Unit 6 history test

Hannibal Barca

Carthaginian General who was victorious at the battle of Cannae against the Romans in the second Punic War. He is the one who took the war elephants over the Alps.

Scipio

Roman general during the second Punic war, and comes up with an excellent counter-attack strategy:

• His troops first conquer Spain

• Then, they attack Carthage directly while Hannibal is in Italy

• Hannibal and his troops rush back to Carthage and are defeated at the Battle of Zama

Romulus and Remus

Romulus and Remus is the story of how Rome was founded, and in a conflict between the two brothers, Romulus killed Remus and then founded Rome.

Aeneas

Hero who fought against the Greeks in the Trojan wars. He married the daughter of King Latinus, which angered opposing kings and started a war. He was inspirational for many Romans and Caesar and Augustus claim to be his descendants.

Gracchi Brothers

Influential elected tribunes (representative body for the Plebeians) in Rome and fought for the rights of the common people.

Marius

• Marched on Rome with his personal and loyal army to enact social reforms that did favor the plebeians

• Uncle of Julius Caesar

Sulla

• After Marius’ death, Sulla seized Rome with his loyal army and initiated a reign of terror

• Proscription - Sulla posted names of ‘enemies of the state’ around Rome encouraging the roman people to kill those individuals and take their property

• His reforms favored the Patrician classes

Pompey

Powerful Roman general that was also in the first triumvirate.

Crassus

Wealthy Roman in the first triumvirate, Caesar's friend (provided funds to him at times), gains fame by defeating Spartacus, killed trying to conquer Parthian empire

Julius Caesar

• Caesar named Dictator, essentially destroying the Republic

  • Marriage to Cleopatra

  • Granted citizenship to foreigners

  • Settled military veterans in the provinces

  • His economic plans decreased Roman debt and reduced unemployment

• Established reforms, had public building projects, changed the calendar, and put troops in Spain and France

Who was in the second triumvirate? And why did it happen?

Mark Antony, Lepidus, Augustus. It happened because when Caesar was assassinated, the people were angry, so instead of just having another republic they formed another triumvirate.

Mark Antony

a consul and Caesars closest ally and wished to take power in Rome and hunt down the assassins

Cleopatra

• Ruler of Egypt

• First married Caesar

• Then fell in love with Mark Antony

• Later fled to Alexandria with Antony and suicided along with him

Lepidus

A powerful Roman General and ally to Caesar also wished to take power

Octavian

an up and coming politician and military leader was adopted by and named by Julius Caesar as his heir

Why did the second triumvirate fall apart?

• Lepidus attempted to expand his own territorial possessions, and Octavian forced him to retire and then took Lepidus’ army

• Mark Antony and Cleopatra fell in love as Antony settled in Egypt

• Octavaian had an advantage being settled in Rome itself, and used propaganda to convince the people that Mark Antony did not care about Rome. Antoy declared war on Octavian

Augustus (formerly Octavian)

• First official Roman empire (republic is done). Senate still exists but really holds no true power

• His reign started the pax Romana, Golden age of Rome, 27BC to 180 AD

• Only instability was transfer of power, law did not provide and easy plan for succession of emperors

• 27 BC-14 AD

• Restored some aspects of the republic to keep the senators happy, law making power. Augustus still had the final say

What did Augustus do?

• Strengthened the borders of the empire using diplomacy and establishing a standing army for the empire

  • No personal army

  • Annexed more land for the empire

• Many reforms

  • Created the Praetorian guard (loyal force to the emperor)

  • Established police services

  • Opened up jobs for people

  • Established a uniform tax on the entire empire

  • Military veterans were given more land and money

• Public works

  • Aqueducts

  • Road system throughout the provinces

  • Implemented “Bread and Circuses”

Tiberius

• Started the Julio Claudian emperor → 4 emperors who are all related to Caesar and rule because of that

• 14-37 AD

• Successful roman general prior

• Mostly just tried to maintain the empire as it was, ensuring wealth and peace

• Left the throne in the hands of the Praetorian Guard

• Said that ruling Rome was like “holding a wolf by its ears”

Caligula

• 37-41 AD

• Brutal, corrupt, mentally disturbed, and despised for his illogical actions and bad spending habits

• Did build some successful aqueducts

• Names his hose to be a consul and declared war on Neptune

• Assassinated by Praetorian Guard

Nero

• 54-68 AD

• Tyrannical and selfish leader

• Had mother wife and many senators murdered

• The great fire of Rome burned down much of Rome and as a result Nero blamed and persecuted Christians

  • It's rumored he actually started the fire

    • First persecution of Christians

• Neglected duties became fearful he would be killed, and took his own life in 68 AD

• End of the Julio-Claudian empire

Vespasian

• Started the Flavian dynasty

• First emperor who was not a patrician

• Practical frugal and helped restore stability

• Commissioned the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre (colosseum) and the Roman Forum

• Good leader

Titus

• Vespasian's son

• 79-81 AD

• Renowned military commander for conquering Jerusalem

• Eruption of mount Vesuvius occurred during his reign (79 AD) → Pompeii

Jesus of Nazareth

• Early Christians has little contact with the Essenes, who shared the same concerns.

• Christians formed their community around Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish teacher they saw as their savior.

• Born in 4 BCE, Jesus grew up in a time of tension between Roman overlords and Jewish subjects.

• Peaceful man who taught devotion to god and love for humans.

• Attracted large crowds because of his reputation for wisdom and miraculous powers. Ability to heal the sick

• Alarmed the Romans because Jesus taught “the kingdom of god is at hand”, to Jesus this could refer to a spiritual realm where the faithful gathered to god.

• The impending kingdom of god sounded like a threat to Roman rule and Palestine.

• To forestall this new rebellion, Roman administrators executed Jesus by putting him on the cross in 30 Ce

Paul of Tarsus

Spread Christianity to the urban masses and converted a lot of people, before he was executed by an emperor.

Nerva

• Appointed by the senate

• Wise and moderate emperor

• 96-98 AD

• Appointed an able military commander as his successor and set this precedent for the next 100 years

• Started the 5 good emperors

Trajan

• Second greatest roman empire

• Spanish born senator and general

• Last “conquering” emperor

• Expanded empire to its greatest size

• Known for his philanthropy

  • Orphanages (made the government funded orphanage system for the first time in history)

  • Social welfare programs

Reconstructed the Circus Maximus

Hadrian

• 117-18 AD

• Changed strategy from offensive to defensive for the first time in Roman history

• Built “Hadrian’s Wall” in Britain to protect against invaders

• Secured Roman borders

• Built the Pantheon

Marcus Aurelius

• 161-180 AD

• Considered to be the “Philosopher King”

• One of the great Stoic philosophers

• Wrote Meditations which is still considered an important work about service and duty

• Portrayed in the movie

Who were the five good emperors?

Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius

End of the Pax Romana

• Regardless of the strengths or weaknesses of a leader, Rome still ran fairly smoothly - Bread and Circuses

• Many of the problems are rooted in the fact that Augustus never set up clear standards for succession of power.

• The emperor answered first and foremost to the military, and the Senate, while it didn’t hold the power an emperor did, still held significant influence

• As the era of the “Five Good Emperors” came to an end, a succession of weak leaders and civil wars followed and Rome began its slow decline.

Spartacus

Escaped slave Spartacus had an army of 70,000 rebellious slaves in 73 BC. He was a slave himself and led a big rebellion, but was ultimately defeated.

Emperor Constantine

Converted to Orthodox Christian and created the Edict of Milan, which allowed for people to practice Christianity without being persecuted.

Emperor Theodosius

Made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Emperor.

Cicero

• Studied classical and Hellenistic schools of thought → Cicero drew heavily from the Stoics’ moral and ethical teachings

• Argued that the pursuit of justice was the individual’s highest public duty, and he scorned those who sought to accumulate wealth or to become powerful through immoral, illegal, or unjust means

• Stoicism became the most prominent school of philosophy in Rome

Diocletian

split the empire in half and peak of Christian persecution

What was the first place the Romans conquered after they conquered the entire Italian peninsula?

Sicily

What is the significance of 509 BC?

This is when the Romans revolted against the Etruscan king, and the monarchy became the Roman republic.

The 4 phases of Roman expansion/Conquest

Central, west, east, north

What were Punic wars and what were the battles in the Punic wars?

There were 3 battles, Battle of Zama and Battle of Cannae, and the Punic wars was a war between Rome and Carthage

First Punic war

• Roman policy of expansion led to conflict in Sicily

• Rome established a great Navy and Army

• Carthage swore vengeance

• Rome gained control of Sicily

  • A Strategic island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea

Second Punic war

• Carthage, led by Hannibal Barca, conquered most of Spain and began to move along the French (Gaul) coastline

• Carthaginian desire for revenge

Battle of Cannae

• Hannibal surprise attack (with elephants) on Italy from the North

• Hannibal and his troops terrorize the Italian Peninsula for 15 years!

  • Battle of Cannae was the worst defeat for the Romans

  • However, they were never able to conquer Rome itself

Battle of Zama

• The Roman General Scipio  comes up with an excellent counter-attack strategy:

  • His troops first conquer Spain

  • Then, they attack Carthage directly while Hannibal is in Italy

  • Hannibal and his troops rush back to Carthage and are defeated at the Battle of Zama

Effects of the second Punic war

• Hannibal is defeated, exiled.

• Carthage loses most of its Territory

• Rome emerges as a military superpower

third Punic war

• Causes: After 50 years Carthage grew stronger and planned to attack Rome once again

• Events: Rome hears of this plan, goes on the offensive and attacks Carthage first and wins

• Effects: Carthage is burned to the ground and people are sold into slavery, put salt in the earth so that the soil could not be used to grow crops. Again, Rome is a superpower

Consequences of the Punic wars

• Increase in Roman territory

  • Complete control over Western Mediterranean

• Expanded trade and wealth for Rome

• Increase in slaves in Roman world

• Destruction of Carthage

Who were the Etruscans

Indo European migrants that migrated from Anatolia and settled in Italy. They were a monarchy and had many Etruscan kings.

What are the twelve tables

a set of laws inscribed on 12 bronze tablets created in ancient Rome

Who were the patricians and the plebians

Patricians were rich people/land owners and plebians were common people.

What was the organization of the Roman republic like?

• Assembly: Patricians and plebians met here and voted for the following groups

• The legislative branch

  • The senate

    • Patricians

    • passes laws

  • The tribunes

    • plebians

    • Held important influence but couldn’t pass laws (ex the Gracchi brothers)

• Judicial branch

  • Called magistrates

  • held trials

  • judges

• Executive branch

  • made up of 2 consuls

  • elected by the patricians

  • final say in major decisions (like military) and could veto laws

Battle of Actium

• Battle between Mark Antony and Octavian (located around Greece). Octavian wins, Antony and Cleopatra fled to Alexandria and suicide. Legacy: Octavian now the sole ruler of Rome.

What was the Legion?

military organization, originally the largest permanent organization in the armies of ancient Rome

What were gladiators?

professional fighters who fought in ancient Roman times, in front of a crowd, usually in large amphitheaters, including the Colosseum

What are the Roman “provinces”

Gaul (modern-day France), Spain, Egypt, Asia, Syria, Britain and Africa

What was the circus maximus?

The largest stadium built for chariot races.

Roman Forum

For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs

The Panthenon

a temple built for the Roman gods

Who did the domes and arches come from

The Etruscans made the arches and the Romans created the domes.

Aqueducts

Aqueducts brought freshwater into the city from the neighboring mountains

What were latifundias?

organized enormous plantations

What were paterfamilias?

Eldest males. Had authority to arrange marriages for his children, determine the work or duties they would perform, and punish them for offenses as he saw fit. He also had rights to sell them into slavery and execute them.

What was bread and circuses?

gave the common people free food and entertainment → kept people happy and distracted

Flavian amphitheater (colosseum)

precise construction → protected viewers from sun and rain, possible to flood the arena with water and stage mock naval battles

Praetorian guard

loyal force to the emperor

The great fire

The great fire of Rome burned down much of Rome and as a result Nero blamed and persecuted Christians. It’s rumored that Nero is the one who started it.

The pope

ultimate leader of the Catholic church

Barbarians

all foreigners who lacked Greek and Roman traditions, especially the various tribes and armies putting pressure on Rome's borders

The Huns

nomadic warriors, likely from Central Asia, who are best known for invading and terrorizing Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. and hastening the downfall of the Western Roman Empire. Led by Atilla the Hun.

The visigoths

Germanic people that raided Roman territories repeatedly, and established great kingdoms in Gaul and Spain.

Mercenaries

Romans hired many Germans as mercenary soldiers, often paying them in land and a share of the taxes. The Visigoths worked as mercenaries for the Romans.

Edict of Milan

law code written by Emperor Constantine allowing for Christians to practice Christianity without being persercuted.

Significance of 476 AD

Romulus, the last of the Roman emperors in the west, was overthrown by the Germanic leader Odoacer.

Odoacer

Conquers Rome and the western Roman empire falls. First barbarian king of Italy