Final Exam Flashcards
(43 cards)
Alexandria (def)
City in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. It became a center of cultural, scientific, and literary influence for centuries.
Romulus (def)
One of the legendary founders of Rome (753 B.C.). He killed Remus, his brother, and named Rome after himself.
Plebeians (def)
One of the Roman classes who worked on the lands of the Patricians. The common body of the Roman people, these peasant farmers were excluded from holding power.
The Tiber (def)
River that runs through Rome.
Carthage (def)
City and eventual Empire founded by Phoenicians in modern-day Tunisia. Fought three wars again Rome (the Punic Wars (264-146 B.C.), being destroyed by Rome in 146 B.C.
Hannibal (def)
Carthaginian emperor who launched an invasion of Italy in 218, starting the 2nd Punic War. Despite winning multiple crushing victories in the first few years of the war, he was defeated at the Battle of Zama in 202 near Carthage and went into exile, dying in the 180s B.C.
Consul (def)
A consul, of which there were two, was the highest ranking position in the Roman government. Elected by the Senate, they served 1-year terms and held the power of imperium and auspicium (military and religious powers).
Senate (def)
The Roman Senate was the governing body of Rome.
Marc Antony (def)
Roman consul who became part of the second Triumvirate. He controlled the Eastern regions of the Roman Republic and was defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., then committing suicide in 30 B.C.
Cleopatra (def)
Ptolemaic Egyptian Pharaoh who was defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., committing suicide in 30 B.C.
Pax Romana (def)
Roughly 200-year period of relative Roman peace and prosperity, during which the Empire reached its greatest territorial extent. It began with the reign of Augustus after Marc Antony and his forces were defeated at Actium in 31 B.C.
The Council of Nicaea (def)
Council convened by Constantine the Great in 325 in Anatolia to confront the nature of the Christian Trinity.
Battle of Milvian Bridge (def)
Battle fought between emperors Constantine and Maxentius in 312. Maxentius was killed, giving Constantine control over the Western half of the Roman Empire.
St. Augustine (def)
Important Christian thinker of the 4th and 5th centuries (354-430) who influenced medieval Christian church, Catholicism, and Protestantism. He wrote multiple important works such as Confessions and The City of God.
The Franks (def)
Germanic people of Eastern France and Western Germany who formed one of the Germanic Kingdoms around the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
Clovis (def)
Of the Frankish Merovingian Dynasty, he became a Christian convert and allied with the Roman Catholic Church.
Monk (def)
Meaning “one who lives alone,” they were religious people who took a vow to divorce themselves from the world, living and worshipping in a monastery. They were often scribes who copied many books, contributing to the distribution of knowledge throughout Europe.
Abbess (def)
Female leader of monasteries.
Saint Benedict (def)
Italian Christian monk of the 5th and 6th centuries.
Charlemagne (def)
Emperor of Carolingian Empire, which declined after his death in 814, who claimed the title of “Emperor of the Romans.”
Alexander the Great (short answer)
Macedonian king who conquered Persia after invading in 334 B.C. and established 70 cities named after himself (namely Alexandria in Northern Egypt), before extending further East towards India and dying in 323 B.C. in Babylon. Alexander the Great brought Eastern culture into Greece, preserved Persian satrapies, and incorporated Persians into governmental life. He wanted to conquer land until he reached the mysterious Eastern Ocean, but his army got tired, so he turned back. He possibly died from tropical diseases such as malaria or typhoid fever, but other suggestions include poisoning.
Res Publica (short answer)
Res Publica (“public thing”), or the Republic, began in 509 B.C. with the ousting of the last Etruscan King. It was made up of the Senate and the citizens (Senatus et Populus). Important governmental entities included two consuls, who were the highest position in the Republic and elected by the Senate, censors, who were tax assessors (taxes collected by publicani) and oversaw public conduct and morality, and the curiate assembly, who were based on 30 ancient tribes and could only rule on motions approved by the Senate. The two main classes of the Roman Republic were the patricians, who were wealthy, land-owning aristocrats who could be senators and made up about 5-10% of the population, and the plebeians, who were common, peasant farmers and typically worked on the land that the patricians owned.
Patron/Client (short answer)
The patron/client relationship, or clientela, was a relationship between a patron (patronus) and client (cliens), where the patron would offer services to the client such as legal protection and the client would work for the patron. Often, the client would be of a lower social standing than the patron.
Julius Caesar (short answer)
Roman consul, general, and dictator. He defeated the Gauls in 50s B.C., returning to Rome in 49 B.C. and crossing the Rubicon River, marching on Rome against Pompey. He won the Civil War, declaring himself dictator for life, but was assassinated on the Ides of March (March 15th), 44 B.C. by a group of disgruntled senators.
