| A | B |
|---|
| Rome | The capital of Italy |
| Mt. Vesuvius | volcano that erupted in 79AD and buried the city of Pompeii |
| Alps | mountain range that runs across the northern part of Italy |
| Tiber River | river that runs through Rome |
| Romulus | founder of Rome |
| Apennines | mountain range that runs north and south forming the "backbone" of the peninsula |
| continental climate | very warm, wet summers and near freezing winters |
| Po Valley | the agricultural region of Italy |
| Sicily and Sardinia | two islands that lie off the coast of Italy |
| Mediterranean Sea | "Roman Lake" |
| republic | form of government that allows people to rule themselves |
| patricians | Roman landowners / wealthy/most powerful |
| plebians | merchants, artisans, laborers, soldiers and free farmers/ made up about 90% of the population |
| Roman religion | worshipped spirits of ancestors and household gods |
| Janus | god of gates and doors |
| alliance | a union between states or nations for protection |
| King Pyrrhus | Greek king who chose war against the Romans rather than form an alliance |
| "Pyrrhic victory' | to win, but to suffer great lose |
| Etruscans | people who first settled in northern Italy |
| Carthage | important city located in northern Africa / home of Hannibal |
| Punic Wars | three wars fought by Rome and Carthage |
| Hannibal | Carthaginian general |
| gladiator | professional fighter |
| crucifixion | killing by tying or nailing a person's hands and feet to a cross |
| Senate | one part of the ruling assembly |
| dictator | an individual who takes complete control of the government |
| Julius Caesar | dictator for life |
| Octavian | first emperor of Rome |
| Augustus | title given to Octavian meaning " honored" |
| Mark Antony | Octavian's strongest enemy |
| March 15.44 B.C. /Ides of March | assassination of Julius Caesar |
| Pax Romana | 200 years of peace |
| Diocletian | reorganized government to make it work better / divided empire into two parts-east and west |
| Constantine | builds a new capital for the Roman Empire in Byzantium; renames it Constantinople |
| Constantinople | Istanbul |
| barbarians | "bearded ones" people from beyond the Roman borders who spoke different languages |
| causes for the fall of Rome | barbarian invasions and internal problems* |
| disciples | followers |
| parables | stories that teach a lesson |
| Why Jesus was arrested | Many thought he planned to overthow the government |
| persecuted | treated in a cruel or harmful way |
| AD312 | Constantine converts to Christianity |
| ex post facto | no law can be used to punish a person for something done before the law was made |
| Romance languages | languages that grew out of Latin |
| Cicero | political leader whose speeches, letters, and essayss became a model for good, clear Latin |
| Virgil | writer of the Aeneid/ the story of Rome's origin |
| Horace | writer of poetry |
| Seneca | writer who wrote about the concerns of the empire's future |
| Appian Way | road that connected Rome to southern Italy |
| Pantheon | temple to the Roman gods |
