Deck 6: The Transformation of Rome

Question 1

When the emperor Commodus was assassinated in 192,civil war engulfed the Roman Empire,with _________ eventually claiming the throne.

A) Septimius Severus
B) Marcus Aurelius
C) Antonius Pius
D) Aramaic Emesa
E) Romulus Augustus

Answer 1

Septimius Severus

Question 2

Jesus is the central figure in Christianity,but Paul was important:

A) first as a persecutor, then a follower, and finally a heretic.
B) for successfully arguing that Jewish religious laws need not apply to Christians.
C) because he wrote the Gospels, Epistles, and teachings of the apostles.
D) in arguing that women should be allowed to speak in church.
E) in serving as the first Christian leader in Rome; the first pope.

Answer 2

for successfully arguing that Jewish religious laws need not apply to Christians.

Question 3

During the third century,Rome underwent a prolonged period that came very close to destroying the empire.This period is known as the time of:

A) the PaxRomana, when the Huns sacked Rome.
B) the quickening, when the bureaucratic changes came rapidly.
C) the Five Bad Emperors, when Rome had the worst emperors in its history.
D) the Augustan decay, when all the reforms of Marcus Aurelius were implemented.
E) the Barracks Emperors, when Rome had no fewer than twenty-six emperors in about fifty years.

Answer 3

the Barracks Emperors, when Rome had no fewer than twenty-six emperors in about fifty years.

Question 4

Roman borders were:

A) clearly demarcated and defended.
B) protected by a system of walls and palisades.
C) sites of constant warfare.
D) completely undefended.
E) porous and thus more symbolic than actual.

Question 5

As seen in the life of Perpetua,Christianity challenged the traditional Roman values of:

A) living a life of stoic virtue.
B) obedience to the Roman gods and one's ancestors.
C) independence and antiauthoritarian beliefs.
D) political and social equality for all.
E) hedonism.

Question 6

The Dead Sea Scrolls have helped historians to understand the religious climate of the first century C.E.by:

A) describing Jewish life after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.
B) providing concrete evidence about the life and ministry of Jesus.
C) demonstrating fierce competition between different groups of Jewish believers.
D) were probably written between 70 and 100 C.E.
E) contain the historical facts of Jesus's life but do not include his miracles.

Question 7

In order to ensure that armies no longer had the power to choose emperors,Diocletian:

A) asked soldiers to swear oaths of loyalty directly to the emperor.
B) limited the size of the Roman Army.
C) passed laws stipulating that a commander of an army could never be named emperor.
D) severed military and civilian chains of command, making it more difficult for armies to influence politics.
E) ensured that emperors would always be elected by the Senate.

Question 8

One reason that Christianity was attractive to cosmopolitan Greeks was because:

A) Jesus's teachings were similar to those of Aristotle.
B) many Greek people practiced Eastern mystery religions with which early Christianity shared characteristics.
C) many Greeks were Stoics, a philosophy that shared many characteristics with early Christianity.
D) the stories of Jesus's life were similar to those of the Trojan heroes.
E) it helped the Greeks reconcile themselves to rule by the Romans.

Question 9

Jesus's emphasis on observing the ethical requirements of the law rather than the letter of the law encouraged his followers to:

A) stop paying taxes to Caesar.
B) love their neighbors and forgive those who wronged them.
C) deemphasize traditional Jewish purity laws.
D) revolt against the Roman government in Judea.
E) be pacifists.

Question 10

The gospel accounts of Jesus's life:

A) were written before Paul's letters.
B) contain a description of Jesus's miracles, but not his death and resurrection.
C) form (when combined with the Hebrew Torah) the Christian New Testament.
D) were probably written between 70 and 100 C.E.
E) contain the historical facts of Jesus's life but do not include his miracles.

Question 11

The tetrarchy was the split of the Roman Empire into halves and the creation of:

A) a single augustus who ruled the wealthy East and a caesar who ruled the West.
B) two augustuses who ruled the East and two caesars who ruled the West.
C) an augustus and a caesar in both the East and the West.
D) a single augustus who ruled the troublesome West and a caesar who ruled the East.
E) an augustus to rule the empire, with four caesars to rule the four quadrants of the empire.

Question 12

Which statement best describes the position of the Sadducees in Palestine during the first century C.E.?

A) The Sadducees closely allied themselves with the Roman rulers of Judea.
B) The Sadducees rejected the authority of the Romans and refused their assistance in selecting new high priests for the Temple.
C) The Sadducees believed in life after death and a system of individual rewards and punishments.
D) The Sadducees were among the first and most enthusiastic converts to Christianity.
E) The Sadducees believed all Jewish people had the right to interpret the Torah.

Question 13

Which statement best describes the position of the Pharisees in Palestine during the first century C.E.?y

A) The Pharisees adopted the radical teachings of the Essenes.
B) The Pharisees rejected the authority of the Romans and denied them a voice in selecting new high priests for the Temple.
C) The Pharisees believed that they possessed special knowledge of an oral Torah told by Moses.
D) The Pharisees were among the first and most enthusiastic converts to Christianity.
E) The Pharisees rejected the possibility of an imminent arrival of the Messiah.

Question 14

Under Diocletian,the administrative capital of the Roman Empire was:

A) Rome.
B) Constantinople.
C) Nicomedia.
D) Damascus.
E) Ravenna.

Question 15

According to the discipline of history,faiths:

A) are the products of historical processes.
B) are unchanging.
C) cannot be adequately studied by historical methods.
D) are the products of superstition.
E) ought not to be the focus of serious historical inquiry.

Question 16

According to historical interpretations,Jesus was crucified because he:

A) was convicted of sedition by a Roman governor.
B) desired to become a martyr for his faith.
C) was convicted of theft.
D) was mistaken for another man who was a criminal.
E) was convicted of preaching publicly against the laws of Judea.

Question 17

When Diocletian took power:

A) he declared support for Christianity and echoed Constantine's program of toleration to strengthen his empire.
B) he followed Augustus's image of princeps rather than domus to alleviate fears of his imperial ambition and worked alongside the Senate and military to at least give the illusion of a republican government.
C) he shamelessly elevated his own family and friends to prestigious offices and used his power over the military to keep the empire in check.
D) he isolated himself from his rank-and-file soldiers and introduced an eastern style of rule, wearing a diadem and purple robes.
E) he invaded the territory of the Germanic tribes across the Danube in the East and the Rhine in the West to finally end the barbarians' threat to the empire.

Question 18

Realizing that the Roman Empire had become too large for a single ruler to control it:

A) Constantine divided the empire in half and appointed a co-emperor to rule the western part.
B) Constantine built a new capital city named Constantinople in Palestine.
C) Diocletian divided the empire in half and appointed a co-emperor to rule the western part.
D) Diocletian resigned his position as emperor and encouraged the development of regional republics.
E) Diocletian abandoned some of the most marginal provinces of the Roman Empire such as Egypt and Britannia.

Question 19

The "Third-Century Crisis" was precipitated by:

A) the harmonious state of affairs created by the rule of the Five Good Emperors.
B) none of the Five Good Emperors having a male heir to whom to leave the throne.
C) the economic collapse of the Roman Empire in 180 caused by the death of Marcus Aurelius.
D) the retreat from the eastern frontier and violent tendencies of Hadrian's successor, Commodus.
E) rivalries for the imperial throne and the short reigns of those who succeeded in taking it.

Question 20

By 300 C.E.,Christians accounted for no more than 10 percent of the population of the Roman Empire; this low percentage might be due to:

A) eastern mystery religions holding a much greater appeal for ordinary people.
B) the Manicheans who served in the army and persecuted Christians.
C) Diocletian's policy of persecuting any group deemed to be subversive.
D) the emperor converting to Zoroastrianism and outlawing all other religions.
E) the fact that Christianity only appealed to the wealthiest citizens in Rome.

Question 21

Many Greek philosophies gained large numbers of Roman adherents and shared several tenets,but the one that was instrumental in influencing Christian theology was:

A) Neoplatonism.
B) Skepticism.
C) Stoicism.
D) Epicureanism.
E) Pythagoreanism.

Question 22

What point was in dispute between the Arians and Christian orthodoxy?

A) Whether Jesus was equal to God within the Trinity
B) Whether human beings can earn a heavenly reward through good works
C) Whether communion bread and wine really change into Christ's body and blood
D) Whether Jesus died to save all human beings, Christian or not
E) Whether an individual needed to convert to Judaism before converting to Christianity

Question 23

Christianity went from being a persecuted faith in the early fourth century to being the recognized faith of the Empire; this last step was the result of the action by the Emperor:

A) Theodosius, who prohibited pagan worship.
B) Julian, who earned the title "Apostate" for his great piety.
C) Romulus Augustus, who dismantled the temple to Romana.
D) Theodoric, who destroyed the sacred altar to Victory.
E) Alaric, who persecuted pagans as they had persecuted Christians.

Question 24

The traditional date for the "fall" of Rome is:

A) 526 C.E., when Emperor Theodore died.
B) 476 C.E., when Odovacer toppled Emperor Romulus Augustus.
C) 410 C.E., when Alaric sacked the city of Rome.
D) 312 C.E., when Constantine defeated Emperor Maxentius.
E) 284 C.E., when Diocletian reorganized the empire.

Question 25

Romans regarded the Germans as barbarians because:

A) Germans were nomads, who lacked settled agriculture.
B) B. Germans were foreigners, unknown to the Romans until the fourth century C.E.
C) Germans spoke neither Latin nor Greek and Germans did not live in cities.
D) Germans had no interest in trade, only in plunder.
E) Germans were warlike and cruel.

Question 26

The increasing complexity of Christian doctrine in the fourth century occurred due to:

A) a belief that Christians could arrive at an absolute understanding of the world and everything in it.
B) the conversion of many Stoic philosophers to Christianity.
C) a powerful Roman pope who dictated a complex system of belief to his followers.
D) the Christian response to a series of pagan emperors who persecuted Christians and attacked their theology.
E) the need to show that Christianity was superior to Hellenistic theology.

Question 27

After Christianity became legal under Constantine and his successors:

A) Christians began to celebrate their sexuality.
B) ascetic practices were adopted by women only because they were seen as more sinful.
C) ascetic practices were adopted by both men and women.
D) Christians were strongly encouraged to marry and have children.
E) ascetic practices were adopted by men only as they were seen as more sinful.

Question 28

By the end of the third century,the involvement of women in the Church had:

A) grown to the point that women occupied many of the new bishoprics created in the empire.
B) changed little from the early days of the Church, with women in a few positions of power.
C) changed little from the early days of the Church, but now women could become priests.
D) remained exactly the same, with women continuing as deacons and other positions of power.
E) shrunk to the point that they were completely excluded from all positions of power.

Question 29

Peace was restored after the battle of Adrianople when:

A) the Roman army routed a Gothic army.
B) the Roman Empire met the Goths' demand for food and land.
C) a Gothic army defeated a Roman army.
D) the Romans ceded control of the Danube to the Goths.
E) the Goths attacked Rome.

Question 30

Jerome's most lasting contribution to Western Christian culture was:

A) his translation of the Bible into Latin.
B) his support for monasticism.
C) his translations of Greek philosophical works.
D) his support for the authority of the pope.
E) the humble piety he brought to the papacy.

Question 31

Once the Christian Church gained ascendancy in the Roman Empire,the highest authority in deciding doctrine was___________,though this would change in later centuries.

A) The Bishop of Rome, who was the pope
B) The emperor, as a newly styled pontifex maximus of the Christian Church
C) The Christian leader of Christianity's holiest city, the Patriarch of Jerusalem
D) The leader of the church in Constantinople, the Patriarch of Constantinople
E) The Christian believers

Question 32

The differences between the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire:

A) in culture, economy, and language were great and grew larger over time.
B) became less significant as Constantine and his sons reunited the whole.
C) helped landowners use profits in the West to buy up small farms in the East.
D) did not matter when the capital was in the center, between Europe and Asia.
E) were only superficial and did not affect relations between the citizens of the empire.

Question 33

Under Constantine,Christianity:

A) was made illegal and adherents were punished.
B) became less focused in its teachings.
C) became the only state-sanctioned religion.
D) formally divided from Judaism.
E) became one of many tolerated religions in the Empire.

Question 34

The roots of Rome's leadership of the Western Church partially lie in:

A) the imperial order of Constantine at the Council of Nicaea.
B) a passage from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew.
C) the Greek practice of nominating a patriarch to administer a city.
D) the general agreement among fourth-century bishops that one leader should speak for the Church.
E) the Roman Senate's promotion of the Bishop of Rome as the head of the Church.

Question 35

Before Constantine,Christianity:

A) had a single-faith tradition.
B) was a sect of Judaism.
C) had diffuse and unregulated faith traditions.
D) was not a missionizing faith.
E) was a sect of Zoroastrianism.

Question 36

After their defeat of Rome,the Goths split into many different groups and moved on to settle in many areas in Europe; those who moved into the area of Spain and southern France were known as the:

A) Visigoths.
B) Vandals.
C) Ostrogoths.
D) Franks.
E) Burgundians.

Question 37

The eastern Roman Empire lost tax revenue as a result of Germanic migrations because:

A) the Germanic peoples killed many citizens of Rome.
B) the Germanic peoples assassinated tax collectors so money remained in the West.
C) powerful Germanic peoples set up their own kingdoms and collected their own taxes in the West.
D) the Germanic peoples forbade Roman citizens to pay taxes to the East.
E) people had no money.

Question 38

What were the general results of the doctrinal quarrels of the early centuries?

A) Many new churches and sects were started, increasing public understanding.
B) Believers had to be either with the Church or against it on every issue.
C) Regional antagonisms were reduced as people concentrated on big questions.
D) The dogmas of the Christian Church gradually became fixed.
E) The Christian Church was irrevocably split between East and West by 300 C.E.

Question 39

The Christian label for non-Christians is indicative of its _________ origin.

A) Roman
B) Jewish
C) Rural
D) Urban
E) Byzantine

Question 40

Odovacer's removal of Romulus Augustus resulted in the eastern Roman Empire:

A) asking Theodoric, a Goth, to lead an imperially equipped army against Odovacer.
B) doing nothing to try and depose Odovacar.
C) acknowledging Odovacer as the rightful ruler of the western Roman Empire.
D) rescuing the pope and bringing him to Constantinople.
E) moving the capital of the western Roman Empire to Paris.

Question 41

Constantine seemed to envision a united Rome after his death as he gave the empire as a whole to his eldest son,disinheriting the younger two in order to prevent civil war.

Question 42

In 305C.E.Diocletian retired as emperor.

Question 43

Benedict's monastic rule encouraged:

A) a strict diet and extreme asceticism.
B) a contemplative life at the cost of all other activities.
C) living a religious life as a hermit, alone in the desert.
D) time spent in physical labor and contemplation.
E) silence in the monastery at all times.

Question 44

Constantine made Christianity the sole religion of the empire in 313C.E.

Question 45

Ambrose argued that the Roman emperor was:

A) above the Church.
B) an enemy of the Church.
C) outside the Church.
D) a defender of the Church.
E) within the Church.

Question 46

One reason for including classical texts in the education of Christians by the fourth century was:

A) the failure of the Church to win new adherents once it had been legalized by the state.
B) the lack of any Christian texts that could allow converts to understand the Christian articles of faith.
C) the lack of any Christian texts on mathematics, ethics, or logic.
D) the desire of Christian intellectuals to be regarded as philosophers and to make classical learning applicable to a Christian way of life.
E) to show that classical pagan beliefs could easily be reconciled with Christian beliefs.

Question 47

Women played prominent roles in the early Christian Church.

Question 48

Constantinople remained the political and economic center of the Roman Empire until 476,when it fell to the Goths.

Question 49

On the City of God:

A) was a systematic account of Church dogma written by Ambrose, patriarch of Milan.
B) is the title of Jerome's commentary on his translation of the Bible into Latin.
C) was Augustine's autobiographical account of his experiences as bishop of Hippo.
D) was a defense of Christianity as a philosophical system by Ambrose.
E) was a new, Christian interpretation of human history by Augustine.

Question 50

The Zealots were a group of Jews who led revolts against the Romans in Judea.

Question 51

In Late Antiquity,the pope was the leader of the Christian Church in the Roman Empire.

Question 52

Byzantium was of little strategic import when Constantine moved his capital there in 32C.E.4

Question 53

The monastic way of life in the West was influenced greatly by establishing a set of rules written by:

A) Basil.
B) Benedict.
C) Boethius.
D) Cassiodorus.
E) Augustine.

Question 54

Augustine's theological ideas revolved around:

A) the proper powers of rulers in a Christian empire.
B) human sinfulness and divine omnipotence.
C) the sacramental powers of the Church.
D) the fall of Rome.
E) childlike innocence when approaching the divine.

Question 55

Augustine's Confessions is a(n):

A) series of explanations of his actions throughout his life.
B) book detailing his actions as a young man and asking his mother for forgiveness.
C) account of Augustine's defense at his trial for heresy.
D) series of autobiographical essays directed toward God.
E) book that set forth the doctrines of the Church.

Question 56

The Dead Sea Scrolls emphasize the homogeneity and strict observance of Jewish religious practice around the time of Jesus.

Question 57

Historians now refer to the period from 284 to the seventh century C.E.as Late Antiquity because:

A) while the western half of the empire had fallen, the eastern Roman Empire was still flourishing.
B) it is a period with its own themes and developments, not wholly Roman and not yet medieval.
C) all Roman institutions had been abandoned or destroyed.
D) the term Dark Ages refers only to the literature of the period contrasted with classical literature.
E) while the eastern part of the empire had fallen, the western Roman Empire was still flourishing.

Question 58

Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy is a(n):

A) thoroughly non-Christian text that was banned by the early Church.
B) excellent example of the pairing of classical philosophy and the Christian worldview.
C) mystical Christian text of revelation.
D) account of Boethius's conversion to Christianity.
E) account of Boethius's trial for treason.

Question 59

An early account of Christ's life is attributed to Mary Magdalene.

Question 60

Cassiodorus believed that the study of classical literature:

A) ought to be forbidden to Christians.
B) should only be attempted by those highly trained in Christian doctrine.
C) was essential to understanding the Bible fully.
D) would lead people into sin.
E) ought to be forbidden to monks.

Question 61

Was the division between the eastern and western empires only geographic? Explain.

Question 62

In what ways did Diocletian attempt to revitalize Rome?

Question 63

How were monasteries centers of innovation in Late Antiquity?

Question 64

What was the place of classical education in the Christian faith of Late Antiquity?

Question 65

Augustine believed all Christians would be saved by Jesus's sacrifice.

Question 66

The Goths attacked the Roman troops in 378 in an effort to expand their territories.

Question 67

What role did women play in the early Church? Why did this role change?

Question 68

Jerome's longest lasting contribution to Western society was his Vulgate translation of the Bible.

Question 69

To what extent were the Germanic peoples of early medieval Europe Romanized?

Question 70

Why was Christianity attractive to the Greeks and Romans?

Question 71

Explain to what extent the actions and teachings of Jesus were revolutionary.

Question 72

Explain the implications of the Council of Nicaea.

Question 73

Cassiodorus's Institutes was a list of essential classical and pagan literature a monk should know.

Question 74

Boethius was executed for his controversial work on faith and reason,The Consolation of Philosophy.

Question 75

To what extent did Rome fall in 476
C.E.?