. The _____ originally reflected military status, but later reflected the wealth of their members. The ______ gathered into the _______ for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The majority of votes in any ______ decided how that ______ voted. Each _______ received one vote, regardless of how many electors each ________ held. Once a majority of __________ voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended, and the matter was decided.[1] Only the ___________ could declare war or elect the highest-ranking Roman Magistrates: "'Consuls", "Praetors" and "Censors".

potestas

originally referred to the power, through coercion, of a Roman magistrate to promulgate edicts, give action to litigants, etc. This power, in Roman political and legal theory, is considered analogous in kind though lesser in degree to military power. The most important magistrates (such as consuls and praetors) are said to have imperium, which is the ultimate form of ________, and refers indeed to military power. __________ strongly contrasts with the power of the Senate and the prudentes, a common way to refer to Roman jurists. While the magistrates had ____________, the prudentes exercised auctoritas. It is said that auctoritas is a manifestation of socially recognized knowledge, while _______ is a manifestation of socially recognized power. In Roman political theory, both were necessary to guide the res publica and they had to inform each other.

Galic War

series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. Rome's war against the Gallic tribes lasted from 58 BC to 50 BC and culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic over the whole of Gaul

comitia curiata

the principal assembly during the first two decades of the Roman Republic. During these first decades, the People of Rome were organized into thirty units called _______ The Curiae were ethnic in nature, and thus were organized on the basis of the early Roman family, or, more specifically, on the basis of the thirty original Patrician (aristocratic) clans. The Curiae formed an assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes. The Curiate Assembly passed laws, elected Consuls (the only elected magistrates at the time), and tried judicial cases. Consuls always presided over the assembly. While Plebeians (commoners) could participate in this assembly, only the Patricians (the Roman aristocrats) could vote.

pax deorum

though usually translated into English as "peace," was a compact, bargain or agreement. In religious usage, the harmony or accord between the divine and human was the ___________ ("the peace of the gods" or "divine peace"). _________ was only given in return for correct religious practice. Religious error (vitium) and negligence led to divine disharmony and ira deorum (the anger of the gods).

Jugurthine War

took place in 112-106 BC, between Rome and Jugurtha of Numidia, a kingdom on the north African coast approximating to modern Algeria. Jugurtha was the nephew and adopted son of Micipsa, King of Numidia, whom he succeeded on the throne, overcoming his rivals through assassination, war, and bribery. The war constituted an important phase in the Roman subjugation of Northern Africa, but Numidia did not become a Roman province until 46 BC. Following Jugurtha's usurpation of the throne of Numidia,a loyal ally of Rome since the Punic Wars, Rome felt compelled to intervene.

imperium

translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms. Imperium referred to the ability of an individual to command the military. It is not to be confused with auctoritas or potestas, different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic and Empire. Primarily used to refer to the power that is wielded, in greater or lesser degree, by an individual to whom it is delegated, the term could also be used with a geographical connotation, designating the territorial limits

Carrhae

was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire The Parthian Spahbod ("General") Surena decisively defeated a numerically superior Roman invasion force under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus. It is commonly seen as one of the earliest and most important battles between the Roman and Parthian empires and one of the most crushing defeats in Roman history. Crassus, a member of the First Triumvirate and the wealthiest man in Rome, had been enticed by the prospect of military glory and riches and decided to invade Parthia without the official consent of the Senate. Rejecting an offer from the Armenian King Artavasdes II to allow Crassus to invade Parthia via Armenia, Crassus marched his army directly through the deserts of Mesopotamia. His army clashed with Surena's force near Carrhae, a small town in modern-day Turkey. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Surena's cavalry completely outmaneuvered the Roman heavy infantry, killing or capturing most of the Roman soldiers. Crassus himself was killed when truce negotiations turned violent.

Mithridates

was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia (now Turkey) from about 120-63 BC. Mithridates is remembered as one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and successful enemies, who engaged three of the prominent generals from the late Roman Republic in the Mithridatic Wars: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. He is often considered the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus.

Res Publica

"Public Affair" __________ usually is something held in common by many people. For instance a park or garden in the city of Rome could either be 'private property' , or managed by the state, in which case it would be part of the _______

Brutus

He took a leading role in the assassination of Julius Caesar. _________ was close to General Julius Caesar, the leader of the Populis faction. However, Caesar's attempts to assume greater power for himself put him at greater odds with the Roman elite and members of the Senate. Brutus eventually came to oppose Caesar and fought on the side of the Optimate faction, led by Pompey the Great, against Caesar's forces in Caesar's Civil War. Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 B.C., after which Brutus surrendered to Caesar, who granted him amnesty.

Gauls Sack Rome, 390

The Gauls were dumbfounded by their sudden and extraordinary victory and did not move from the place of the battle as if puzzled. They feared a surprise and despoiled the dead as was customary for them. When they did not see any hostile action, they set off and reached Rome before sunset. They saw that the city gates were open and that the walls were unmanned. This was another surprise. They decided to avoid a night battle in an unknown town and encamped between Rome and the River Anio. The inhabitants of Rome did not know that most of their soldiers had fled to Veii instead of Rome and thought that the only survivors were those who fled back to Rome and that they had only a tiny force. There was panic. Realising that they were defenceless, they decided to send the men of military age, the able-bodied senators and their families to the Capitoline Hill with weapons and provisions to defend the fortress.

Samnite Wars 343-290

The first of these wars was the result of Rome's intervening to rescue the Campanian city of Capua from a ___ attack. The second one was the result of Rome's intervention in the politics of the city of Naples and developed into a contest over the control of much of central and southern Italy. The third war also involved a struggle over the control of this part of Italy. The wars extended over half a century and the peoples to the east, north and west of ________ as well as the peoples of central Italy north of Rome (the Etruscans, Umbrians and Picenti) and the Senone Gauls got involved to various degrees and at various points in time.

rex

"king" During the Roman Republic, the rex sacrorum was chosen by the pontifex maximus from a list of patricians. was a senatorial priesthood[1] reserved for patricians. Although in the historical era the pontifex maximus was the head of Roman state religion, Festus says[2] that in the ranking of the highest Roman priests (ordo sacerdotum), the rex sacrorum was of highest prestige, followed by the flamines maiores (Flamen Dialis, Flamen Martialis, Flamen Quirinalis) and the pontifex maximus.

Tribune

For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the authority of the senate and the annual magistrates, holding the power of ius intercessionis to intervene on behalf of the plebeians, and veto unfavourable legislation.

Latin League

The Latin League (Latin: Foedus Latinum; c. 7th century BC - 338 BC) was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient city of Rome, organized for mutual defense. The term "Latin League" is one coined by modern historians with no precise Latin equivalent. It was originally created for protection against enemies from surrounding areas (the Etruscans) under the leadership of the city of Alba Longa.

Consul

The ______ were the chairmen of the Senate, which served as a board of advisers. They also commanded the Roman army (both had two legions) and exercised the highest juridical power in the Roman empire.

Client

The relationship was hierarchical, but obligations were mutual. The patronus was the protector, sponsor, and benefactor of the client; the technical term for this protection was patrocinium. Although typically the _____ was of inferior social class, a patron and ______ might even hold the same social rank, but the former would possess greater wealth, power, or prestige that enabled them to help or do favors for the client. From the emperor at the top to the local municipal person at the bottom, the bonds between these groups found formal expression in legal definition of patrons' responsibilities to _________.

plebiscite

a vote by the people of an entire country or district to decide on some issue, such as choice of a ruler or government, option for independence or annexation by another power, or a question of national policy. In a plebiscite, voters are asked not to choose between alternate regimes or proposals but to confirm or reject the legitimacy of a certain form of government or course of action. Plebiscites are seen as a way for a government to go directly to the people, bypassing intermediaries such as political parties. After the Revolution of 1789, the plebiscite was popular in France because it was seen as an expression of popular sovereignty. In 1804, a plebiscite made Napoleon emperor.

I Mithridatic War

a war challenging Rome's expanding Empire and rule over the Greek world. In this conflict, the Kingdom of Pontus and many Greek cities rebelling against Rome were led by Mithridates VI of Pontus against the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Bithynia. The war lasted five years and ended in a Roman victory which forced Mithridates to abandon all his conquests and return to Pontus. The conflict with Mithridates VI would continue in two further Mithridatic Wars.

Social War

a war waged from 91 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities in Italy, which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries. The war was begun by the Picentes because the Romans did not want to afford them Roman citizenship, thus leaving the Italian groups with fewer rights. The war resulted in a Roman victory and genocide against the Samnites. However, Rome gave most other cities the right to citizenship to avoid another war.

propraetor, proconsul

as an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or imperium, could be exercised constitutionally only by a consul. There were two consuls at a time, each elected to a one-year term. They could not normally serve two terms in a row. If a military campaign was in progress at the end of a consul's term, the consul in command might be appointed as proconsul by the Senate when his term expired. This custom allowed for continuity of command despite the high turnover of consuls. In the Roman Empire, proconsul was a title held by a civil governor and did not imply military command.

Second Punic War, 218-201

involved confrontations in Spain, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and North Africa. The Carthaginians were led by Hannibal, one of the most gifted commanders in history, but the Romans had their own great general Scipio Africanus, and it was he who attacked Carthage on home soil, beating Hannibal and delivering final victory. Carthage would briefly rise again for a Third Punic War 50 years later but its position as a great Mediterranean power was now lost forever.

fasces

is a bound bundle of wooden rods, sometimes including an axe with its blade emerging. The fasces had its origin in the Etruscan civilization and was passed on to ancient Rome, where it symbolized a magistrate's power and jurisdiction.

Ager Publicus

is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired via the means of expropriation from enemies of Rome.

Etruscans

is the modern name given to a powerful and wealthy civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria and northern Lazio.[2] As distinguished by its unique language, this civilization endured from before the time of the earliest Etruscan inscriptions (c. 700 BC)[3] until its assimilation into the Roman Republic, beginning in the late 4th century BC with the Roman-Etruscan Wars.[3]

Julius Caesar

known by his cognomen __________ was a Roman statesman and military general who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. He is also known as a notable author of Latin prose. In 60 BC, __________, Crassus and Pompey formed a political alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. __________ victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. __________ became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered __________ to step down from his military command and return to Rome. __________ found himself with no other options, but to cross the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province and illegally entering Roman Italy under arms.[3] Civil war resulted and __________ victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence.

Cleopatra

known to history as ___________, was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, briefly survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. After her reign, Egypt became a province of the recently established Roman Empire. ___________ was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek family of Macedonian origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death during the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemies spoke Greek throughout their dynasty, and refused to speak Late Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess Isis.

plebeian

the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census. The precise origins of the group and the term are unclear, though it may be that they began as a limited political movement in opposition to the elite (patricians) which became more widely applied.

Pater Familias

the head of a Roman family. The _________ was the oldest living male in a household, and exercised autocratic authority over his extended family. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate".

Cunctator

usually translated as "the delayer", refers to the strategy that Q. Fabius Maximus employed against Hannibal's forces during the Second Punic War (Guerrilla warfare)

Hannibal Barca

was a Carthaginian general, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War. His younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair.

Polybius

was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period noted for his work The Histories, which covered the period of 264-146 BC in detail. The work describes the rise of the Roman Republic to the status of dominance in the ancient Mediterranean world and includes his eyewitness account of the Sack of Carthage in 146 BC. _________ is important for his analysis of the mixed constitution or the separation of powers in government, which was influential on Montesquieu's The Spirit of the Laws and the framers of the United States Constitution.

Gaius Gracchus

was a Roman Popularis politician in the 2nd century BC and brother of the reformer Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. His election to the office of tribune in the years 123 BC and 122 BC and reformative policies while in office prompted a constitutional crisis and his death at the hands of the Roman Senate in 121 BC.

Catiline

was a Roman Senator of the 1st century BC best known for the second Catilinarian conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic and, in particular, the power of the aristocratic Senate. He is also known for several acquittals in court, including one for the charge of adultery with a Vestal Virgin.

Africanus

was a Roman general and later consul who is often regarded as one of the greatest generals and military strategists of all time. His main achievements were during the Second Punic War where he is best known for defeating Hannibal at the final battle at Zama in 202 BC, one of the feats that earned him the agnomen _________. Prior to this battle (near modern Zama, Tunisia) Scipio also conquered Carthage's holdings in the Iberian peninsula, culminating in the Battle of Ilipa (near Alcalá del Río, Spain) in 206 BC against Hannibal's brother Mago Barca. Although considered a hero by the general Roman populace, primarily for his contributions in the struggle against the Carthaginians, Scipio was reviled by other patricians of his day. In his later years, he was tried for bribery and treason, unfounded charges that were only meant to discredit him before the public. Disillusioned by the ingratitude of his peers, Scipio left Rome and withdrew from public life.

M. Licinius Crassus

was a Roman general and politician who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. _________ began his public career as a military commander under Lucius Cornelius Sulla during his civil war. Following Sulla's assumption of the dictatorship, _________ amassed an enormous fortune through real estate speculation. _________ rose to political prominence following his victory over the slave revolt led by Spartacus, sharing the consulship with his rival Pompey the Great. A political and financial patron of Julius Caesar, _________ joined Caesar and Pompey in the unofficial political alliance known as the First Triumvirate. Together the three men dominated the Roman political system. The alliance did not last long, due to the ambitions, egos, and jealousies of the three men. While Caesar and _________ were lifelong allies, _________ and Pompey disliked each other and Pompey grew increasingly envious of Caesar's spectacular successes in the Gallic Wars. The alliance was re-stabilized at the Lucca Conference in 56 BC, after which _________ and Pompey again served jointly as consuls. Following his second consulship, _________ was appointed as the Governor of Roman Syria. _________ used Syria as the launchpad for a military campaign against the Parthian Empire, Rome's long-time Eastern enemy. _________' campaign was a disastrous failure, ending in his defeat and death at the Battle of Carrhae. _________' death permanently unraveled the alliance between Caesar and Pompey. Within four years of _________' death, Caesar would cross the Rubicon and begin a civil war against Pompey and the optimates.

Cassius

was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus. He commanded troops with Brutus during the Battle of Philippi against the combined forces of Mark Antony and Octavian, Caesar's former supporters, and committed suicide after being defeated by Mark Antony. _______ was elected as a Tribune of the Plebs in 49 BC. He opposed Caesar, and he commanded a fleet against him during Caesar's Civil War: after Caesar defeated Pompey in the Battle of Pharsalus, Caesar overtook Cassius and forced him to surrender. After Caesar's death, ________ fled to the East, where he amassed an army of twelve legions. He was supported and made Governor by the Senate. Though he and Brutus marched west against the allies of the Second Triumvirate, _______ was defeated at the Battle of Phillippi and committed suicide.

Sulla

was a Roman general and statesman. He had the distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as reviving the dictatorship. Sulla was a skillful general, achieving numerous successes in wars against different opponents, both foreign and Roman. He was awarded a grass crown, the most prestigious Roman military honor, during the Social War. HIs dictatorship came during a high point in the struggle between optimates and populares, the former seeking to maintain the Senate's oligarchy, and the latter espousing populism. In a dispute over the eastern army command (initially awarded to Sulla by the Senate but withdrawn as a result of Gaius Marius's intrigues) he marched on Rome in an unprecedented act and defeated Marius in battle. In 81 BC, after his second march on Rome, he revived the office of dictator, which had been inactive since the Second Punic War over a century before, and used his powers to enact a series of reforms to the Roman Constitution, meant to restore the primacy of the Senate and limit the power of the tribunes. His ascension was also marked by political purges in proscriptions. After seeking election to and holding a second consulship, he retired to private life and died shortly after.

Marius

was a Roman general and statesman. He held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the structure of the legions into separate cohorts. Marius defeated the invading Germanic tribes (the Teutones, Ambrones, and the Cimbri), for which he was called "the third founder of Rome."[1] His life and career were significant in Rome's transformation from Republic to Empire.

Livy

was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people - Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) - covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in _______ own lifetime. He was on familiar terms with members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history.

Aemilius Lepidus

was a Roman patrician who was triumvir with Octavian (the future Augustus) and Mark Antony, and the last Pontifex Maximus of the Roman Republic. Lepidus had previously been a close ally of Julius Caesar. Though he was an able military commander and proved a useful partisan of Caesar, _______ has always been portrayed as the weakest member of the triumvirate. He typically appears as a marginalised figure in depictions of the events of the era, most notably in Shakespeare's plays. While some scholars have endorsed this view, others argue that the evidence is insufficient to discount the distorting effects of propaganda by his opponents, principally Cicero and, later, Augustus.

Milo

was a Roman political agitator. Born the son of Gaius Papius Celsus, he was adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. In 52 BC, he was prosecuted for the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher, and he was unsuccessfully defended by his friend Marcus Tullius Cicero in the speech Pro Milone.

M. Antony

was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from an oligarchy into the autocratic Roman Empire. _______ was a supporter of Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. _______ was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, and Spain. After Caesar's death in 44 BC, Antony joined forces with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, another of Caesar's generals, and Octavian, Caesar's great-nephew and adopted son, forming a three-man dictatorship known to historians as the Second Triumvirate. The Triumvirs defeated Caesar's murderers, the Liberatores, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. _______ was assigned Rome's eastern provinces, including the client kingdom of Egypt, then ruled by Cleopatra VII Philopator, and was given the command in Rome's war against Parthia

Cicero

was a Roman politician and lawyer, who served as consul in the year 63 BC. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. His influence on the Latin language was so immense that the subsequent history of prose, not only in Latin but in European languages up to the 19th century, was said to be either a reaction against or a return to his style. According to Michael Grant, "the influence of _______ upon the history of European literature and ideas greatly exceeds that of any other prose writer in any language". Cicero introduced the Romans to the chief schools of Greek philosophy and created a Latin philosophical vocabulary (with neologisms such as evidentia, humanitas, qualitas, quantitas, and essentia) distinguishing himself as a translator and philosopher.

Clodius

was a Roman politician. As tribune, he pushed through an ambitious legislative program, including a grain dole, but he is chiefly remembered for his feud with Marcus Tullius Cicero and Titus Annius Milo, whose bodyguards murdered him on the Appian Way. _______ was a Roman nobilis of the patrician Claudian gens and a senator. He was known as an eccentric, mercurial and arrogant character.He became a major disruptive force in Roman politics during the First Triumvirate, of Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar (59-53 BCE). He passed numerous laws in the tradition of the populares known as the Leges Clodiae, and has been called "one of the most innovative urban politicians in Western history"

Tiberius Gracchus

was a Roman populist and reformist politician of the 2nd century BC. He was a son of Tiberius Gracchus the Elder and Cornelia Africana. As a plebeian tribune, Tiberius Gracchus caused political turmoil in the Republic with his reforms of agrarian legislation that sought to transfer land from wealthy, predominantly patrician landowners to poorer citizens. He was murdered, along with many of his supporters, by members of the Roman Senate and supporters of the conservative Optimate faction. A decade later, his younger brother, Gaius Gracchus, attempted similar legislation, and suffered a similar fate.

M. Porcius Cato (Cato the Censor)

was a Roman senator and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write history in Latin. He came from an ancient Plebeian family who were noted for their military service. Like his forefathers, he was devoted to agriculture when not serving in the army. Having attracted the attention of Lucius Valerius Flaccus, he was brought to Rome and began to follow the cursus honorum: he was successively military tribune (214 BC), quaestor (204 BC), aedile (199 BC), praetor (198 BC), junior consul (195 BC) together with Flaccus, and censor (184 BC). As praetor, he expelled usurers from Sardinia. As censor, he tried to preserve Rome's ancestral customs and combat "degenerate" Hellenistic influences.

Augustus

was a Roman statesman and military leader who served as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, controlling Imperial Rome from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.[note 2] His status as the founder of the Roman Principate has consolidated an enduring legacy as one of the most effective and controversial leaders in pre-modern history. He was born Gaius Octavius Thurinus into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia. His maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesar's will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus (often anglicized to Octavian). He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar. Following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators.[note 3] The Triumvirate was eventually torn apart by the competing ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, and _________ committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian in 31 BC.

Spartacus

was a Thracian gladiator who, along with the Gauls Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable. However, all sources agree that he was a former gladiator and an accomplished military leader. This rebellion, interpreted by some as an example of oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a slave-owning oligarchy, has provided inspiration for many political thinkers, and has been featured in literature, television, and film. Although this interpretation is not specifically contradicted by classical historians, no historical account mentions that the goal was to end slavery in the Republic.

Latin Revolt, 340-338

was a conflict between the Roman Republic and its neighbors the Latin peoples of ancient Italy. It ended in the dissolution of the Latin League, and incorporation of its territory into the Roman sphere of influence, with the Latins gaining partial rights and varying levels of citizenship.

Nobiles

was a descriptive term of social rank, usually indicating that a member of the family had achieved the consulship. Those who belonged to the hereditary patrician families were noble, but plebeians whose ancestors were consuls were also considered nobiles. The transition to nobilitas thus required the rise of an empire individual, who was considered a "new man" (novus homo). Two of the most famous examples of these self-made "new men" were Gaius Marius, who held the consulship seven times, and Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Gens

was a family consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a ______ was called a stirps (plural stirpes). The ______ was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the period of the Roman Republic. Much of an individual's social standing depended on the _________ to which he belonged. Certain gentes were considered patrician, others plebeian, while some had both patrician and plebeian branches. The importance of membership in a gens declined considerably in imperial times.

P. Cornelius Scipio

was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. A member of the Cornelia gens, Scipio served as consul in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War. He sailed with his army from Pisa with the intention of confronting Hannibal in Hispania.[1] Stopping at Massalia (today Marseille) to replenish his supplies, he was shocked to discover that Hannibal's army had moved from Hispania and was crossing the Rhône.[1] Scipio disembarked his army and marched to confront Hannibal, who, by now, had moved on. Returning to the fleet, he entrusted the command of his army to his brother Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus and sent him off to Hispania to carry on with the originally intended mission. Scipio returned to Italy to take command of the troops fighting in Cisalpine Gaul. On his return to Italy, he advanced at once to meet Hannibal. In a sharp cavalry engagement near the Ticinus, a tributary of the Po river, he was defeated and severely wounded. In December of the same year, he again witnessed the complete defeat of the Roman army at the Trebia, when his fellow consul Tiberius Sempronius Longus allegedly insisted on fighting against his advice. Despite the military defeats, he still retained the confidence of the Roman people; his term of command was extended and the following year found him in Hispania with his brother Calvus, winning victories over the Carthaginians and strengthening Rome's position in the Iberian peninsula. He continued the Iberian campaigns until 211, when he was killed during the defeat of his army at the upper Baetis river by the Carthaginians and their Iberian allies under Indibilis and Mandonius.

civitas 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. This status was first extended to some of the city-states which had been incorporated into the Republic following the break-up of the Latin League in 338 BCE. It became the standard Romanization policy for incorporating conquered regions in building the Roman Empire.

Dictator

was a magistrate of the Roman Republic, entrusted with the full authority of the state to deal with a military emergency or to undertake a specific duty. All other magistrates were subordinate to his imperium, and the right of the plebeian tribunes to veto his actions or of the people to appeal from them was extremely limited. However, in order to prevent the _______________ from threatening the state itself, severe limitations were placed upon its powers: a dictator could only act within his intended sphere of authority; and he was obliged to resign his office once his appointed task had been accomplished, or at the expiration of six months.

Pompey the Great

was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and his father had been the first to establish the family among the Roman nobility. _______ immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. His success as a military commander in Sulla's second civil war resulted in Sulla bestowing the nickname Magnus, "the Great", upon him. He was consul three times and celebrated three triumphs. In mid-60 BC, _______ joined Marcus Licinius Crassus and Gaius Julius Caesar in the unofficial military-political alliance known as the First Triumvirate, which _______ marriage to Caesar's daughter Julia helped secure. After the deaths of Julia and Crassus, _______ sided with the optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. _______ and Caesar then contended for the leadership of the Roman state, leading to a civil war. When _______ was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Rome's subsequent transformation from Republic to Empire.

Senate

was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. It was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a Roman magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic appointment to the Senate. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government. Polybius noted that it was the consuls (the highest-ranking of the regular magistrates) who led the armies and the civil government in Rome, and it was the Roman assemblies which had the ultimate authority over elections, legislation, and criminal trials. However, since the Senate controlled money, administration, and the details of foreign policy, it had the most control over day-to-day life. The power and authority of the Senate derived from precedent, the high caliber and prestige of the senators, and the Senate's unbroken lineage, which dated back to the founding of the Republic in 509 BC.

Bibulus

was a politician of the late Roman Republic. An opponent of Julius Caesar, he was consul alongside Caesar in 59 BC, and fought against him in the civil war that broke out between Caesar and Pompey in 49 BC.

Quaestor

was a public official in Ancient Rome. The position served different functions depending on the period. In the Roman Kingdom, quaestores parricidii (quaestors with judicial powers) were appointed by the king to investigate and handle murders. In the Roman Republic, quaestors (Lat. quaestores) were elected officials that supervised the state treasury and conducted audits. It was the lowest ranking position in the cursus honorum (course of offices). However, this means that in the political environment of Rome, it was quite common for many aspiring politicians to take the position of quaestor as an early rung on the political ladder. In the Roman Empire, the position, which was initially replaced by the praefectus (prefect), reemerged during the late empire as quaestor intra Palatium, a position appointed by the emperor to lead the imperial council and respond to petitioners.[2]

Cato the Elder

was a statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy. A noted orator, he is remembered for his stubbornness and tenacity (especially in his lengthy conflict with Julius Caesar), as well as his immunity to bribes, his moral integrity, and his famous distaste for the ubiquitous corruption of the period. _______ realized that the sole chance to preserve the republic lay in supporting Pompey, whom he had formerly opposed. He was entrusted with the defense of Sicily but found it impossible to hold the island and joined Pompey at Dyrrhachium. After Pompey's defeat at Pharsalus (in Thessaly), _______ led a small remnant of troops to Africa. He shut himself up in Utica, and even after the decisive defeat of the republican forces at Thapsus (46), he was determined to keep the gates closed until he had evacuated his adherents by sea. When the last transports had left, _______ committed suicide.

Praetor

was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army (in the field or, less often, before the army had been mustered); or, an elected magistratus (magistrate), assigned various duties (which varied at different periods in Rome's history).

comitia tributa

was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by the tribes (tributim). During the Roman Republic, citizens were organized on the basis of 35 tribes: four urban tribes of the citizens in the city of Rome, and 31 rural tribes of citizens outside the city. The tribes gathered in the Tribal Assembly to vote on legislative, judicial and electoral matters. Each tribe voted separately and one after the other. In each tribe, decisions were made by majority vote and its decision counted as one vote regardless of how many electors each tribe held. Once a majority of tribes voted in the same way on a given measure, the voting ended and the matter was decided

secessio plebis

was an informal exercise of power by Rome's plebeian citizens, similar to a general strike taken to the extreme. During a __________, the plebs would simply abandon the city en masse and leave the patrician order to themselves. Therefore, a meant that all shops and workshops would shut down and commercial transactions would largely cease. This was an effective strategy in the Conflict of the Orders due to strength in numbers; plebeian citizens made up the vast majority of Rome's populace and produced most of its food and resources, while a patrician citizen was a member of the minority upper class, the equivalent of the landed gentry of later times. Authors report different numbers for how many secessions there were. Cary & Scullard state there were five between 494 BC and 287 BC.

censor

was an magistrate in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances.[1] The power of the ________ is absolute: no magistrate can oppose their decisions, only another ________ who succeeds them could cancel it. The ______' regulation of public morality is the origin of the modern meaning of the words "" and "censorship".

P. Sulpicius Rufus

was an orator and statesman of the Roman Republic, most famous as tribune of the plebs in 88 BC. He served as legate in 89 BC to Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo in the Social War. In 89 BC, he was elected as Tribune of the Plebs for the following year. It is worth noting that the Sulpicii family were of patrician status: since patricians were legally barred from standing as tribune of the plebs, He must have therefore carried out a formal transfer to the plebeians at some point before 89 BC (as Publius Clodius Pulcher was to do in 59 BC).

Caesar's Civil War

was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations, between Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), his political supporters (broadly known as Populares), and his legions, against the Optimates (or Boni), the politically conservative and socially traditionalist faction of the Roman Senate, who were supported by Pompey (106-48 BC) and his legions. The war was a five-year-long (49-45 BC) politico-military struggle, fought in Italy, Illyria, Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Hispania. Pompey defeated Caesar in 48 BC at the Battle of Dyrrhachium, but was himself defeated much more decisively at the Battle of Pharsalus. The Optimates under Marcus Junius Brutus and Cicero surrendered after the battle, while others, including those under Cato the Younger and Metellus Scipio fought on. Pompey fled to Egypt and was killed upon arrival. Scipio was defeated in 46 BC at the Battle of Thapsus in North Africa. He and Cato committed suicide shortly after the battle. The following year, Caesar defeated the last of the Optimates in the Battle of Munda and became Dictator perpetuo (Dictator in perpetuity) of Rome.[2] The changes to Roman government concomitant to the war mostly eliminated the political traditions of the Roman Republic (509-27 BC) and led to the Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 476).

municipia

was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for the privileges and protections of citizenship.

provincia

was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy (293 AD), largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The word province in modern English has its origins in the term used by the Romans. ________ were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors. A later exception was the province of Egypt, incorporated by Augustus after the death of Cleopatra: it was ruled by a governor of equestrian rank only, perhaps as a discouragement to senatorial ambition. This exception was unique, but not contrary to Roman law, as Egypt was considered Augustus' personal property, following the tradition of earlier, Hellenistic kings.

pontifex maxiumus

was the chief high priest of the College of Pontiffs (Collegium Pontificum) in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post. A distinctly religious office under the early Roman Republic, it gradually became politicized until, beginning with Augustus, it was subsumed into the Imperial office. Its last use with reference to the emperors is in inscriptions of Gratian (reigned 375-383) who, however, then decided to omit the words "pontifex maximus" from his title. Although in fact the most powerful office of Roman priesthood, the pontifex maximus was officially ranked fifth in the ranking of the highest Roman priests

Tarquinius Superbus

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. He is commonly known as Tarquin the Proud, from his cognomen Superbus (Latin for "proud, arrogant, lofty").[1] Ancient accounts of the Regal period mingle history and legend. _____ was said to have been the son or grandson of _____________, the fifth king of Rome, and to have gained the throne through the murders of both his wife and his elder brother, followed by the assassination of his predecessor, Servius Tullius. His reign is described as a tyranny that justified the abolition of the monarchy.

Servius Tullius

was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 575-535 BC.Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC. Servius is said to have been the first Roman king to accede without election by the Senate, having gained the throne by popular support; and the first to be elected by the Senate alone, without reference to the people. Several traditions describe Servius' father as divine. Livy depicts ______' mother as a captured Latin princess enslaved by the Romans; her child is chosen as Rome's future king after a ring of fire is seen around his head. The Emperor Claudius discounted such origins and described him as an originally Etruscan mercenary, named Mastarna, who fought for Caelius Vibenna.

dictator perpetuus

was the office held by Julius Caesar from 26 January or 15 February of the year 44 BCE until his death on 15 March.[2] By abandoning the time restrictions usually applied in the case of the Roman dictatura, it elevated Caesar's dictatorship into the monarchical sphere.

concilium plebis

was the principal assembly of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative assembly, through which the plebeians (commoners) could pass laws, elect magistrates, and try judicial cases. The Plebeian Council was originally organized on the basis of the Curia. Thus, it was originally a "Plebeian Curiate Assembly". The Plebeian Council usually met in the well of the comitium and could only be convoked by the Tribune of the Plebs. The assembly elected the Tribunes of the Plebs and the plebeian aediles, and only the plebeians were allowed to vote.

cursus honorum

was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The ___________ comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a minimum age for election. There were minimum intervals between holding successive offices and laws forbade repeating an office.

patrician

were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the early Republic—but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 BC), and by the time of the late Republic and Empire, membership in the patriciate was of only nominal significance.