Geography
What river was Rome founded on and helped with water, trade, and farming?
Tiber River
What term names the small religious images used for private prayer in Byzantine practice?
Icons.
Which rival city-state did Rome fight in the Punic Wars?
Carthage
What language was used in the Eastern Church Liturgy?
Greek
What was the Pax Romana
~27 BCE–180 CE, ~200 years of relative peace and stability under imperial rule.
Name two political or military advantages Constantinople’s site provided.
(1) Easily defensible eastern frontier (peninsula + walls); (2) Control of key trade routes between Europe and Asia.
Identify two visual features commonly used in Byzantine icons.
Two visual features of icons: Large, expressive eyes and long noses; halos and stylized hand/finger gestures (iconographic signs).
Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps with elephants to invade Italy. Who was Hannibal and what is he famous for in the Second Punic War?
Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps with elephants to invade Italy.
List two institutional or cultural differences between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches described in the notes.
Leaders: Western Church leader = Pope (in Rome); Eastern Church leader(s) = Patriarch(s) (centered in Constantinople, with strong imperial influence).
Name two architectural or engineering contributions of Rome and one way each improved urban life.
Aqueducts (fresh water to cities), roads (movement of armies, trade, communication); each improved public health, trade, and administration.
How did Rome’s central location in the Mediterranean affect its economy and military reach?
Enabled sea trade with Europe, North Africa, and western Asia; allowed naval power to project influence (and faster movement of goods).
Name two types of Byzantine church decoration that combine art and worship.
Mosaics and domed architecture (e.g., Hagia Sophia) — mosaics and painted icons used in sacred spaces.
Describe one economic or social consequence of Rome’s conquests on small farmers and the urban poor.
Latifundia bought by rich using enslaved labor pushed small farmers off land; led to urban unemployed and reliance on grain.
Explain two major causes that deepened the split between East and West and how imperial politics affected church authority.
(1) Language used in liturgy: Latin in the West vs. Greek in the East. (2) Clerical practice: Western clergy generally required celibacy (no marriage) while Eastern clergy could marry (parish priests). Also: West accepted papal authority; East recognized patriarchal authority and closer ties to the emperor.
How did Roman law influence later legal systems? Provide two specific legal ideas traced to Rome.
Written laws and public codes, presumption of innocence, right to face accuser and fair trial influenced later legal systems.
Explain how Constantinople’s harbors and peninsula shape helped deter invasions and support trade.
The peninsula and multiple fortified harbors limited approach routes for attackers, allowed rapid naval defense/resupply, and concentrated commerce in protected ports—deterring invasions and enabling resilient trade networks.
How did patronage shape Byzantine sacred art and architecture? Give one specific example type.
Emperors and wealthy patrons funded church construction and decorative programs, directing iconography and commissioning mosaics and icons that reinforced imperial theology and Orthodox worship (example: imperial sponsorship of Hagia Sophia’s mosaic programs).
Sequence these events that contributed to the end of the Republic: 1. Marius’s soldier reforms 2. Caesar crossing the Rubicon 3. The Gracchi brothers’ land reforms 4. Octavian becoming Augustus. (Put in chronological order.)
Chronological: Gracchi reforms (133 BCE) → Marius recruits poor soldiers (107 BCE) → Caesar crosses Rubicon (49 BCE) → Octavian becomes Augustus (27 BCE). 3, 1, 2, 4
What church action or development under Constantine helped Christianity move from persecuted to legally accepted?
Constantine’s action that helped legalization: The Edict of Milan (313 CE) legalized Christian worship; additionally, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea (325 CE) to define orthodox belief.
Explain how Roman roads and common coinage supported economic and cultural unity across the empire.
Roads allowed faster movement of goods and troops; common coinage simplified trade and integrated economy; both helped cultural exchange and administrative control.
Explain how the Alps both protected Rome and later could be used as a route by an enemy; give a historical example.
Alps blocked many northern invaders (protection) but Hannibal crossed them in 218 BCE to invade Italy (route)
Give an example of Greco-Roman culture in the Byzantine Empire.
Preserving Greek language, literature, legal and philosophical texts in Byzantine libraries and schools; these texts were later transmitted to medieval Europe, influencing Renaissance learning and preserving classical knowledge
Tell me about which factor most caused the Republic’s decline and name two supporting pieces of evidence.
The Civil War
Explain two major causes that deepened the split between East and West and how imperial politics affected church authority.
(1) Conflicting claims of ecclesiastical authority—Papal primacy vs. patriarchal/imperial control—created institutional friction. (2) Cultural-linguistic differences (Latin vs. Greek) and divergent liturgical practices reduced mutual understanding.
Choose one Roman philosophical school (Stoicism or Epicureanism) and explain its main idea and one way it influenced a Roman leader or writer mentioned in the unit.
Stoicism: duty, virtue, self-control (e.g., Marcus Aurelius); influenced leaders to emphasize civic duty and restraint.