Pax Romana
What is the Pax Romana?
200 year period of Roman peace
As Rome's government grew weak, how would an emperor stay in power?
The emperor would pay soldiers to defend and fight for them.
Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire for strategic purposes. Where was the capital originally? Where did he move it to?
Rome; Byzantium/Constantinople
What is the Colosseum? How was it used in Rome?
It is an arena that held gladiator fights as well as other forms of entertainment.
What is the Pax Romana? What does Pax Romana mean?
Bonus 50 points if you can name the language!
200 years of peace and prosperity in the Roman Empire. Pax Romana means Roman peace in Latin.
Rome was an empire of many different cultures. Name at least two.
Egyptians, Greeks, Syrians, Jews, Celts, and Gauls. All spoke a variety of languages
As the empire weakened, how did Roman society suffer?
Romans no longer valued duty, courage, or honesty. Few talented citizens wanted to work for the government. Interest in education declined, many did not pay taxes, and a large amount of people in the empire were enslaved.
Who was Theodosius? What did he do? Why was it important?
Theodosius breaks up the empire into two parts: Western Roman Empire (capital is Rome) and Eastern Roman Empire (capital is Constantinople). The Western Roman Empire was weak and never recovered.
What is an aqueduct? Why was it a significant achievement of the Romans?
Aqueducts were channels that carried water into Roman cities from the mountains. This water was used by people in their homes, but also for public Roman baths and fountains.
What was the effect of attacks on farms and trade routes?
There were food shortages, and prices went up.
What does Pax Romana mean? In what language?
Roman peace; Latin
During the 200s CE, how did Rome's economy weaken?
Attacks on farms from soldiers and invaders led to food shortages, which caused prices to rise. People did not have the money to buy goods, so they bought less. This caused merchants and other workers to lose their jobs.
Who were the Visigoths? What did they do?
Visigoths: a group that was trying to escape the Huns
Visigoths ask Rome for protection, which they grant. Romans in general start treating the Visigoths very poorly, so they rebel and destroy/start looting in the Eastern Roman Empire.
What two US government buildings are modeled after Roman architecture? What features are borrowed from the Romans?
The White House: pillars
The Capitol Building: dome
In an attempt to stop the economic decline in Rome, the government produced more coins. Why didn't this work?
The coins had less precious metals in them, so they weren't as valuable. Because of this, people still charged more money for their goods. As a result, people began bartering for their goods instead of using coins.
How did Rome's status as a site of encounter change the lives of Roman citizens?
News gods and religions were introduced to the city, and Greek philosophy, literature, and architecture were introduced and adapted by the Romans. Some Romans were worried that Rome was changing too much.
What reforms did Diocletian try to make? Were they successful? Explain.
Diocletian tried to combat these high prices by setting price limits, but people simply didn’t listen – Diocletian had no control. He tried to maintain control by dividing Rome into 4 different regions, but again, he had no control.
Where did the Vandals sail from? Where were they going? What happened there?
Vandals sailed from Spain and Gaul to Rome and start destroying the city. Vandals' general Odoacer overthrows the Roman Emperor and sits on the throne for 15 years
How is Roman art different from Greek art?
Roman art is more realistic than Greek art.
The Eastern Roman Empire did not fall when the western half did. What do historians call this empire? For how long did it last?
Byzantine Empire; lasted for 1000 years
What caused the growth of the Roman Empire to come to an end?
The government relied on local elites to run local, smaller governments, which led to corruption. Roman expansion slowed as they reached Northern Europe (the land was unusable for agriculture). Growth stalled, which prevented Rome from conquering new lands and people. This reduced the empire's income.
How did weak leaders weaken the economy?
A series of emperors struggled to hold on to power – they were weak leaders and had little control of their military. Emperors couldn’t pay their soldiers, so they started rebelling/invading people’s farms. The farmers had less food to sell, but they still needed to make money so they raised prices → people couldn’t afford it.
In what year did the Western Roman Empire end?
476 CE
The Romans spoke Latin, which is a language that is no longer spoken. What modern languages are derived from Latin?
(You must name all of them to get the points)
Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian
Rome's system of roads