Deck 5: The Roman Republic

Question 1

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
consuls

Answer 1

Answers will vary.

Question 2

Compare and contrast Roman religion with the religion of the Greeks. How did Rome's religion help facilitate its expansion?

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

What were the causes and consequences of the growth of slavery in Rome? What impact did reliance on slaves have on government policies, social tensions, and economic development?

Answer 3

Answers will vary.

Question 4

Discuss the role of the Senate, powerful generals, and politicians in the collapse of the Roman Republic.

Question 5

What terms might the Romans have used to describe their own society and culture? What differences did they see between themselves and other peoples?

Question 6

Was Julius Caesar a man of the common people, or was he a tyrant in the making?

Question 7

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Latium

Question 8

What similarities were there between the Roman model of the family and the Roman model of the state? What importance might we attach to these similarities?

Question 9

Compare and contrast the Roman family of the Republic with the Greek family of Periclean Athens. Can it be said that women had more rights and freedom in one of these societies than the other? Why or why not?

Question 10

What were the causes and the results of the Punic Wars?

Question 11

The Greek historian Polybius described the Roman government in this fashion: "As for the Roman constitution, it had three elements, each of them possessing sovereign powers; and their respective share of power in the whole state had been regulated with such a scrupulous regard to equality and equilibrium, that no one could say for certain, not even a native, whether the constitution were an aristocracy or democracy or despotism." Is Polybius's description of the early Roman constitution an accurate one? Why or why not? Be specific.

Question 12

What advantages and disadvantages did integration into Rome's empire offer conquered peoples?

Question 13

Taking into consideration Rome's treatment of Carthage, can Rome's acquisition of an empire be seen as anything more than murder and plunder on a grand scale, or did Rome's empire offer something better to those throughout the Mediterranean who were conquered?

Question 14

In the "struggle of the orders," what did the plebeians want, and what did they succeed in getting? Can it be said that Rome became a democracy because of this struggle? Why or why not?

Question 15

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
paterfamilias

Question 16

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Romulus and Remus

Question 17

It has been said that Roman culture was not very original, only a copy of the Greek. Prove or disprove this idea.

Question 18

Why did the Roman Republic fail?

Question 19

Which elements of Roman society and political culture were most innovative, and which were the product of Rome's contact with outside peoples and cultures?

Question 20

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Etruscans

Question 21

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Spartacus

Question 22

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Julius Caesar

Question 23

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
First Triumvirate

Question 24

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Circus Maximus

Question 25

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Carthage and the Punic Wars

Question 26

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Mark Antony and Cleopatra

Question 27

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Gaul

Question 28

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Second Triumvirate

Question 29

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
tribunes of the plebs

Question 30

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Twelve Tables

Question 31

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus

Question 32

What was the impact of Italy's geography on the development of Rome?

A)It provided little productive land for agriculture.
B)It divided the peninsula into small isolated communities.
C)It made Rome a natural crossroads and an area easy to defend.
D)It made the conquering of the Mediterranean a difficult task.
E)It created the same difficult environment as in Greece, thus making political unity difficult.

Question 33

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Struggle of the Orders

Question 34

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Marius and Sulla

Question 35

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Hannibal

Question 36

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
patricians and plebians

Question 37

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Cicero

Question 38

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Roman citizenship

Question 39

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
Octavian

Question 40

For each historical identification question, define the term and briefly describe its historical significance.
senate

Question 41

In defeating the Greek city-states in southern Italy, Rome

A)employed mercenary armies from Persia and Asia Minor.
B)faced large, well-trained armies from the Greek colonies.
C)gained a sense of security and demobilized its military.
D)had to fight the soldiers of King Pyrrhus, sent against them by the Greeks.
E)relied upon a large and professional navy.

Question 42

Roman support for the freedom of the Greek states brought Rome into conflict with

A)Gaul.
B)Athens.
C)Macedonia.
D)Egypt.
E)Corinth.

Question 43

What mountain range divides eastern Italy from western Italy?

A)The Apennines
B)The Alps
C)The Urals
D)The Pyrenees
E)The Carpathians

Question 44

The people to the north of Rome who apparently ruled Rome for a century and heavily influenced Roman urban culture were the

A)Ligurians.
B)Gauls.
C)Samnites.
D)Etruscans.
E)Dorians.

Question 45

Rome was established in the first millennium B.C.E. on the

A)plain of Latium.
B)river Danube.
C)coast of the Aegean Sea.
D)foothills of the Alps.
E)toe of the Italian peninsula.

Question 46

In their struggle with the patricians, Roman plebeians employed which of the following tactics?

A)allying with the Etruscans against Rome
B)the formation of popular assemblies to lobby for more political reforms
C)open civil war
D)assassination of political opponents
E)All of these are correct.

Question 47

The Roman Dictator

A)was the spokesman for the plebeian order.
B)exercised unlimited power for a period of usually two years.
C)was responsible for getting Rome involved in the Punic Wars.
D)was a temporary executive during the period of the Republic.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 48

After Rome crushed the Latin states in the fourth century B.C.E., it waged a 50-year struggle against

A)the Gauls.
B)the Aequi.
C)the Sicilians.
D)the Samnites.
E)the Corsicans.

Question 49

What was the paterfamilias in Roman society?

A)A client to a patron or wealthy citizen
B)The male head of the household
C)An upper-class aristocrat
D)A common person
E)The male head of the family

Question 50

What precedent for the treatment of vanquished foes emerged from the creation of the Roman Confederation?

A)It forced slave labor on the populace of the defeated cities
B)It offered the most favored "allied" peoples full Roman citizenship, thus giving them a stake in successful Roman expansion.
C)It slaughtered the citizens wholesale and sold the rest to pirates.
D)It confiscated all the property of defeated peoples.
E)It created for the first time the citizen category of "plebeian."

Question 51

Which of these actions is an example of Etruscan influence on the Romans?

A)The abolition of slavery
B)The adoption of republican political institutions
C)The use of concrete
D)The acceptance of the toga and short cloak
E)The adoption of agriculture

Question 52

What happened when Roman laws changed for plebeians and patricians in the fourth century B.C.E.?

A)Patricians were removed from civic government.
B)The death penalty was established for treason against the state.
C)Plebeians and the patricians were now bound by Roman laws.
D)Greeks laws were banished from the Roman legal system.
E)Citizenship was granted to non-Romans.

Question 53

What was the original role of the Roman Senate?

A)It was the chief legislative body of the Republic.
B)It could only advise the magistrates in legal matters.
C)It was the most important popular assembly.
D)It was the main governing body by the third century B.C.E.
E)It was the only body with total military authority.

Question 54

What was the Struggle of the Orders?

A)It was a violent conflict between Rome's citizens and their slaves.
B)It was a violent struggle between the patricians and plebeians.
C)It was a peaceful struggle between the patricians and plebeians, won completely by the patricians.
D)It was a peaceful revolution in which the plebeians were completely victorious.
E)It was a peaceful struggle, which resulted in political compromise between plebeians and patricians.

Question 55

Which city led a revolt against the Romans between 148 and 146 B.C.E.?

A)Lydia
B)Thebes
C)Sparta
D)Corinth
E)Athens

Question 56

What was the most formidable power that the Romans faced in the Mediterranean?

A)Carthage
B)Pella
C)Corinth
D)Syracuse
E)Messana

Question 57

Until 148 B.C.E., which role did the Romans try to play in Greece?

A)Direct ruler
B)Tax collector
C)Dominating power
D)Absolute neutral
E)Power broker

Question 58

What was the imperium ?

A)The duties that Roman citizens owed to the gods
B)The power to command Roman citizens
C)The right to collect taxes
D)The privileges reserved to patricians
E)The name of Roman children's favorite board game

Question 59

What was a key feature of the Roman Confederation?

A)The granting of citizenship to some Italians
B)The enslavement of all Italians
C)The renunciation of war as an instrument of policy
D)The granting of equal rights to all Italians
E)The abolition of slavery within Italy

Question 60

As Rome expanded, it became Roman policy to govern the provinces with officials known as

A)consuls.
B)quaestors.
C)colonnae.
D)proconsuls and propraetors.
E)tribunes.

Question 61

During the period of the early republic, the Roman army was comprised of

A)slaves.
B)male citizens who could equip themselves for battle.
C)non-citizens who had committed crimes.
D)Italians who had been conscripted into the army.
E)male citizens under twenty years of age.

Question 62

Livy's account of Cincinnatus

A)was used to teach the Roman people the treachery of tyrants.
B)recounts the inseparable linkage of wealth and leadership abilities.
C)provides an account of the founding of Rome.
D)demonstrates how the virtues of duty and simplicity in Rome's leaders enabled Rome to survive in difficult times.
E)justified the concept of divine right monarchy.

Question 63

Which of the following is NOT true of the centuriate assembly?

A)It rivaled the Roman senate for power.
B)It was the Roman army functioning in its political role.
C)It was organized by classes based on wealth.
D)It elected the chief magistrates and passed laws.
E)It was structured in such a way that the wealthiest citizens always possessed a majority.

Question 64

What was/were the Twelve Tables?

A)The meeting place of the Roman Senate
B)A tool used to record and inspire a new religious cult in Rome
C)The arts of the Roman festival celebrating spring's arrival
D)The only place in Rome where patricians and plebeians could meet together
E)The first formal codification of Roman law and customs

Question 65

The Second Punic War saw Carthage

A)try to force a naval war in the Mediterranean as a precursor to invasion of Italy.
B)precipitate the war by encroaching on Roman Gaul.
C)enlist the forces of its Mongol allies.
D)capture and sack the city of Rome.
E)carry a land war to Rome by crossing the Alps.

Question 66

At the Battle of Cannae the Romans

A)suffered a devastating defeat by Hannibal.
B)defeated the army of Hannibal.
C)won a great naval victory, giving them control of the Straits of Messana.
D)retreated to the walls of Sagantum.
E)captured and sacked the city of Carthage.

Question 67

Which phase in the creation of the Roman empire occurred first ?

A)The invasion of West Africa
B)The conquest of India
C)The domination of the Hellenistic kingdoms
D)The conflict with Carthage
E)The conquest of Italy

Question 68

Which statement best describes Roman imperial expansion?

A)It was ruthlessly and carefully planned from the beginning.
B)It was driven solely by economic necessity.
C)It was opposed by most senators as too costly and too dangerous.
D)It was highly opportunistic, responding to unanticipated military threats and possibilities for glory.
E)It was futile, as Rome's empire did not endure.

Question 69

How did the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean change the Roman use of slaves?

A)Slavery came to be seen as immoral.
B)The number of female slaves dropped sharply.
C)Slavery took on a racial component.
D)Slaves came to be used exclusively for agriculture.
E)The number of slaves increased dramatically.

Question 70

What was the result of the Third Punic War?

A)Rome and Carthage forged an alliance.
B)Carthage faced destruction and subjugation
C)Rome lost mastery of the Mediterranean Sea.
D)Rome was sacked.
E)Julius Caesar came to power.

Question 71

What was the immediate cause of the First Punic War?

A)Carthaginian treachery in the Pyrrhic Wars
B)Roman colonization in North Africa
C)Carthaginian expansion along the Spanish and Italian coasts
D)Rome sending an army to Sicily
E)Cato's decision to destroy Carthage

Question 72

What was the significance of Scipio Africanus in the Second Punic War?

A)He impeded Hannibal's advance in Italy through delaying tactics.
B)He expelled the Carthaginians from Spain and later won the decisive Battle of Zama.
C)He engineered a valuable alliance with the Gauls.
D)He first utilized elephants as "living tanks."
E)He saved Rome by leaving his farm, assuming military leadership, and then returning to his land.

Question 73

Over time, Roman religion completely merged with

A)Greek religion.
B)Egyptian religion.
C)Persian philosophy.
D)Hebrew religion.
E)Greek philosophy.

Question 74

What phrase refers to the goal of Roman religion to maintain trust and harmony with the spirits?

A)The peace of the gods
B)Semper fidelis
C)Imperial grace
D)The peaceable kingdom
E)Carpe diem

Question 75

From where did the Carthaginians originate?

A)Phoenician Tyre
B)northern Italy
C)Macedonia
D)southern Gaul
E)"Nether" Spain

Question 76

What resulted from the First Punic War?

A)The Carthaginians were forced to withdraw from Spain.
B)The Carthaginians were forced to withdraw from Sicily and pay an indemnity to Rome.
C)Sicily gained its independence from both Rome and Carthage.
D)Rome was forced to relinquish its Mediterranean claims.
E)Pyrrhus invaded Italy.

Question 77

Who was the patron god of the city of Rome?

A)Jupiter
B)Apollo
C)Athena
D)Mercury
E)Mars

Question 78

Which phase in the creation of the Roman empire occurred last ?

A)The invasion of West Africa
B)The conquest of India
C)The domination of the Hellenistic kingdoms
D)The conflict with Carthage
E)The conquest of Italy

Question 79

What did Polybius see as the key to the success of the Roman army during the period of the early republic?

A)The vast resources devoted to the army
B)The pool of slaves available to support the army
C)The advanced technology available to the army
D)The sheer size of the army
E)The fact that it was a citizen army

Question 80

The Roman senator who led the movement for the complete destruction of Carthage was

A)Cato.
B)Scipio.
C)Marius.
D)Pliny the Elder.
E)Sulla.