| A | B |
|---|
| Sicily | an insland in the Mediterranean Sea off the southwest coast of the Italian peninsula |
| Alps | Europe's highest mountains, extending in a arc from the Mediterranean coast to the Balkan Peninsula |
| Tiber River | a river flowing southward from north-central Italy across the Latium plain, and into the Tyrrhenian Sea |
| volcanoes | an opening in the surface of the earth through which molten rock, gases, and rock fragments are forced out |
| plebeians | a common farmer, trader, or craft worker in ancient Rome |
| patricians | a member of the noble families who controlled all power in the early years of the Roman Republic |
| republic | a form of government in which citizens elect representatives to speak or act for them |
| representatives | a person who is elected by citizens to speak or act for them |
| Senate | the lawmaking body and most powerful branch of government in ancient Rome's republic |
| tribunes | an elected leader of ancient Rome who represented the interests of the plebeians |
| consuls | one of two elected officials of the Roman Republic who commanded the army and was a supreme judge |
| Twelve Tables | the earliest written collection of Roman laws, drawn up by patricians about 450 BCE, that became the foundation of Roman law |
| Carthage | an ancient city on the north coast of Africa |
| Punic War | a conflict between Rome and Carthage in the 200s BCE ending in a victory for Rome |
| Hannibal | Canrhaginian general in the Second Punic War |
| Scipio Africanus | Roman general who defeated Hannibal |
| Julius Caesar | made himself dictator of Rome in 45 BCE |
| Gaul | an ancient region and Roman province that included most of present-day France |
| civil war | an armed conflict between groups within a country |
| Pompey | Roman politician and general; enemy of Julius Caesar |
| Cleopatra | Egyptian queen who supported Julius Caesar in the civil war in Rome |
| dictator | a ruler who has absolute power |
| Augustus | First Roman emperor; established the Pax Romana |
| Pax Romana | a period of peace fo the Roman Empire that began with the rule of Augustus in 27 BCE and lasted around 200 years |
| gladiators | a Roman athlete, usually a slave, criminal, or prisoner of war, who was forced to fight for the entertainment of the public |
| Colosseum | a large stadium in ancient Rome where athletic events took place |
| census | a periodic count of all the people living in a country, city or other region |
| Pompeii | an ancient city in southwestern Italy that was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AC |
| Judea | the land in the eastern Mediterranean region populated by Jews at the time of the Roman Empire |
| Jesus | Jewish religious leader whose teachings became the foundation of Christianity |
| New Testament | the second part of the Christian Bible, containing descriptions of the life and teachings of Jesus and of his early followers |
| Messiah | a special leader the Jewish people believe will be sent by God to guide them and set up God's rule on Earth. Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah |
| Christianity | a religion based on the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament |
| parables | a simple story that contains a message or truth |
| apostles | one of the 12 closest followers of Jesus, chosen by him to help him teach |
| Peter | one of the 12 apostles of Jesus |
| crucifixion | execution on a cross |
| Paul | follower of Jesus who helped spread Christianity throughout the Roman world |
| bishop | a church official who leads a large group of Christians in a particular region |
| pope | the bishop, or church leader, of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church |
| Constantine | Roman emperor; chose Constantinople as new Roman capital and encouraged Christianity |
| Diocletian | Roman emperor (245 AD to 313 AD) who divided the empire in two |
| persecutions | a policy of arresting, injuring, or killing members of a religious or ethnic group |
| Constantinople | the city established as the new capital of the Roman Empire by the emperor Constantine in 330 AD, now called Istanbul |
| Eastern Orthodox Christianity | a branch of Christianity that developed in the Byzantine Empire and that does not recognize the pope as its supreme leader |
| Justinian | greatest Byzantine emperor ruled from 527 to 565 AD |
| Justinian Code | a code of law that standardized laws in the Byzantine Empire and dealt with marriage, property rights, slavery, crime, and women's rights |
| Theodora | Byzantine empress; wife of Justinian |
