| A | B |
|---|
| April 21, 753 BCE | traditional date for founding of Rome |
| Monarchy | 753-509 BCE |
| Republic | 509-27 BCE |
| Empire | 27BCE-476CE |
| fasces | bundle of rods and axe; symbol of corporal and capital punishment |
| Pyrrhus | King of Epirus, defeated in 265BCE |
| Mare Nostrum | Mediterranean Sea |
| Ides of March, 44BCE | assassination of Caesar |
| First Triumvirate | Caesar, Pompey, Crassus |
| Second Triumvirate | Octavian, Marc Antony, Lepidus |
| Actium | Octavian defeats Antony in 31 BCE |
| Augustus | name given to Octavian in 27BCE |
| Senate | most powerful body in Rome; 600 members; held office for life |
| SPQR | Senatus Populusque Romanus |
| Comitia Centuriata | elected consuls, praetors, censors |
| Comitia Tributa | elected tribunes, quaestors, aediles |
| Cursus Honorum | ladder of political offices (quaestor, preater, consul) |
| Consul | highest elected official; one-year term |
| Praetor | eight per year; judges in court |
| Quaestor | public treasurers; twenty per year |
| Aedile | in charge of public amusements; games; streets and sanitation |
| Tribune | could veto laws passed by Senate or assemblies; ten per year |
| Censor | two elected every five years for eighteen-month term ; kept lists of senators; raised public morality; assessed property |
| Senatorial Order | highest order of society |
| Patricians (Optimates) | highest level of society; officeholders and descendants |
| Equestrian Order (Equites) | wealthy merchant class |
| Plebeian Order | working class |
| Slaves | no rights; considered property |
| Freedmen | former slaves; could vote and own property; could not hold office |
| curia | senate house |
| Seven Hills | Palatine, Capitoline, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, Quirinal |
| Ostia | Rome's seaport |
| forum | business center |
| tabernae | shops |
| basilicae | law courts |
| templa | temples |
| rostra | speaker's platform |
| vigiles | policemen-firemen |
| Via Appia | Regina Viarum; Rome to Brundisium |
| Via Flaminia | Rome to Umbria |
| Via Aurelia | military road leading to Gaul |
| familia | household |
| paterfamilias | father; had absolute authority |
| materfamilias | mother; managed household |
| gens | group of families descended from a common ancestor |
| praenomen | given name; first name |
| nomen | family name; indicated the <I>gens</I> |
| cognomen | indicated branch of the <I>gens</I> |
| ludus | school |
| paedagogus | tutor |
| tunica | short-sleeved men's shirt for indoors |
| toga | formal garment of Roman citizens |
| toga candida | pure white toga worn by candidates for public office |
| toga praetexta | toga with purple border worn by preists, magistrates, aristocratic boys until age 16 |
| toga virilis | toga of adult male |
| stola | long indoor garment for women |
| palla | outdoor wrap for women |
| atrium | front hall of house |
| compluvium | opening in ceiling of atrium to admit light and air |
| impluvium | basin under compluvium to catch rainwater |
| tablinum | study or library |
| peristylium | open courtyard with garden and columns |
| triclinium | dining room with table and three couches |
| culina | kitchen |
| villa | country home |
| insulae | apartment houses |
| Saturnalia | festival dedicated to Saturn |
| pontifex maximus | chief priest |
| Campus Martius | large field for athletics and military training |
| thermae (balneae) | public baths |
| Twelve Tables | first Roman laws on tablets |
| 100-44 BCE | life of Julius Caesar |
| Optimates | aristocratic political party |
| Populares | popular party |
| First Triumvirate | Caesar, Pompey, Crassus |
| alea iacta est | the die is cast |
| crossing the Rubicon | irrevocable decision |
| et tu, Brute! | Even you, Brutus! |
| veni, vidi, vici | I came, I saw, I conquered! |
| pedites | infantry |
| legio | legion; 3600 men |
| centuria | 60-100 men |
| sagitarii | archers |
| equites | cavalry |
| mercatores | traders who served military camps |
| exploratores | scouts |
| imperator | military commander-in-chief |
| legati | staff officers |
| hiberna | winter quarters |
| tribuni militum | military tribunes; lowest ranking officers |
| centuriones | captains |
| caligae | leather shoes/boots |
| lorica | breastplate |
| galea | helmet |
| scutum | shield |
| pilum | javelin |
| gladius | two-edged sword |
| frumentum | grain; main army staple |
| aquila | eagle; legionary standard |
| agmen | main column of Roman troops |
| castra | military camp |
| testudo | tortoise defense with shields |
| navis longa | battleship |
| navis oneraria | transport ship |
