Deck 6: The Roman Empire

Question 1

The poet Juvenal commented that the only things that concerned Romans were bread and circuses.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

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)led to the perception that he co-ruled with the Senate.
E)All of these are correct.

Answer 3

All of these are correct.

Question 4

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

Question 5

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

Question 6

The event that curtailed Augustus's expansionist policies was

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

Question 7

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 8

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

Question 9

Which of the following statements about the Roman Senate under Augustus is accurate?

A)Augustus ensured that the Senate was no longer aristocratic in its membership.
B)The Senate was a full and equal partner of the princeps.
C)Augustus retained the Senate as the chief deliberative body of the Roman state.
D)The Senate no longer functioned as a high court of justice nor was it allowed to control the public treasury.
E)Augustus completely dissolved and eliminated the Senate.

Question 10

The Senate granted Octavian the titles Augustus and imperator (emperor), but he preferred to be addressed as

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

Question 11

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

Question 12

The colonies of veterans established by Augustus throughout the empire

A)were used exclusively to maintain domestic order within the provinces.
B)drained the imperial treasury of its funds and caused financial crisis.
C)drew extra criticism to the emperor.
D)often rebelled against imperial authority.
E)proved especially valuable in Romanizing the provinces.

Question 13

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 14

Much Roman art was created by Greek artists and craftspeople whose work demonstrated the realism and attention to detail prized by the Romans.

Question 15

The praetorian guard came to play an important role in making and deposing emperors.

Question 16

​The Severan rulers of Rome created a military monarchy.

Question 17

Under the rule of Augustus, the Roman Empire

A)was a principate, with 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 increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Senate.

Question 18

Among Augustus's 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 19

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

Question 20

Augustus added more territory to the Roman Empire than any other single Roman in its history.

Question 21

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 22

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

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

Question 23

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

A)efficient, with ex-generals serving as governors and instituting military rule
B)efficient, with legates cooperating with the local elites
C)inefficient, due to the corruption of Roman governors
D)efficient, with all governors receiving one year of training before assuming their positions
E)mostly efficient, although there were numerous local uprisings against Roman rule

Question 24

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 achieved complete dominance in the political sphere.
D)Religion was no longer considered important.
E)The city of Rome, including the Colosseum, was entirely rebuilt.

Question 25

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.

Question 26

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 these are correct.

Question 27

Hadrian built a defensive wall in which Roman territory?

A)Dacia
B)Arabia
C)Mesopotamia
D)Britain
E)Gaul

Question 28

Among Augustus's 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 29

The Aeneid is a poem about

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

Question 30

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 31

During the Early Empire (14-180 C.E.), 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 32

Romanization in the Roman Empire

A)varied widely in different areas of the empire in terms of its extent and speed.
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.

Question 33

Trade and commerce in the Early Empire

A)hindered the development of manufacturing.
B)was focused mainly in the provinces of Gaul and Britain.
C)was secondary in importance to agriculture.
D)was unaffected by the building of roads.
E)never was as fully developed as it was during the republican period.

Question 34

Livy was best known in the Augustan Age for his

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

Question 35

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

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

Question 36

Augustus's social legislation

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 these are correct.

Question 37

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

A)Virgil-Amores
B)Ovid-Aeneid
C)Horace-History of Rome
D)Cicero-The Georgics
E)Ovid-The Art of Love

Question 38

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 39

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

A)the creation of a period of peace lasting approximately 100 years.
B)the establishment of educational programs for the poor.
C)the halting of imperial bureaucratic growth.
D)extensive building programs.
E)the development of considerable prosperity.

Question 40

The first of the Flavian emperors was

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

Question 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

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

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

Question 45

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 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

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

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

Question 48

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 49

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 50

The word "gospels" means

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

Question 51

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 52

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 53

The last great persecution of Christians was ordered by

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

Question 54

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 55

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 56

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 57

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 58

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 59

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 violating his policy of moral reform.

Question 60

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)were dependent on the ethical tenets of Mithraism.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 61

How and why did the teachings of Christianity pose a challenge traditional Roman attitudes, values, and lifestyles?

Question 62

What advantages and disadvantages faced those living in the city of Rome during the second century C.E.?

Question 63

The historian Edward Gibbon claimed that the Roman Empire in second century C.E.was a true Golden Age.What evidence could give credence to Gibbon's argument, and what evidence could be given to refute it?

Question 64

It has been said of the Romans that two of their major contributions to Western civilization were in the areas of law and engineering.What exactly did the Romans achieve in each area?

Question 65

In what ways did imperial governance in the Age of Augustus and the Early Empire address the problems and weaknesses that led to the collapse of the Republic?

Question 66

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 67

How does the literature of the late Republic, the Augustan Age, and the Early Empire reflect the political problems of each period?

Question 68

Explain the factors involved in the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire.Tertullian is reported to have called the blood of martyrs "the seed of the church." What role did persecution and martyrdom play in encouraging conversions?

Question 69

One historian has said that the Romans became Christians and the Christians became Romans.Is that an accurate assessment of the relationship between Rome and early Christianity? Why or why not?

Question 70

Compare and contrast the second century and the third century C.E.in the Roman Empire.