1. Rome Unit Two
Study Guide

2. Vocabulary
Students will be responsible for all vocabulary words from Unit 9 Rome part 1
located at worldhistorynewpoint.weebly.com/week-2-the-roman-republicempire.html
Students will be responsible for all vocabulary words from Unit 10 Rome part 2
located at worldhistorynewpoint.weebly.com/week-4-roman-daily-life.html

3. Students will be able to list the requirements for Roman Citizenship
In the beginning of the empire only residents of the city of Rome itself had citizenship
Roman men had to register for a census every five years and this was the only way to claim citizenship
Roman men declared their family, slaves and wealth to the empire
If a Roman did not declare he ran the risk of losing his property or even worse being enslaved.
As the Roman Empire became larger those outside the city of Rome were allowed to become citizens

4. Students will be able to list and explain the different divisions of Roman Social Classes
The Roman Empire had three different social classes
The rich (aristocrats/patricians)
The poor (plebeians)
The slaves

5. Bread and Circuses
The poor of Rome needed to survive. When wheat harvests were bad or when grain shipments from overseas were late, the poor often rioted. To prevent these riots the emperors and governors of Roman provinces would supply free grain and spectacular shows. These shows were often held in the Colosseum or in arenas and were called circuses
This included gladiator games, animals fighting other animals, animals fighting humans and humans fighting humans.
The purpose of the games was to take the citizens mind off the troubles and to promote the image that the empire took care of them during difficult times.

6. Students will be able to describe family life in Roman society
Roman life centered around the baths. This was an important social aspect of Roman culture. Business deals, networking and information were often discussed in the baths. The rich bathed daily, the poor less frequently and children never visited the baths.
Roman family life centered around the paterfamilias or the head of the family which was the “father of the family” The paterfamilias ruled all within his household
Women had a lesser role and often were confined to only their home in regards to their influence. This changed somewhat if she was married to a rich or influential man.

7. Students will be able to explain how slavery was practiced in ancient Rome
Slavery was a common practice in Ancient Rome
One out of every three individuals living in the Roman Empire was a slave.
Slaves often were taken good care of, sometimes even paid and house slaves were treated better than field slaves
Many gladiators who fought in the arena were slaves who fought for the profit of their owner
Some slaves who had a specific skill were often tipped by those they worked for if the did a good job
Slaves could pay for their freedom

8. Students will be able to explain the early relationship between Christians and the Roman Empire
Judaea the ancient home of the Jews were conquered by the Romans in 63 B.C.
At first the Romans respected the Jews’ right to worship God
It was during the reign of Herod that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and began his preaching
The teachings of Jesus of Nazareth alarmed many Roman officials because they believed that Jesus would lead a violent revolt against the empire
Eventually the Roman empire crucified Jesus in an attempt to stop the unrest in the Roman empire but this attempt failed

9. Students will identify the way in which Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire
The followers of Christ or his apostles traveled the world after his death spreading his message of love and peace
One apostle or disciple of significant importance was Paul (Saul) who traveled as a prisoner to Rome and wrote many letters while he awaited trail to help organize the religion. He spoke a common language that most Romans understood and that was Greek
Many Christians had to meet in secret in order to protect themselves and escape persecution.
Christians would use the symbol of a fish to recognize each other

10. Explain why the rapid growth of Christianity threatened Roman rule and how the government reacted to it
The fast growing new religion alarmed the Roman government because the Christians refused to worship the Roman gods and did not show the emperor the respect that was required.
In 64 AD under the rule of the Emperor Nero Rome experienced a huge fire that destroyed most of the city. Nero blamed the fire on the Christians
Christians would continue to be persecuted for a long time until the Emperor Constantine made religious freedom a law and right for all Romans

11. The appeal of Christianity
Despite the persecution of its followers, Christianity continued to spread throughout the empire. The help that Christian communities gave to widows, orphans and the poor drew people to the new religion. Its messages of love, forgiveness and a better life after death appealed to many. After Jesus was crucified he became a martyr and many Christians would follow giving their life's for their beliefs.
As the Christian religion grew emperor after emperor tried to halt its spread by outlawing it, putting Christians to death or in jail.

12. Describe how Constantine affected the Christians
The Emperor Constantine had a huge impact on early Christians and eventually on the United States because he made it a law that Romans could enjoy the freedom of religion and worship as they choose to which is one of our fundamental rights that was included in the first 10 amendments (The Bill of Rights)

13. How did bad government contribute to the decline of the Roman Empire
For many years the Roman Empire enjoyed good rulers but eventually emperor’s like Diocletian and Nero soon made a series of bad rules/laws that that helped the Roman Empire decline.
Some emperors like Commodus made bad decisions because he was young and relied on those around him who gave him bad advice

14. Explain why the Roman Empire fell
The Roman Empire did not fall because of one specific reason but a series of reasons:
Weak corrupt rulers
A large mercenary army (requiring payment that drained the treasury of the Empire)
The sheer size of the Roman Empire helped to contribute to it’s fall because it became too big to rule efficiently
Serious economic problems like inflation
Invaders from the north of the Empire near present day Germany also contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire and eventually sacked (looted) and burned the city. These raiders were known as the Visigoths.

15. Specific areas I noticed on the Pretest that you need to be aware of
Jesus was born under the reign of Herod in Judea not Pilate. Pilate was the one who was in power when Jesus was crucified
Make sure when you read a test question that you read the test question. Remember if the question says NOT TRUE then make sure you pick something that is not true.
The Visigoths or raiders from the north were the ones who eventually raided and overwhelmed the Roman Empire
In order to count the number of inhabitants Rome held elections not a census. The census was intended more for taxing citizens then it was for counting but they both counted individuals. You need to be able to recognize the difference