AP World History – Roman Republic

The first Romans.

A collection of city-states that dominated the northern Italian Peninsula. The gave Rome the arch, the vault, gladiatorial combat, and studying animal entrails.

Few natural resources, extensive coastline with few natural harbors. The land was open to invasion so the farmers were also soldiers.

The Italian Peninsula was predominately agricultural. The soil was very fertile and they had the Plains of Latium. Grapes and olives were major crops.

A form of government where citizens hold the power and can vote for their leaders.

Wealthy landowners who held most of the power. They inherited their power and social status.

Common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up the majority of the population. They could vote but could not rule.

Officials carved Roman laws onto these tables and hung them up in the Senate. They were the basis for later law and guarded the rights of all free citizens.

There were roughly three hundred men in the Roman Senate. They were chosen from the patricians to make foreign and domestic policy. They advised the government.

There were two consuls in the Roman Senate. One to lead the army and the other to direct the government.

Reject a decision or proposal by a law-making body.

Leaders appointed briefly in times of crisis.

Military unit of 5,000 infantry supported by cavalry.

Registered citizens and their property, checked over work to make sure it had the correct morals.

Vesta was the Roman goddess of hearth, home, and family.

They were abandoned as babies and then later came back to Rome to take power. Romulus killed Remus and became the first king.

Carthage was a powerful city-state in North Africa. A huge thing they traded was purple dye which was very rare.

Hannibal was the general of the Carthaginian army. He had very good strategies and kept winning in Rome until he was called back to defend Carthage.

Relating to Carthage.

A battle in which Hannibal, after leading his men and elephants over the Alps, beat Rome in a devastating victory where his smaller force surrounded the Romans and crushed them.

The rival of Hannibal who finally beat him in Carthage.

The first Punic War was fought because of conflict over Greek and Carthaginian colonies in Sicily, a valuable source of grain. Rome won and got control over Sicily and the western Mediterranean Sea.

The second Punic War was fought because Hannibal invaded Rome with a large military force. Rome finally won when they attacked Carthage itself. They got tributes from Carthage for winning.

The third Punic War was fought because Cato kept urging Rome to finish Carthage off once and for all because they were still a threat. Rome won and completely destroyed Carthage. All the Carthaginians were sold into slavery and everything of value was carried to Rome.

A tribute was someone that the loser of a battle gave to the winner. Carthage gave Rome gold, grain, and slaves.

After the Punic Wars Rome faced many problems. There was a decline of small farms and the amount of large, commercial farming increased - latifundia. Landless poor moved into Rome. Laborers were replaced by slaves. Rome experienced very rapid inflation.

A pair of brothers who sought land reform.

A Roman consul that sided with the populares. He opened the army to the property-less. All free-born Italian people were made citizens.

Seized Rome with the military. He abolished all the assemblies except the Senate. Fought with Marius then launched a civil war against Rome. He was known for proscribing his political opponents as well as the young Julius Caesar.

People that supported the aristocrats.

People that supported the rights of the common people.

Well-educated orator who would rise on the basis of legal and oratorical expertise. Saved Rome in the Cataline Conspiracy.

The Gauls were tribal people who lived in Cisalpine Gaul. They would spike their hair with chalk, paint their bodies half blue, and go into combat naked. They had war trophies: they would take the skulls of their enemies and put them into their doorways.

He was the ally of Caesar and the main rival of Augustus. He went to war against Augustus with Cleopatra and eventually killed himself.

The head of the religion in Rome. Had a board of priests.

The Ides of March (March 15) was the day in which Julius Caesar was assassinated.

Someone would put their political enemies on a list and they would then be murdered and all their possessions would be taken. Caesar was proscribed as a teen but him mother pleaded to get him off the list.

Said by Cicero, this referred to the people who were so rich that they would have their own fishponds stocked with exotic creatures. They had all this wealth while others had almost none.

The father had the right over the entire family. Could sell, disown, or kill his children. Only he had the right to own property. Gave daily offerings to Vesta.

Polytheistic religious leaders of the Celts. Used mistletoe.

A patrician who was chosen to put down the slave revolt. He was the richest man in the Roman government and he would team up with Caesar and Pompey. He would later fight the Parthians and be captured by them. He died and Caesar and Pompey would be left.

Part of the First Triumvirate, Pompey was an ally of Caesar and an accomplished general. Marred Caesar's daughter. He went to Egypt and was killed by the Ptolemies. His head was shipped to Caesar, which enraged him and was the reason he fought against Cleopatra's husband/brother.

Cleopatra ruled Egypt along with her husband/brother. She went to war against him and won with Caesar's help. She had his son and she traveled to Rome with him. After he died she returned to Egypt. Eventually she teamed up with Antony and committed suicide after they were defeated by Augustus.

Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey. Needed each other to get what they wanted.

Lepidus, Octavian, and Antony. Formed to avenge the death of Caesar and to maintain their power.

Julius Caesar's reforms were fixing the calendar, shrinking the people on welfare, making a census, rebuilding the city of Rome, and putting new men into the Senate - plebeians and Gauls.

Brutus' family had been the ones to get rid of the last king of Rome and they were the first people in the Senate. Brutus helped assassinate Caesar and was his friend (and also possibly his son).

Caesar was assassinated because he wanted total power but the Roman citizen did not want to have a king. The men on the Senate were worried about him ruling Rome and killed him so that he could not.

Octavian was chosen by Caesar to be his heir. He was his 18 year old grandnephew. He had ambition to displace Antony as the leader of Caesar's supporters. He was given membership in the Senate subordinate to only the Consuls and would later lead Rome entirely (from behind the scenes).

"The Peace of Rome". Rome was at its height and did not fight with outsiders. This has been the only time in which that amount of land had the same money, military, language, and leader. Ended in 180 A.D. after Marcus Aurelius died.

Augustus shrunk the size of the army; formed the Praetorian guard, his personal bodyguard and Rome's first police force; exempted all Romans from taxation; formed a free fire brigade; enlarged the Senate; distributed land; gave more food to the poor; and let some people become citizens.

The Praetorian guard was formed by Augustus and was his personal bodyguard as well as the first police force of Rome.

Augustus called himself the First Citizen or the Princips instead of Emperor. This made him seem like one of the people and, because the Romans did not want a king, did not make him seem like the sole ruler of Rome.

Augustus assumed all power from the Senate but did not abolish them - they were pro forma. They no longer had any power though.

The Julio-Claudian emperors were all the emperors who were related to Caesar and the successors of Augustus. They were Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.

Tiberius was a distinguished general who was adopted by Augustus. He was forced to divorce his wife and marry Augustus' daughter. His long reign created stability. His fears were prayed upon by the Praetorian commander Sejanus and he went to live on Capri for the last years of his reign while the Empire ran by itself.

Caligula was designated emperor by Tiberius. He grew up in a military setting but lacked any leadership qualities. He ruled with cruelty and violence and was called a monster. He made his horse a senator, humiliated the senators, and collected seashells because they were "Poseidon's bounty". He was murdered in 41 A.D. by his own bodyguards in a secret tunnel.

The uncle of Caligula, he was found drooling and cowering in a closet. A birth defect/seizure caused him to have a deformed physical appearance. His rule was backed by military force. He changed the government by enrolling men in the Senate from provinces outside of Italy. He had problems with drinking, gambling, and women. His fourth and final marriage was to his niece, Agrippa.

Claudius' stepson, Nero took power at age sixteen after Claudius and Claudius' son were murdered. He was a musician and actor and was popular with the poor because of his festivals. He drained the treasury and locked people in his concerts. He also burned down Rome to build his house. Eventually he committed suicide before he was captured.

The Flavian Dynasty was that of Vespasian and his sons.

Vespasian took control after the end of the Julio-Claudian Emperors. There was the War of Four Emperors and he won.

Hadrian was the fourteenth emperor of Rome and is most known for his wall. He is known as one of the Five Good Emperors.

Trajan is also one of the Five Good Emperors. He build another wall in Britain after they took control of more land, this was eventually given up. The empire reached its height under Trajan.

Known as the last of the Five Good Emperors, he stopped Rome's decline for a little while. When he died his son Commodus took over.

Constantine was the first Roman emperor to accept Christianity. He saw the chi rho before a battle and then he won it. First Christian emperor. Unified the empire under one ruler once again. He also attempted reforms. His main was that sons had to follow their father's trade.

Rome continued to decline. Constantine moved the capital of Rome from Rome to Byzantium which he renamed Constantinople (now Istanbul). Constantinople would not fall until 1453 A.D.

The Germanic Tribes were paid by Rome to be mercenaries. They allowed them to live inside Rome's borders. They were treated badly and eventually rebelled and defeated the Romans. Rome was captured by the leader of the Visigoths named Alaric. More Germanic tribes followed and eventually the Emperor at that time was defeated (Augustulus). Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Saxons, and Vandals.

The law of Rome was part of the legacy that they left after they were defeated.

The Battle of Adrianople as the first battle that the Romans lost. This caused many tribes to start attacking Rome and lead to Rome's downfall.

Constantinople saw the chi rho before this battle and then won it. This caused him to make the Edict of Milan and allowed Christianity to be a religion in Rome.

The old symbol of Christianity.

The "mob" was given food and entertainment so that they would not rebel.

These were the mercenaries of Rome. They lived inside the borders and were treated badly. Eventually they rebelled and defeated the Romans. Their leader captured Rome in 410 A.D.

The Huns were another group of people that attacked Rome. Attila was their leader. They retreated after the death of their leader. They started fighting amongst themselves and the Romans took them by surprise.

Attila was the leader of the Huns. He died on his wedding night due to a heart attack/nosebleed.

Rome did not have enough people in their army and they were forced to hire German mercenaries. They were eventually betrayed by them.

The Saxons were a Germanic tribe that invaded Rome.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion. Eventually they revolted and were attacked by the Romans and their home was destroyed. They were finally all defeated at Masada.

Rome was pretty open minded about religions. You could worship whatever you wanted as long as you worshiped the Emperor as well.

The state religion of Rome was the Cult of the Divine Emperor. The Roman citizens worshiped the Emperor like a god.

The home of the Jews. Also known as Judea. Was destroyed by Rome after the Jewish revolt.

The Messiah was a liberator who the Jews hoped would free them from the Roman Empire.

Jesus of Nazareth was supposed to be the Messiah. He was seen as a threat by the Romans and Jewish temple leadership. He altered some of the practices of Judaism and used parables. Spread a message of peace, love, and forgiveness. Eventually he was captured and crucified.

The Roman governor of Jerusalem.

Someone who was not a Jew.

The Nicene Creed was formed by the Nicaean Consul to establish the core beliefs of Christianity.

Only worshiped one God, didn't worship the Emperor as a god, blamed for any problems in Roman society.

Gospels, meaning "good news". Writings about Jesus and found in the New Testament.

Traveled to Rome and was crucified upside down. The first Pope of the Christian church. All Popes are now believed to be descendants of him. Now called the Catholic church which means "universal".

Born as a Jew and their biggest persecutor, he became their greatest champion after he had a vision. Traveled in eastern Rome converting Jews and gentiles to Christianity.

Someone who dies for their beliefs.

Established by Constantine, allowed Christianity to be a legal religion in Rome.

The Bishop of Rome and the head of the Roman Catholic Church.

To reduce something in value. The money of Rome was debased as it became less silver and gold and more copper and tin and worth less.

A Roman who wrote about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

A Roman governor and senator who wrote to Trajan about the Christians. He also had many other writings.

The year the Roman Empire fell.

They year the Byzantium Empire (the rest of the Roman Empire) fell.

The eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantium Empire) was the surviving part of the Empire that continued to prosper for 1,000 years after the rest of the Empire fell.

The Romance Languages (languages that descended from Latin) are French, Spanish, and Italian.