#10—Crash Course World History The Roman Empire or Republic or...Which Was It?
Answer each question with no more than two words or a number
The story of Rome begins when twins, Romulus and Remus, who’d been raised by wolves, founded a city on (1)__________ hills.
What does SPQR stand for? It means Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and the People of Rome), one of the (2)__________ of the Roman Republic.
Rome was divided into two broad classes: the Patricians– the small group of aristocratic families and the Plebians, basically everybody else.
The Senate was a sort of a mixture of legislature and giant advisory (3)__________. Their main job was to set the policy for the Consuls.
Each year the Senate would choose from among its ranks (4)__________ co-Consuls to serve as sort of the chief executives of Rome. There needed to be two so they could check each other’s (5)__________, and also so that one could take care of Rome domestically, while the other was off fighting wars, and conquering new territory.
There were two additional checks on power: First, the (6)__________ year term. And secondly, once a senator had served as consul, he was forbidden to serve as consul again for at least (7)__________ years.
The Romans also had a position of (8) __________, a person who would who’d take over in the event the Republic was in imminent danger.
The paradigm for this selfless Roman ruler was Cincinnatus, a general who came out of comfortable (9)__________ at his plantation, took command of an army, defeated whatever enemy he was battling, and then laid down his command and returned to his farm. George Washington was heavily influenced by Cincinnatus when he invented the idea of a (10)__________ term presidency.
So along comes Caesar. Coming as he did from the senatorial class, it was natural that Caesar would serve in both the army and the (11)__________, which he did. He rose through the ranks, and after some top-notch generalling, and a gig as the (12)__________ of Spain, he decided to run for consul.
Caesar succeeded in becoming consul in 59 BCE and thereafter sought to dominate Roman politics by allying himself with Crassus, Rome’s richest man, and also with Rome’s other most powerful man, the general Pompey. The three formed the so-called first Triumvirate, and the alliance worked out super well, for Caesar. Not so well for the other two.
Caesar landed the governorship of Gaul, at least the southern part that Rome controlled. He quickly conquered the rest of the territory and his four loyal armies—or legions, as the Romans called them—became his source of (13)__________. Caesar continued his conquests, invading Britain and waging another successful war against the Gauls.
While he was away, Crassus died in (14)__________ with the Parthians and Pompey, who had become Caesar’s rival and enemy, was elected Consul.
Pompey and the Senate decided to try to strip Caesar of his command and recall him to Rome. This led to a civil war between Caesar and Pompey. By 48 BCE Caesar was in total command of all of Rome’s holdings, having been named both (15)__________ and consul.
Caesar set out to Egypt to track down Pompey only to learn that he’d already been assassinated by agents of the Pharaoh Ptolemy. Egypt had its own (16)__________ at the time, between the Pharaoh and his sister/wife Cleopatra. Caesar sided with Cleopatra.
Caesar made his way back from Egypt to Rome, stopping off to defeat a few kings in the east, and was declared dictator again. That position that was later extended for ten years, and then for (17)__________.
By 45 BCE Caesar was the undisputed master of Rome and he pursued reforms that strengthened his own power. He provided land pensions for his (18)__________, restructured the debts of a huge percentage of Rome’s debtors, and also changed the (19)__________ to make it look more like the one we use today.
By 44 BCE, many Senators had decided that Caesar controlled too much of the power in Rome, and so they stabbed him (20)__________ times on the floor of the Roman Senate.
The conspirators thought that the death of Caesar would bring about the restoration of the Republic, and they were wrong. A Second Triumvirate was formed by Caesar’s adopted son Octavian, along with his second in command Marc Antony and a dude named Lepidus. This triumvirate was an awesome failure, degenerating into a second (21)__________. Octavian and Antony fought it out. Octavian won, changed his name to Caesar Augustus, became sole ruler of Rome, adopted the title (22)__________, and started printing coins identifying himself as Divini Filius: Son of God.
So did Caesar destroy the Republic? No, he’s only really to blame if he was the first one to do that. And he wasn’t. Take the general Marius, for instance, who rose to power on the strength of his generalship and on his willingness to open up the army to the (23) __________, who were loyal to him personally, and not to Rome, and whom he promised land in exchange for their good service in the army. This of course required the Romans to keep conquering new land so they could keep giving it to new legionnaires. Marius also was consul (24)__________ times in a row 60 years before Caesar.
Or look at the general Sulla who, like Marius, ensured that his armies would be more loyal to him personally than to Rome, but who marched against Rome itself, and then became its dictator, (25)__________ thousands of people in 81 BCE, 30 years before Caesar entered the scene.
You’ll remember that the Persian Empire had some characteristics that made it imperial: a (26)__________ system of government, continual military expansion, and a (27)__________ of subject peoples. The Roman Empire had all three of those characteristics long before it became The Roman Empire.
Rome started out as a (28)__________, and then it became a city state, then a kingdom, and then a Republic, but that entire time, it was basically comprised of the area around Rome.
By the 4th century BCE, Rome started to incorporate its neighbors like the Latins and the Etruscans, and pretty soon they had all of Italy under their control. If you want to talk about real expansion and diversity, you’ve got to talk about the Punic Wars.
Eventually this whole area and a lot more would be incorporated into a system of provinces and (30)__________ of people would be ruled by the Roman Empire. And it’s ridiculous to say that Rome was a Republic until Augustus became Rome’s first official emperor, because by the time he did that, Rome had been an empire for (31)__________ years.
Answers:
The story of Rome begins when twins, Romulus and Remus, who’d been raised by wolves, founded a city on (1)seven hills.
What does SPQR stand for? It means Senatus Populusque Romanus (the Senate and the People of Rome), one of the (2)mottos of the Roman Republic.
Rome was divided into two broad classes: the Patricians– the small group of aristocratic families and the Plebians, basically everybody else.
The Senate was a sort of a mixture of legislature and giant advisory (3)council. Their main job was to set the policy for the Consuls.
Each year the Senate would choose from among its ranks (4)two co-Consuls to serve as sort of the chief executives of Rome. There needed to be two so they could check each other’s (5)ambition, and also so that one could take care of Rome domestically, while the other was off fighting wars, and conquering new territory.
There were two additional checks on power: First, the (6)one year term. And secondly, once a senator had served as consul, he was forbidden to serve as consul again for at least (7)ten years.
The Romans also had a position of (8) dictator, a person who would who’d take over in the event the Republic was in imminent danger.
The paradigm for this selfless Roman ruler was Cincinnatus, a general who came out of comfortable (9)retirement at his plantation, took command of an army, defeated whatever enemy he was battling, and then laid down his command and returned to his farm. George Washington was heavily influenced by Cincinnatus when he invented the idea of a (10)two term presidency.
So along comes Caesar. Coming as he did from the senatorial class, it was natural that Caesar would serve in both the army and the (11)Senate, which he did. He rose through the ranks, and after some top-notch generalling, and a gig as the (12)governor of Spain, he decided to run for consul.
Caesar succeeded in becoming consul in 59 BCE and thereafter sought to dominate Roman politics by allying himself with Crassus, Rome’s richest man, and also with Rome’s other most powerful man, the general Pompey. The three formed the so-called first Triumvirate, and the alliance worked out super well, for Caesar. Not so well for the other two.
Caesar landed the governorship of Gaul, at least the southern part that Rome controlled. He quickly conquered the rest of the territory and his four loyal armies—or legions, as the Romans called them—became his source of (13)power. Caesar continued his conquests, invading Britain and waging another successful war against the Gauls.
While he was away, Crassus died in (14)battle with the Parthians and Pompey, who had become Caesar’s rival and enemy, was elected Consul.
Pompey and the Senate decided to try to strip Caesar of his command and recall him to Rome. This led to a civil war between Caesar and Pompey. By 48 BCE Caesar was in total command of all of Rome’s holdings, having been named both (15)dictator and consul.
Caesar set out to Egypt to track down Pompey only to learn that he’d already been assassinated by agents of the Pharaoh Ptolemy. Egypt had its own (16)civil war at the time, between the Pharaoh and his sister/wife Cleopatra. Caesar sided with Cleopatra.
Caesar made his way back from Egypt to Rome, stopping off to defeat a few kings in the east, and was declared dictator again. That position that was later extended for ten years, and then for (17) life.
By 45 BCE Caesar was the undisputed master of Rome and he pursued reforms that strengthened his own power. He provided land pensions for his (18)soldiers, restructured the debts of a huge percentage of Rome’s debtors, and also changed the (19)calendar to make it look more like the one we use today.
By 44 BCE, many Senators had decided that Caesar controlled too much of the power in Rome, and so they stabbed him (20)23 times on the floor of the Roman Senate.
The conspirators thought that the death of Caesar would bring about the restoration of the Republic, and they were wrong. A Second Triumvirate was formed by Caesar’s adopted son Octavian, along with his second in command Marc Antony and a dude named Lepidus. This triumvirate was an awesome failure, degenerating into a second (21)civil war. Octavian and Antony fought it out. Octavian won, changed his name to Caesar Augustus, became sole ruler of Rome, adopted the title (22)emperor, and started printing coins identifying himself as Divini Filius: Son of God.
So did Caesar destroy the Republic? No, he’s only really to blame if he was the first one to do that. And he wasn’t. Take the general Marius, for instance, who rose to power on the strength of his generalship and on his willingness to open up the army to the (23) poor, who were loyal to him personally, and not to Rome, and whom he promised land in exchange for their good service in the army. This of course required the Romans to keep conquering new land so they could keep giving it to new legionnaires. Marius also was consul (24)five times in a row 60 years before Caesar.
Or look at the general Sulla who, like Marius, ensured that his armies would be more loyal to him personally than to Rome, but who marched against Rome itself, and then became its dictator, (25)executing thousands of people in 81 BCE, 30 years before Caesar entered the scene.
You’ll remember that the Persian Empire had some characteristics that made it imperial: a (26)unified system of government, continual military expansion, and a (27)diversity of subject peoples. The Roman Empire had all three of those characteristics long before it became The Roman Empire.
Rome started out as a (28)city, and then it became a city state, then a kingdom, and then a Republic, but that entire time, it was basically comprised of the area around Rome.
By the 4th century BCE, Rome started to incorporate its neighbors like the Latins and the Etruscans, and pretty soon they had all of Italy under their control. If you want to talk about real expansion and diversity, you’ve got to talk about the Punic Wars.
Eventually this whole area and a lot more would be incorporated into a system of provinces and (30)millions of people would be ruled by the Roman Empire. And it’s ridiculous to say that Rome was a Republic until Augustus became Rome’s first official emperor, because by the time he did that, Rome had been an empire for (31)200 years.