| A | B |
|---|
| Etruscans | Harsh rulers of early Italy |
| plebeians | the lower class of ancient Rome |
| patricians | the wealthy land owning class of early Rome |
| Senate | the upper house of the Roman government that only patricians could belong to |
| consuls | the two rulers of the Roman Republic; chosen by the Senate |
| republic | a government in which the people elect representatives to the government |
| Julius Caesar | made himself dictator for life only to be assassinated by some Senators |
| Romulus and Remus | the mythical founders of Rome |
| legion | a part of the Roman army that had 5000 men |
| Hannibal | Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps and invaded Italy |
| Carthage | rival city of Rome that Rome later destroyed |
| Punic Wars | the wars between Rome and Carthage |
| Gracchus Brothers | They wanted reforms to help the poor |
| tribunes | men chosen by the Assembly to represent the interests of the plebeians |
| aqueducts | structures built by the Romans to bring water to their cities |
| zealots | Jews who wanted to rebel against the Romans |
| Augustus | Octavian; the first Roman emperor |
| Pax Romana | the Roman peace that lasted for 200 years |
| Twelve Tables | the basis of Roman laws that influenced our laws |
| gladiators | men who had to fight for their lives for entertainment |
| Constantine | Emperor who allowed Christians to practice their religion |
| Edict of Milan | this decree declared Christianity to be an acceptable religion in the Roman empire |
| Diaspora | when the Romans forced the Jews out of their homeland in Palestine after the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD |
| Attila | A leader of the Huns who invaded Rome |
| domes and arches | contributions of the Romans to architecture |
| Pope | the head bishop of the Christian (Catholic) church |
| mosaics | pictures formed by using small different colored tiles |
| Jesus | considered by some to have been the Messiah and the founder of the Christian church |
| Pompeii | Roman city buried by a volcanic eruption; archeologists have learned much about Roman life from Pompeii |
| veto | This was when the consuls would forbid passage of proposed laws from the Senate |
| Julian calendar | Romans used this to keep track of time and we have adopted much of it |
| Forum | the marketplace area of Rome |
| Colosseum | large Roman public building used to entertain the people with contests between gladiators |
| Circus Maximus | large Roman public building where chariot races were held |
| aristocratic, monarchial, and democratic | Rome had all three of these features in their government |
| legion | a division of the Roman army with 5000 men |
| Nicene Creed | this was issued by the Christian church to standardize the beliefs within the church |
| Byzantium | this became the capital of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire; it later was changed to Constantinople |
| Latin | this language was spoken in the Western half of the Roman Empire |
| Greek | this became the language of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire when it was divided |
| Diocletian | Emperor who decided to divide the Roman Empire into two halves |
| triumvirate | when three rulers governed Rome it was called this |
| Judea | Jewish state conquered by the Romans |
| Bad inflation | an economic reason that contributed to the fall of Rome |
| Decline in population | a social reason why Rome fell |
| Poor generals and not enough soldiers | a military reason why Rome fell |
| No orderly transition (change) of power | A political reason why Rome fell |
| epic poem | long poems about heroic people; a famous Roman one was the Aeneid |
| myth | a story used to explain what ancient people could not understand or did not know |
| Mediterranean Sea | the Roman Empire at its height surrounded this |
| Nero | Roman emperor who did much to persecute the Christians |
