Deck 4: Rome: Monarchy, Republic, and the Transition to Empire, 1000 Bce-14 Ce

Question 1

Which of the following summarizes the attitude of Romans toward outside communities in the early Republic?

A) conquer and destroy
B) placate and negotiate
C) destroy when advantageous, ally when advantageous
D) form defensive leagues
E) absorb former enemies and make them all citizens

Answer 1

destroy when advantageous, ally when advantageous

Question 2

As Romans grew to control a large empire, what did they lose?

A) political freedom
B) language, Latin
C) control of Syria
D) monarchy
E) religion

Answer 2

political freedom

Question 3

What was the Latin term that the Romans used for marketplace?

A) forum
B) squadrans
C) agora
D) centrum
E) roma

Answer 3

forum

Question 4

Which of the following magistrates or assemblies of the Roman Republic had the power to impose the death penalty?

A) the Senate
B) consuls
C) tribunes of the people
D) praetors
E) assembly of the centuries

Question 5

Which of the following peoples founded Rome?

A) the Etruscans
B) the Greeks
C) the Sabines
D) the Samnites
E) the Latins

Question 6

How did the state manage to equip the army effectively?

A) The state provided the material free of charge to soldiers.
B) Soldiers had to pay for their gear out of pocket.
C) Soldiers were provided the gear through low-interest loans from Roman merchants.
D) Soldiers were provided a stipend, from which expenses such as equipment were to be purchased.
E) Soldiers typically inherited the gear they required from their fathers.

Question 7

Polybius points out that government in the Roman Republic was fundamentally different from government in any Greek city-state.What was this difference?

A) Rome had a completely professional army from an earlier period.
B) Roman government developed not from a set constitution but from trial and error to suit changing needs.
C) Rome had no element of a property-based class system.
D) Rome was always ruled by one man.
E) Roman government was created by written charter, and this charter was on display throughout the history of the Republic.

Question 8

What does the phrase "pyrrhic victory" mean?

A) a military victory that involved the deployment of elephants
B) a victory won during the Pyrrhic War with Rome
C) a victory that results in a net loss for the victor
D) a victory that drives away allies
E) a victory that involved a siege

Question 9

How many origin stories did Rome have?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
E) five

Question 10

Who did Rome fight against during the Punic Wars?

A) the city-state Tarentum
B) the Samnites
C) the Etruscans
D) the Carthaginians
E) the Macedonians

Question 11

Which of the following peoples populated the area north and west of Rome?

A) the Etruscans
B) the Carthaginians
C) the Greeks
D) the Samnites
E) the Sabines

Question 12

Which of the following was a special power that only tribunes possessed?

A) the veto
B) imperium
C) the power to propose legislation
D) the power to call the assembly of the tribes to order
E) the privilege of carrying the fasces into battle

Question 13

What is the difference between the plebeian assembly and the assembly of the tribes?

A) The plebeian assembly elected consuls; no other assembly had this power.
B) The assembly of the tribes was organized into centuries; the plebeian assembly was organized into tribes.
C) There was no difference.
D) The plebeian assembly was made up of all citizens; the assembly of the tribes was plebeian only.
E) The plebeian assembly was only made up of plebeians; the assembly of the tribes was of all citizens.

Question 14

Which of the following best expresses the way historians handle the legends of Rome's origin and its monarchy?

A) The legends should be taken at face value.
B) They do not contain any historical fact, but they should be studied because they reflect values important to the Roman elite.
C) They have some historical truth to them, but it is difficult to discern.
D) They are fairy tales and are of little value to historians.
E) They help to explain trends in Roman art during the Roman Republic.

Question 15

When did Rome become a city?

A) 1000 BCE
B) eighth-seventh centuries BCE
C) sixth century BCE
D) fifth century BCE
E) fourth century BCE

Question 16

Landless citizens belonged to which century, and when did they vote?

A) first century; last
B) first century; first
C) They did not have the right to vote in this assembly.
D) They would vote in the lowest of the five property classes; fifth
E) They would be permitted to vote only during state emergences; last

Question 17

What did Livy mean when he said the Republic's government was "a free Rome under magistrates elected for a year and under laws whose authority exceeds that of men"?

A) All Romans were equal before the law.
B) Rome was to be governed by its citizens, with clear limits placed on political authority.
C) There should be no term limits because they limit government's authority.
D) Rome was to be an "eternal city."
E) Humans created laws, and therefore they held authority.

Question 18

Which of the following is a characteristic of the Roman Senate during the monarchy and the very early Republic?

A) Senators spoke in whatever order they wanted.
B) Their meetings were held in public.
C) Senators could be summoned by Roman magistrates.
D) Members could be recalled by the Roman public.
E) Membership was made up of men from all social classes, including slaves.

Question 19

Which of the following was a struggle of the very early Republic?

A) plague
B) competition in trade
C) overcrowding in Rome and other cities
D) fires in Rome
E) debt

Question 20

Why is it UNLIKELY that the list of kings of Rome is accurate?

A) All the names end in -us.
B) Some of the kings were Etruscan.
C) There is no other historical example of so many consecutive long reigns.
D) Aeneas is not included among the kings.
E) The only source for the list of kings is poetry.

Question 21

Why did Romans idealize men like Cincinnatus?

A) He took pride in humiliating his enemies.
B) He led long campaigns of conquest.
C) He exemplified the disciplined, hard-working farmer-statesman.
D) He celebrated a triumph.
E) He profited greatly from his military victories.

Question 22

Polybius followed which intellectual traditions?

A) those of Herodotus and Plato
B) those of Daniel and Aristotle
C) those of Thucydides and Aristotle
D) those of Thucydides and Plato
E) those of Herodotus and Xenophon

Question 23

Which group wanted to help the poor through land grants and grain distribution?

A) new man
B) optimates
C) populares
D) tax-farmers
E) latifundia owners

Question 24

Which of the following areas was NOT under Roman control by 200 BCE?

A) Corsica
B) Sardinia
C) Sicily
D) Southern Italy
E) Asia Minor

Question 25

Which of the following contributed to an increase in slavery in Rome in the second century BCE?

A) Slave labor increased on latifundia, but decreased in other areas.
B) As Rome expanded, slaves were necessary to maintain a large army.
C) Slavery was first introduced to Rome after the Punic Wars.
D) An increasing number of Romans could afford slaves and this increased demand.
E) Rome was dependent on slaves for a substantial portion of agricultural and domestic labor.

Question 26

Why was the god Janus important to Romans?

A) He had two faces.
B) The month January is named for him.
C) He had a temple.
D) The doors of his temple at Rome indicated whether Rome was at war or at peace.
E) Doors signify beginnings and endings.

Question 27

Which of the following aspects of Roman society made it very difficult for "new men" to succeed in politics?

A) They were often unskilled soldiers.
B) They lacked sufficient rhetorical education.
C) They were related to slaves.
D) They were plebeian.
E) They had no distinguished ancestors.

Question 28

What was a "new man"?

A) a boy who had recently gone through a religious ceremony to be considered a man
B) a recent recruit in the Roman army
C) the most recent slave obtained at one of the many latifundia in Italy
D) a Roman who was not from one of the aristocratic families that dominated Roman politics who had been elected to a magistracy such as consul
E) a male slave who had been freed and granted Roman citizenship

Question 29

How did Scipio defeat Hannibal during the Second Punic War?

A) Scipio moved the war to Africa and left open spaces in his battle array so Hannibal's elephants wouldn't confuse his soldiers.
B) Scipio imported elephants from Asia Minor so he'd be evenly matched with Hannibal's army.
C) Scipio recruited Latins and overpowered Hannibal with a larger army.
D) Scipio used Roman sea power to make a blockade around Spain.
E) Scipio made an alliance with the king of Macedonia, and Hannibal's army was no match for phalanxes.

Question 30

Where would a Roman most expect to see a shrine to Lares and Pzenates?

A) on the Capitoline Hill
B) in the Forum, next to the Temple of Saturn
C) in the Circus Maximus
D) in most marketplaces by the public fountain
E) in private households

Question 31

What is the significance of the work Origins?

A) It was the first history of Rome written in Latin by a Roman, Cato the Elder.
B) It was Polybius's history of Rome, in which he explains the reasons Rome became powerful.
C) It was Livy's history of the founding of Rome.
D) It was a play by a former slave, Publius Terentius Afer.
E) It was an account of Caesar's campaigns in Gaul.

Question 32

Cato the Elder wrote his agricultural manual for which group?

A) agricultural laborers of free status
B) aristocrats who lived in the same era as Cincinnatus
C) slaves
D) Romans who owned latifundia
E) immigrants to the city of Rome

Question 33

Why did gladiatorial combats become popular?

A) Gladiatorial combats were not popular.
B) Gladiatorial combats were only popular with men.
C) Gladiatorial combats allowed army veterans to display their skills.
D) Gladiatorial combats always included exotic animals.
E) Gladiatorial combats were a form of entertainment for both men and women in the city.

Question 34

According to Polybius, in what way did Roman society and government excel?

A) athletics
B) dedication to state over self
C) innovation in government
D) diplomacy
E) military skill

Question 35

In which of the following ways were aristocratic Roman women similar to high-status Athenian women?

A) Roman women could not exercise rights over property in their names.
B) Neither of them were permitted to socialize with men except their husbands and their families.
C) They both wove and spun wool.
D) They were both expected to be confined to the household.
E) They both received minimal education, and topics were relevant only to household management.

Question 36

How did Sulla attempt to prevent politicians from imitating the tactics of the Gracchi?

A) He used proscriptions.
B) He doubled the size of the Senate.
C) He removed the veto power from tribunes.
D) He removed the military service requirement for Roman political candidates.
E) He marched on Rome.

Question 37

Who rebelled against Rome in the Social War?

A) Roma Secunda
B) Italia
C) Italia Nova
D) Inimicitia
E) Marsi Crescentes

Question 38

What location did Hannibal lay to siege during the Second Punic War?

A) Carthage
B) New Carthage
C) Rome
D) Saguntum
E) Tarentum

Question 39

What were people proscribed by Sulla UNABLE to do?

A) take Sulla to court
B) go into exile
C) travel
D) live on their own property
E) buy and sell goods

Question 40

The senatus consultum ultimum was a response to which politician's activities?

A) Cato the Elder
B) Tiberius Gracchus
C) Gaius Gracchus
D) Gaius Marius
E) Catiline

Question 41

Gladiators included both slaves and trained professionals.

Question 42

Why would Julius Caesar and Augustus both claim they stood for peace?

A) Neither was an effective commander.
B) Both were exceptional diplomats.
C) Both started and then won civil wars.
D) Peace meant lower taxes.
E) Most Roman magistrates wished for peace.

Question 43

Which of the following best describes the attitude poets such as Virgil and Livy expressed about Rome in the past and during their own lifetimes?

A) pride
B) disgust and weariness
C) ambivalence-patriotism mixed with regret
D) dutifulness
E) frustration

Question 44

It is likely that the Law of the Twelve Tables was influenced by Greek law.

Question 45

Augustus made what improvement to Rome's infrastructure and organization?

A) He appointed an official to oversee sanitation workers to clean Roman streets.
B) He flattened the Capitoline Hill.
C) He rebuilt marble temples with brick.
D) He installed public bathrooms.
E) He appointed an official to oversee aqueduct maintenance.

Question 46

Roman magistrates could not be indicted while in office.

Question 47

Hannibal traveled to Italy by sea at the start of the Second Punic War.

Question 48

What did Caesar do after he won the civil war?

A) He was declared a god.
B) He was declared king.
C) He reduced the number of public games.
D) He reduced the size of the Senate.
E) He took the office of pontifex maximus.

Question 49

By the early Republic, the patrician class held all priesthoods.

Question 50

Romans believed that their city was founded by Romulus, who was suckled by a stag.

Question 51

In the early empire, which river served as an eastern boundary to Roman territory in Europe?

A) the Nile
B) the Ebro
C) the Rubicon
D) the Rhine
E) the Danube

Question 52

What change did Augustus make to the Senate?

A) He reduced the responsibilities of the Senate.
B) He shortened term limits.
C) The Senate no longer managed the administration of large parts of the empire.
D) He reduced the size of the Senate.
E) He changed rules of dress, and senators were distinguished by decorations on their togas.

Question 53

The Roman economy of the second century BCE encouraged the development and use of technology.

Question 54

In one founding narrative of Rome, Romans traced their lineage back to a hero of the Peloponnesian War.

Question 55

What aspect of Roman society during Augustus's reign became a pathway for some women to hold greater political influence?

A) Women could initiate divorce.
B) Women gained legal power over their dowries.
C) Men were away on military campaign more frequently.
D) A court society came into existence.
E) The powers of the paterfamilias were reduced by law.

Question 56

The Law of the Twelve Tables placed no limitation on the ability of the paterfamilias to exercise his right of life or death over his children.

Question 57

Archaeological evidence indicates that several different ethnic groups lived in Rome by the sixth century BCE.

Question 58

What was the cause of Cicero's death?

A) natural causes
B) cancer
C) He was proscribed by the Second Triumvirate.
D) He was assassinated while in exile in Spain.
E) He died when a ship on which he was traveling was lost in a storm.

Question 59

What action did Augustus take without precedent?

A) He appointed praetors to serve as governors in Roman provinces.
B) He held the consulship.
C) He attended meetings of the Senate.
D) He accepted the powers of the Tribune of the people without holding the office.
E) He restored temples.

Question 60

Why was Caesar's action of crossing the Rubicon a declaration of war?

A) A Roman commander intending peace would have dissolved his army and command prior to entering Italy.
B) Caesar had already declared himself dictator of Rome.
C) Caesar had promised his soldiers bonuses if they followed all of his orders.
D) Caesar had not yet completely defeated the Gauls.
E) Only Pompey was permitted to take such an action legally.

Question 61

Describe the social and economic changes Augustus created during his reign.

Question 62

In what ways did the Gracchi influence later politicians?

Question 63

Characterize Roman aristocratic values and how they encouraged duty to the state.

Question 64

During the Roman Republic and into the reign of Augustus, only men could initiate a divorce.

Question 65

How can the legends of early Rome be reconciled with the archaeological evidence? Your answer should include an assessment of the historical value of these legends.

Question 66

Up to half of Italy's population during Augustus's reign was enslaved.

Question 67

Who held greater responsibility for the fall of the Roman Republic: Sulla or Marius?

Question 68

Characterize the changes in Roman society during the second century BCE, and explain why these changes occurred.

Question 69

In what ways did Augustus uphold traditional republican political practices, and in what ways did he innovate?

Question 70

Though the Gracchi ultimately failed in their legislative attempts, they inspired later generations of optimates.

Question 71

Why did Rome win the Second Punic War?

Question 72

What was the Struggle of the Orders, and how was it resolved?

Question 73

The Roman author Tacitus considered Augustus responsible for destroying the Roman Republic and establishing single-man rule.

Question 74

The First Triumvirate was a formal alliance; by contrast, the Second Triumvirate was not.

Question 75

What were the differences between the First and the Second Triumvirates?