Deck 6: The Roman Empire

Question 1

Romanization in the Roman empire

A) occurred quickly in the west.
B) developed first in the lower classes.
C) saw Latin illuminate the use of the Greek language in the east.
D) never included the practice of allowing local inhabitants to become Roman officials.
E) occurred more quickly in the east than the west because of greater urbanization in the east.

Answer 1

occurred quickly in the west.

Question 2

The Senate granted Octavian the title Imperator (Emperor) but he preferred to be addressed as

A) pontifex
B) dominus
C) overlord
D) senator
E) princeps

Answer 2

princeps

Question 3

Concerning social classes during early Roman Empire,

A) provincials were allowed to hold certain high magisterial positions.
B) the power of the equestrian class was expanded.
C) the Senate was expanded to include 400 equestrians.
D) debt slavery was ended as a means to acquire slaves.
E) independent farms made up the soldiers in Rome's legions.

Answer 3

the power of the equestrian class was expanded.

Question 4

Among Augustus' most important actions in the area of Roman religion was his

A) destruction of the cults of Augustus and Roma.
B) claim to be a god in his own lifetime.
C) creation of an imperial cult.
D) outlawing all traditional female religious festivals.
E) destruction of all of the mystery religions.

Question 5

Among Augustus' key innovations in Roman provincial rule was his

A) abandonment of North Africa.
B) division of Roman provinces into those ruled directly by the princeps and the senatorial provinces administered by the Senate.
C) use of military governors alone.
D) complete revision of provincial tax policies.
E) creation of a federal system wherein provincial governors had almost complete power.

Question 6

The colonies of veterans established by Augustus throughout the empire proved especially valuable in

A) getting rid of external threats.
B) draining the imperial treasury of its funds.
C) drawing extra criticism to the emperor.
D) attracting new recruits to the army from frontier provinces.
E) Romanizing the provinces.

Question 7

Identify the correct relationship between "golden age" author and his major work:

A) VirgilꟷAmores
B) OvidꟷAeneid
C) HoraceꟷHistory of Rome
D) CiceroꟷThe Georgics
E) OvidꟷThe Art of Love

Question 8

Which of the following statements was true of Augustan society?

A) Popular assemblies of the lower classes continually grew in importance.
B) Legislation was passed concerning the corruption of morals.
C) Equestrians gained the upper hand in the political sphere.
D) Religion was no longer considered important.
E) The city of Rome, including the Colosseum, was entirely rebuilt.

Question 9

The Roman praetorian guards were

A) elite troops given the task of protecting the emperor.
B) mobile units meant to patrol the boundaries of the empire.
C) often used to train the gladiators.
D) cavalry used to spearhead military offensives.
E) stationed along Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain.

Question 10

Augustus' social legislation enacted to stop the decline of Roman morals

A) meant a social revolution at every level of Roman society.
B) made adultery a criminal offense and outlawed wasteful expenditures for feasts.
C) penalized couples for having too many children.
D) encouraged the development of the nuclear family.
E) all of the above

Question 11

The city on the Tiber that was Rome's chief port was

A) Venice.
B) Marseilles.
C) Naples.
D) Tiberius.
E) Ostia.

Question 12

Which of the following statements best describes the governing of Roman provinces under Augustus?

A) efficient, with the governor usually being an ex-general
B) efficient, with legates cooperating with the local elites
C) poor, with Roman governors often being corrupt
D) efficient, with governors receiving one year of training before assuming their positions
E) mostly efficient, although there were numerous local uprisings against Roman rule

Question 13

The Aeneid is a poem by Virgil about

A) the founding of Rome.
B) the Punic Wars.
C) the joys of farming.
D) freedom and liberty.
E) Christian justice.

Question 14

Roman provincial and frontier policy under Augustus was characterized by all of the following except

A) limitless expansion in central Europe.
B) the encouragement of self-government among provincial cities.
C) provincial rule by proconsuls.
D) minimum military force to the east.
E) a withdrawal from military activity in central Europe after military defeat by German tribes.

Question 15

Ovid's The Art of Love

A) condemned the loose sexual morals of the Roman upper classes.
B) caused great displeasure to Augustus and led to Ovid's eventual exile.
C) was a guidebook for married women.
D) was a poetical treatise on romantic love.
E) all of the above

Question 16

The Roman Senate under Augustus was

A) stripped of all but the most superficial of powers.
B) a full and equal partner of the princeps.
C) retained as the chief deliberative body of the Roman state.
D) no longer a high court of justice nor allowed to control the public treasury.
E) completely dissolved and eliminated.

Question 17

Under the rule of Augustus, the Roman Empire

A) was a Principate, without Augustus acting as an equal co-ruler with the Senate.
B) returned to its traditional republic institutions.
C) turned towards an absolute monarchy, with the princeps overshadowing the Senate.
D) experienced a series of civil wars, making Augustus unpopular among the citizenry.
E) became an oligarchy, with political power shared between the princeps and the Senate

Question 18

The absolute monarchical powers of Augustus as princeps led to

A) the usual victory of his candidates in official elections.
B) the decline of popular participation in elections.
C) his great popularity, as he followed proper legal forms for his power.
D) a and c
E) all of the above

Question 19

Livy was best known in the Augustan Age for his

A) Aeneid.
B) Metamophoses.
C) Satires.
D) Meditations.
E) History of Rome in 142 books.

Question 20

The event that curtailed Augustus's expansionist policies was

A) the Senatorial rejection of imperialist policy in 20 B.C.
B) the defeat by Varus in the Teutoburg Forest.
C) the revolt of the Egyptians in 14 B.C.
D) the successful series of invasions by the Parthians in the east.
E) revolt by the Jews in Judea.

Question 21

Which of the following trends developed during the reigns of the Julio-Claudian emperors?

A) Emperors took more and more actual ruling power away from the old Senate.
B) All efforts to achieve bureaucratic organization of imperial government eventually failed.
C) Emperors turned over more and more of the daily affairs of government to the Senate.
D) The power of imperial military forces stationed in Rome declined.
E) The Senate seized political power, against the wishes of the weak emperors.

Question 22

Which of the following is not true of the Colosseum:

A) Its official name was the Flavian Amphitheater.
B) It could seat 50,000 spectators.
C) It was the scene of gladiatorial combats.
D) It was built by Vespasian.
E) It was destroyed by Caligula.

Question 23

Hadrian's wall was built to protect

A) Dacia.
B) Alexandria.
C) Rome itself.
D) Roman Britain.
E) Rome's harbor at Ostia.

Question 24

When Augustus died, who chose his successor?

A) The army.
B) The Senate.
C) Augustus himself.
D) The Praetorian Guard.
E) The citizens of Rome through a vote.

Question 25

The prolific "silver age" writer Seneca

A) rejected the Stoic ideal of political service for a carefree life of opulence.
B) satirized Rome's new rich class in his Satyricon.
C) composed philosophical letters on the theme of Stoicism.
D) died in a state of abject poverty despite remaining close friends with Nero.
E) took part in the successful assassination of Nero.

Question 26

Which of the following statements was not true of Roman society in the early Empire:

A) The introduction of Hellenistic doctors made medicine more scientific.
B) Slaves were treated more harshly as their numbers increased.
C) The "classical age" of Roman law occurred in this era.
D) Upper-class women gained considerable freedom and independence.
E) The emperors increased their authority over the Senate.

Question 27

The greatest historian of the "silver age" of Latin literature was

A) Petronius.
B) Tacitus.
C) Seneca.
D) Juvenal.
E) Suetonius.

Question 28

Marcus Aurelius' cruel son, who was strangled by his wrestling partner in 192 C.E. was

A) Caligula.
B) Nero.
C) Commodus.
D) Domitian.
E) Nerva.

Question 29

Trade and commerce in the Early Empire

A) stimulated manufacturing.
B) concentrated some industries in certain areas.
C) was secondary in importance to agriculture.
D) a and c
E) a, b, and c

Question 30

The first of the Flavian emperors was

A) Nero.
B) Tiberius.
C) Hadrian.
D) Caligula.
E) Vespasian.

Question 31

Imperial Rome's gladiatorial shows

A) became increasingly associated with religious practices.
B) were government-backed spectacles used to content the masses.
C) were limited to fights between slaves and criminals trained at gladiatorial schools.
D) paled in popularity to the Circus Maximus.
E) were outlawed by Augustus as being in violation of his policy of moral reform.

Question 32

During the Early Empire (14-180 A.D.), the Roman army

A) was increased to 400,000 men.
B) was dominated by only Italian legionaries.
C) was successful in invading Gaul.
D) became corrupt due to nepotism.
E) became mostly made up of German soldiers, although Romans remained the officers.

Question 33

Among the upper classes of the Early Empire

A) birthrates increased.
B) the power of the paterfamilias increased.
C) contraception and abortion fell into disfavor.
D) divorce was made illegal.
E) women had considerable freedom and independence.

Question 34

One of the famous jurists of the Early Empire responsible for completing the basic natural rights principles vital to the Western world was

A) Galen.
B) Alcon.
C) Ulpian.
D) Acilius.
E) Florian.

Question 35

Scientific medicine entered the Roman world at

A) the beginning of the Republic.
B) the end of the reign of Octavian.
C) the beginning of the Christian era.
D) the end of the third century B.C.E.
E) the behest of Julius Caesar.

Question 36

All of the following occurred during the reigns of the five "good emperors" except for

A) being a period of peace for approximately 100 years.
B) the establishment of educational programs for the poor.
C) the halting of imperial bureaucratic growth.
D) extensive building programs.
E) being an era of prosperity

Question 37

The "golden age" historian Livy is well known for his

A) rejection of Latin prose in favor of Greek poetic forms.
B) perceiving history in terms of sharp moral lessons.
C) factual accuracy and critical judgment toward his sources and Rome's past.
D) Epistles, which portrayed Rome as a degenerate society in a state of collapse.
E) history of the Trojan Wars, which was the subject of the Aeneid.

Question 38

The largest area of Roman innovation in architecture was

A) the use of concrete on a massive scale.
B) stained glass.
C) colonnades.
D) the vault.
E) the pillar.

Question 39

The "good emperor" Marcus Aurelius was regarded as a philosopher king deeply influenced by the principles of

A) Epicurianism.
B) Stoicism.
C) Platonism.
D) Christianity.
E) Zoroastrianism.

Question 40

Which of the statements best describes the Julio-Claudian emperors?

A) were all competent rulers
B) varied in ability and effectiveness
C) were responsible for a tremendous amount of social legislation
D) undid all the military reforms of Augustus
E) were all completely incompetent

Question 41

Which one of the following mystery cults had a great following, especially among the urban poor

A) Dionysus.
B) Mars.
C) John the Baptist.
D) Horus.
E) Isis.

Question 42

The mystery cult of Mithraism in the Early Empire

A) was widely practiced by women.
B) was completely opposed to the practices of Christianity.
C) centered around the worship of the gods Roma and Augustus.
D) was an illegal monotheistic religion
E) was a religion especially favored by soldiers.

Question 43

The poet Juvenal commented that the only thing that most Romans wanted was bread and circuses.

Question 44

Julius Caesar added more land to the Roman empire than any other emperor in its history.

Question 45

The last great persecution of Christians was ordered by

A) Marcus Aurelius.
B) Octavian.
C) Constantine.
D) Pontius Pilate.
E) Diocletian.

Question 46

The late third century emperor who reconquered and reestablished order in the east and along the Danube and who was known as the "restorer of the world" was

A) Septimius Severus.
B) Marcus Aurelius.
C) Decius.
D) Aurelian.
E) Diocletian.

Question 47

In the face of overpopulation throughout the empire, Augustus discouraged the growth of large families.

Question 48

Which of the following argued that women should be subservient to men?

A) Jesus of Nazareth.
B) Mary Magdalene.
C) John the Baptist.
D) Paul of Tarsus.
E) Diocletian.

Question 49

The most important figure in early Christianity after Jesus was

A) Mary Magdalene.
B) the Apostle Peter
C) John the Baptist.
D) Paul of Tarsus.
E) Pontius Pilate.

Question 50

The early values of Christianity, as exemplified in Jesus' "sermon on the mount,"

A) emphasized devotion to the values of humility, charity, and true brotherly love.
B) were similar to those of Greco-Roman civilization.
C) emphasized the equality between the earthly and spiritual kingdoms.
D) all of the above
E) a and b

Question 51

The emperor who said, "Live in harmony, make the soldiers rich, and don't give a damn for anything else" was

A) Augustus.
B) Nero.
C) Trajan.
D) Maximilian.
E) Septimius Severus.

Question 52

In the second century, the Pantheon was built, which was one of Rome's greatest buildings, a temple to all the gods.

Question 53

From its inception, Rome and Romans had a bountiful supply of professional physicians.

Question 54

Because of concerns of security and fear of the possible weakening of traditional Roman values, Roman troops were always kept in isolation and away from the local communities where they were stationed.

Question 55

Christianity spread very slowly and remained a minority religion in the Roman Empire by the end of the first century A.D.

Question 56

Full of pride and an unending sense of self-worth, Romans refused to imitate or copy Greek works of art.

Question 57

The "terrible third century" was made terrible by all of the following except

A) ignorance of military affairs by the Severan rulers.
B) civil wars.
C) a series of natural disasters.
D) serious inflation and devaluation of coinage.
E) Germanic invasions.

Question 58

The peace of the Roman Empire and the security of the princeps depended ultimately upon the support of the patrician class and the Senate.

Question 59

In the city of Rome, the poor were housed in massive apartment blocks known as "villas."

Question 60

The word "gospels" means

A) truth.
B) love.
C) the word of Jesus.
D) to your health.
E) good news.