Final Exam Rome Questions
What were the problems that the Roman Empire faced during the third-century crisis, and how did Diocletian attempt to resolve these?
Under their rule, the empire was transformed into a new state, the so-called Late Empire, distinguished by a (1) new governmental structure: (e.g., expanded civil service), (2) a rigid economic and social system: (e.g., to ensure the tax base in during a labor shortage edicts, making jobs hereditary, were issued), and (3) a new state religion— Christianity. (1) In general, the economic and social policies of Diocletian and Constantine were based on an unprecedented degree of control and coercion. (2) Though temporarily successful, such authoritarian polices in the long run stifled the very vitality the Late Empire needed to revive its sagging fortunes.
What were some of the problems with which areas in the periphery of the Roman Empire had to deal in the second century CE?
(1) Growing inequality and unrest, led to (2) a new military recruitment system that placed greater power in the hands of individual generals, which led to (3) the collapse of the Republic. At its height in the second century C.E., the Roman Empire was one of the greatest states the world had seen. (1) It covered about 3.5 million square miles and had (2) a population, like that of Han China, estimated at more than 50 million. 1) While the emperors and the imperial administration provided a degree of unity, considerable leeway was given to local customs, and (2) the privileges of Roman citizenship were extended to many people throughout the empire.
What were the stages of Roman expansion?
1. conquer neighboring tribes 2. etruscans 3. greeks in southern Italy 4. Sicily and Sardinia 5. North Africa and Spain 6. greece and macedonia 7. gaul 8. egypt 9. Britannia 1. Rome ruled the entire Italian peninsula. (positive effect), As Rome grew, it had to keep a big army, so more people were forced to serve in the army. (negative effect),The Gauls attacked Rome, looted the city, and burned most of it down. (key event) 2.Rome won the first Punic War between Rome and Carthage, took over Sicily and other islands. (a key event), Rome won all three Punic wars and became the greatest power in the Mediterranean. (a positive effect), Countless soldiers died in the three Punic Wars. (negative effect) 3. Julius Caesar, ambitious general, took over Rome. (key event), Rome's new conquests bought wealth and slaves to the land. (postive effect), There were so many slaves to do the work that thousands of farmers and laborers lost their jobs. (negative effect) 4. Augustus became emperor of Rome after the republic collapsed. (key event), There was a period of peace in the Mediterranean called the Pax Romana lasting 200 years. (positive effect), The empire was so big, it became very hard and costly to defend it. (negative effect)
What are some of the primary sources about the early Christians? What was revolutionary about early Christianity, from the Roman perspective?
Early Christianity is, in some ways, an ancient historian's dream: for few other topics in Roman history do we have so many primary sources from both the perspective of insiders and outsiders, beginning with the earliest days of the movement. The New Testament, in partic-ular, is a collection of primary sources by early Christians about their movement, with some of the letters composed merely twenty-five years after Jesus' crucifixion. It is a remarkably open document, collecting theological beliefs and stories about Jesus on which the faith was built. At the same time, however, the New Testament does not "white-wash" the early churches; rather, it documents their failings and short-comings with remarkable frankness, allowing the historian to consider the challenges that the early Christians faced from not only the outside but also within the movement.
When and why did the Roman Republic fall? What were some key differences between the Roman Republic and the Age of Augustus?
Internal turmoil provoked in 133 BC by economic stagnation in the city of Rome , slave revolts without, and dissension in the military precipitated a period of unrelenting political upheaval known as the Roman Revolution, the Late Roman Republic , or the Fall of the Republic, 133-27 BC. The difference between the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire was primarily one of a patina of democracy versus outright dictatorship. Under the Republic, Rome was governed by a Senate, its members appointed by two powerful consuls whose tenures were strictly restricted to avoid the emergence of an absolute dictator.
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It would be no exaggeration to call the early Christian movement revolutionary. In a variety of respects, it went completely against every foundational aspect of Roman (and, really, Greek) society. First, the Christian view of God was very different from the pagan conceptions of gods throughout the ancient Mediterranean. While in traditional Roman paganism the gods had petty concerns and could treat humans unfairly, if they so wished, Christianity by contrast presented the message that God himself became man and dwelt with men as an equal. This concept of God incarnate had revolutionary implications for social relations in a Christian worldview. For early Christians, their God's willingness to take on humanity and then sacrifice himself for the sins of the world served as the greatest equalizer: since God had suffered for all of them, they were all equally important to him, and their social positions in the Roman world had no significance in God's eyes. Finally, early Christianity was an apoca- lyptic religion. Many early Christians believed that Jesus was coming back soon, and they eagerly awaited his arrival, which would erase all inequality and social distinctions.
What primary sources are available for the study of Roman history, and what are the limitations of these sources?
One of the greatest challenges to modern historians of Rome is the Romans' own seeming lack of interest in writing their own history for their first 600 years. There were some speculations on when Rome was actually founded. Republican politician Cato the Elder, was not published until 149 BCE. A few senators had written about Roman history in Greek earlier on, and some aristocrats kept family histories, but Cato's work was truly the first Roman history on a large scale, as it narrated events from the foundation of the city to Cato's own death. historians of Rome must at times engage in educated guessing when attempting to reconstruct a picture of Rome and Romans based on the limited evidence that is available. In addition to written sources of various kinds, archaeological sources provide further insight into Roman life in different periods. Examples of sources that survive include inscriptions, especially gravestones; traded goods, such as lamps or bricks, which allow historians to reconstruct the movement of goods across the empire; and a number of Roman towns and military camps. There were very few people who recorded the history so we have only a few accounts to go by.
What are the different periods of Roman history, and what are the chief defining characteristics of each period?
Period of Kings (625-510 BC) The first period in Roman history is known as the Period of Kings, and it lasted from Rome's founding until 510 BC. During this brief time Rome, led by no fewer than six kings, advanced both militaristically and economically with increases in physical boundaries, military might, and production and trade of goods including oil lamps. Politically, this period saw the early formation of the Roman constitution. The end of the Period of Kings came with the decline of Etruscan power, thus ushering in Rome's Republican Period. Republican Rome (510-31 BC) Rome entered its Republican Period in 510 BC. No longer ruled by kings, the Romans established a new form of government whereby the upper classes ruled, namely the senators and the equestrians, or knights. However, a dictator could be nominated in times of crisis. In 451 BC, the Romans established the "Twelve Tables," a standardized code of laws meant for public, private, and political matters. Rome continued to expand through the Republican Period and gained control over the entire Italian peninsula by 338 BC. It was the Punic Wars from 264-146 BC, along with some conflicts with Greece, that allowed Rome to take control of Carthage and Corinth and thus become the dominant maritime power in the Mediterranean. Soon after, Rome's political atmosphere pushed the Republic into a period of chaos and civil war. This led to the election of a dictator, L. Cornelius Sulla, who served from 82-80 BC. Following Sulla's resignation in 79 BC, the Republic returned to a state of unrest. While Rome continued to be governed as a Republic for another 50 years, the shift to Imperialism began to materialize in 60 BC when Julius Caesar rose to power. By 51 BC, Julius Caesar had conquered Celtic Gaul and, for the first time, Rome's borders had spread beyond the Mediterranean region. Although the Senate was still Rome's governing body, its power was weakening. Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC and replaced by his heir, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian) who ruled alongside Mark Antony. In 31 BC Rome overtook Egypt which resulted in the death of Mark Antony and left Octavian as the unchallenged ruler of Rome. Octavian assumed the title of Augustus and thus became the first emperor of Rome. Imperial Rome (31 BC - AD 476) Rome's Imperial Period was its last, beginning with the rise of Rome's first emperor in 31 BC and lasting until the fall of Rome in AD 476. During this period, Rome saw several decades of peace, prosperity, and expansion. By AD 117, the Roman Empire had reached its maximum extant, spanning three continents including Asia Minor, northern Africa, and most of Europe. In AD 286 the Roman Empire was split into eastern and western empires, each ruled by its own emperor. The western empire suffered several Gothic invasions and, in AD 455, was sacked by Vandals. Rome continued to decline after that until AD 476 when the western Roman Empire came to an end. The eastern Roman Empire, more commonly known as the Byzantine Empire, survived until the 15th century AD. It fell when Turks took control of its capital city, Constantinople (modern day Istanbul in Turkey) in AD 1453.
In what ways did the geography and topography of Rome and the Roman Empire impact the history of the ancient Roman world?
The city of Rome enjoyed natural boundaries: Rome is located on the Italian peninsula in the prehistoric region of "Latium". The "IP" is a boot with toe off near Sicily and top blocked by Alps. Also Centrally located in Mediterranean Sea, Rivers, Harbors, Seas. Its location (protected by the Alps in the north and surrounded by water) helped expansion first within Italy and then into lands around Mediterranean., The majority of the population is near water so fish is a large part of their diet. Rome was a village built on seven hills sprawling around the river Tiber. Set sixteen miles inland, the original settlement had distinct strategic advantages: it was immune to attacks from the sea, and the seven hills on which the city was built were easy to fortify. The Tiber, although marshy and prone to flooding, furthermore, provided the ability to trade with the neighboring city-states. By the mid-Republic, requiring access to the sea, the Romans built a harbor at Ostia, which grew to become a full-fledged commercial arm of Rome as a result. Wheeled vehicles were prohibited inside the city of Rome during the day, in order to protect the heavy pedestrian traffic. Thus at night, carts from Ostia poured into Rome, delivering food and other goods for sale from all over Italy and the Empire.
What were the key civic conflicts and civil wars of the Roman Republic? What did each of these conflicts demonstrate about the changing nature of Roman politics?
The civil war of Marius and Sulla showed the increasingly greater degree of competition in the Republic as well as the lengths to which some Roman politicians were willing to go to get power and hold on to it. Furthermore, it demonstrated one dangerous side effect of Marius' military reforms: before Marius, Roman farmer-soldiers did not feel a personal affinity for their generals. After Marius' reforms, however, because soldiers were paid by their generals, their loyalty was to their generals, as much or more than to the Roman state. Finally, Marius' incredible political success—election to a record-setting and law-breaking seven consulships over the course of his life—showed that military ability had somewhat leveled the playing field between old patrician families such as Sulla's—that had dominated the consulship for centuries—and the newcomers to Roman politics. This challenge by the newcomers to the old Roman political families was an especially bitter pill to swallow for some.
