A | B |
Italian Peninsula | Shaped like a boot |
Alps | Mountain Range on northern part of Italian Peninsula |
Adriatic Sea | Sea on eastern coast of Italian peninsula |
Mediterranean Sea | Sea on southern coast of Italian peninsula |
Sicily | Island "kicked" by the Italian peninsula |
Tiber River | It runs through Rome |
Mediterranean Climate | Mild (warm) and semi-dry precipitation |
Romulus | The city of Rome was named after him |
Remus | Twin brother of Romulus |
Polytheism | Believing in many gods |
Jupiter | King of gods and ruler of the universe (Greek: Zeus) |
Juno | Sister and wife of Jupiter (Greek: Hera) |
Neptune | God of the Sea (Greek: Poseidon) |
Mars | God of war (Greek: Ares) |
Venus | Goddess of fertility (Greek: Aphrodite) |
Patricians | Upper class (nobility) in Roman society |
Plebeians | Majority of the population consisting of landowners, townspeople, merchants, and farmers |
Slaves | People forced into servant classes by conquest |
Republic | Form of government in which the people choose their leaders. |
Dictator | Ruler with complete control |
Veto | Power to say "no" to political decisions |
Consul | People elected to supervise the business of government and command armies |
Hannibal | Leader of Carthage who attacked Roman mainland during the 2nd Punic War |
Carthage | Former Phoenician City-state located in North Africa |
Augustus Caesar | The "exhalted one" |
Marcus Brutus | Friend who stabbed Caesar |
Gaul | Modern day France |
Caligula | Emperor who appointed his horse as Consul |
Nero | Emperor who persecuted Christians and may have set fire to Rome |
Trajan | Emperor who expanded the empire to its greatest size |
Hadrian | Built Hadrian's Wall in Britain to protect Romans from Celtic attacks |
Marcus Aurelius | Last great Roman Emperor who was a student of Greek stoics |
Commodus | Emperor who was a vain and violent man who ruled as the Empire declined |
Pax Romana | Roman peace |
Circus Maximus | Chariot races to entertain the masses |
Colosseum | Large amphitheater that held 45,000 people |
Pope | Bishop of Rome |
Forum | Center of government and a meeting/marketplace |
Aqueduct | Special water carrying canals |
Pantheon | Temple to the gods built by Hadrian |
Twelve Tables | Roman laws including "innocent until proven guilty" |
Latin | Roman language that influenced the romance languages |
Ptolemy | A great astronomer |
Virgil | Wrote the "Aeneid" |
Horace | Great Roman poet |
Attila the Hun | Scourge of God |
Vandals | Barbarians who attacked the Romans |
Franks | Barbarians who attacked the Romans |
Lombards | Barbarians who attacked the Romans |
Diocletian | Divided the Empire into an eastern and western portion |
Constantine | Converted to Christianity and built a new capital at Byzantium |
Istanbul | Formally known as Byzantium and then Constantinople |