University Academy
World History
Roman Republic and Empire Take Home Exam
Mr. Havens
Directions: Complete and in turn in on Tuesday, October 13th. You must complete this entire exam on
your own and all short answers must be in your own words.
1. _____________________________ Augustus’ stated purpose in creating the Principate. The Latin
term meaning “to restore the Republic.”
2. _____________________________ One of several titles held by Augustus which mean “father of
the fatherland.”
3. _____________________________ Latin term meaning “holder of imperium” this title was meant
to confer upon the emperor another Republican-sounding title.
4. _____________________________ Translated into English as “son of the deified Julius Caesar”,
this title further enhanced Augustus credibility as emperor.
5. _____________________________ The Latin term for the “Roman Peace” ushered in when
Octavian defeated Antony at Actium, ending the civil wars.
6. _____________________________ This Roman emperor saved the empire by ending the
Principate and replacing it with an autocratic system known as
the Dominate in 284.
7. _____________________________ After winning the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, this person
became the emperor and as emperor made Christianity the
official religion and founded a new capital in the east.
8. _____________________________ In the early years of Christianity, these officials within the
church had authority over the priests in a given city or area.
9. _____________________________ The bishops of the most important centers of Christianity in
Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Constantinople.
10. _____________________________ The English translation of the Hebrew word meaning “the
anointed one”. The term in Greek is Χρίστος.
11. _____________________________ Meaning “right teaching,” this describes the Christian Church
in Eastern Roman Empire that rejected the claim of
supremacy by the bishop of Rome.
12. _____________________________ From the Greek word for “universal” this describes the
Christian Church in the Western Roman Empire, based in
Rome.
Multiple Choice (2 pts. each)
1. The Latin term for the right to command a Roman army is
a. res novae
b. imperium
c. amicitia
d. patria potestas
2. Which of the following is the correct order in which the offices in the cursus honorum were held,
from first to last:
a. quaestor, praetor, aedile, consul
b. praetor, quaestor, consul, aedile
c. aedile, quaestor, praetor, consul
d. quaestor, aedile, praetor, consul
3. Extispicium was a form of fortunetelling wherein the pontifices of the Roman state religion would
examine _______________ in order to determine the will of the gods.
a. birds
b. clouds
c. animal organs
d. trees
4. All of the following are accurate meanings for the phrase mos maiorum EXCEPT
a. ancient traditions
b. old customs
c. Roman laws
d. ways of the ancestors
5. St. Paul has been called “the apostle to the gentiles” because—
a. he believed Christianity taught people to be gentle.
b. he taught that Christianity was a religion for all people, not just Jews.
c. he insisted that Christians follow all Jewish laws.
d. he spent his life preaching to the Jews.
e. all of the above are true.
6. This Roman became consul in c.105 BC and reformed the military so that soldiers became
personally loyal to the commanders who recruited them.
a. Marius
b. Sulla
c. Pompey
d. Caesar
7. Core beliefs of the new religion of Christianity included—
a. Jewish monotheism.
b. eternal life for anyone who would believe in Jesus and his teachings.
c. love of God and love of other humans.
d. all of the above.
8. The last of the Roman kings whose reign ended in c.509 BC was
a. Tiberius Gracchus
b. Tarquinius Maximus
c. Gaius Superbus
d. Tarquinius Superbus
9. In Roman political rhetoric, the term res novae was equivalent to
a. radical ideas
b. revolution
c. high taxes
d. declaration of war
10. The best meaning of the term plebeian is
a. the poor
b. the middle and lower classes
c. not patricians
d. regular people
11. Which of the following is NOT true of the achievements of ancient Rome?
a. They brought order and advanced civilization to more lands and peoples for a longer period
of time than any previous empire in that part of the world.
b. They established advanced political institutions of republican government, a senate, and
effective administration of a huge, multi-national Empire.
c. Their achievements in the arts and sciences far exceeded their military achievements.
d. Their language, Latin, became the language of scholarship and the parent language of the
“Romance” languages of Spanish, French, and Italian.
e. Major new religions emerged out of the Empire, especially Christianity and Islam.
12. Imperium differed from imperium maius in that the latter was
a. unrestricted
b. more common
c. only for praetors
d. granted by a tribune of the plebs
13. ___________ was the last strong man of the Republic and the creator of the new system called the
Empire.
a. Pompey
b. Julius Caesar
c. Antony
d. Octavian
14. The Roman Empire was highly successful for centuries because—
a. it generally ruled its conquered peoples tolerantly, even borrowing from their cultures at
times.
b. it brought political order, trade, and prosperity to its peoples.
c. it brought Roman law, which provided order without oppressing the conquered peoples.
d. it allowed non-Romans to become citizens of Rome.
e. it accomplished all of the above.
15. The Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War and son of Hamilcar Barca was
a. Hasdrubal
b. Hieronymus
c. Herodotus
d. Hannibal
16. These Roman officials were judicial officers and although they were subordinate to the consuls in
the military, they did have imperium.
a. quaestor
b. aedile
c. praetor
d. consul
17. These Roman magistrates were public works official who were responsible for the management of
the city of Rome. Occupying this office was not technically a required step in the cursus honorum,
however most politicians did.
a. tribune of the plebs
b. aedile
c. praetor
d. consul
18. These Roman magistrates were the treasurer of Rome. In the military they did not have imperium
but they did have an important role: paymaster or quartermaster.
a. quaestor
b. aedile
c. praetor
d. dictator
19. There were two of these chief executive magistrates in the Roman republic. They had a mutual
veto and were the lead generals in the army.
a. quaestor
b. censor
c. tribune of the plebs
d. consul
20. Advocating for the plebeian order was the chief responsibility of these magistrates. They had to
stay in the city of Rome while in office and were “on-call” during all hours, but could not be physically
harmed.
a. quaestor
b. aedile
c. praetor
d. tribune of the plebs
21. Which of the following BEST describes Rome’s attitude toward diverse peoples and religions
during its greatest period—the Pax Romana?
a. Although Rome was definitely an Empire and could be very cruel and intolerant, it generally
allowed the peoples it conquered a fair degree of self-rule in matters concerning their
cultures and religions.
b. Insisting that Roman religion and culture were superior, Rome violently destroyed all other
religions and foreign cultural practices within its empire.
c. Early Roman emperors such as Nero adopted the Jewish belief in one God and persecuted
anyone who believed in polytheism.
d. Rome typically abandoned its current religion and culture in order to adopt the culture of
whatever new people it conquered.
e. All of the above.
22. Which of the following was NOT a Roman advance in engineering and construction, compared to
the Greeks?
a. domes
b. arches
c. columns or pillars
d. vaults
e. cement or concrete
23. Which of the following is true of Roman culture in comparison to ancient Greek culture?
a. Rome borrowed so heavily from Greek culture that historians sometimes referred to the two
cultures with one term, Greco-Roman culture.
b. Rome adapted its alphabet—the one we use today—from the Greek alphabet.
c. Rome surpassed Greek achievements in managing an empire and in developing a code of
laws.
d. Roman religion was heavily drawn from Greek religion.
e. All of the above.
24. When the plebeians demanded greater access to the ager publicus, they wanted more
a. political rights
b. public land
c. public wealth
d. political offices
25. The Punic Wars—
a. were three wars, spanning about eighty years, between Rome and Carthage.
b. were won by Rome.
c. resulted in the total destruction of Carthage.
d. helped put Rome on the path toward Empire by expanding the territory under Roman
control.
e. involved all of the above.
26. The best meaning of the Latin term for the Mediterranean Sea, Mare Nostrum, is
a. The Sea
b. Our Sea
c. More Sea
d. Your Sea
27. Which of the following is UNTRUE of Roman law?
a. Only the Emperor and the patrician class were considered above the law.
b. In theory at least, it treated Romans and non-Romans equally.
c. It was organized into a logical legal code that was published and regularly revised.
d. It influenced many modern legal codes that exist throughout the world today.
e. It taught that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty.
28. The English meaning of stem word common to the terms patria potestas, paterfamilias, and
patrician is
a. plate
b. father
c. potter
d. Roman
29. In c.494, 479, and 278 BC, the plebeians left the city of Rome as a group and boycotted politics in
protest against the patricians. This was called
a. selection
b. session
c. secession
d. secretion
30. Which of the following is UNTRUE of the organization of the early Christian church?
a. most Christian communities eventually had their own leaders or priests.
b. a bishop had authority over the Christian communities in a given area, known as a diocese.
c. all Christian communities recognized the leadership of the bishop of Rome as pope or
supreme leader of the Church.
d. “patriarchs”—the bishops of the oldest and most important Christian communities—served
as leaders of all other bishops in the Eastern Empire.
e. the early Christian Church eventually became the official Church of the Empire in its later
years.
31. The BEST meaning of the word auctoritas is
a. divinity
b. author
c. power
d. moral authority
32. Which of the following is not an accurate synonym for the word princeps?
a. most honored citizen
b. first citizen
c. first among equals
d. king
Matching (2 pts. each)
Cannae
______
Zama
______
Colline
______
Philippi
______
Actium
______
A. Seeking revenge for the murder of Caesar, Antony and Octavian
captured and killed Brutus and Cassius.
B. Employing clever tactics, the Roman general Scipio Africanus
defeated Hannibal and ended the Second Punic War.
C. Returning to Rome from his campaign in the East, Sulla captured
Rome and declared himself dictator for life.
D. In this naval battle, Octavian defeated Antony as he fled with
Cleopatra back to Egypt.
E. Facing a Roman army of eighty thousand troops, Hannibal
accomplished the rare feat known as a “double envelopment with inferior
numbers” and was victorious.
Short Answers:
Answer these questions in complete sentences and in your own words.
1. Fully explain three reasons why the Roman Empire eventually “fell”.
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2. Fully explain three Roman achievements.
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What did the founding of Augustus’ Principate mean for Rome?
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