Civilization Fact Report (CFR)
Classical Rome, Trade Routes, and the Fall of Empires
in the Classical Era
No matter your field of study, a key part of any college course is
outside reading. College-level reading is a skill that takes time to
develop. Since the texts you’ll be reading in a college history course
are often challenging, it helps to develop a note-taking system that
will help you process as you read.
As you read these sections of the grey textbook, you will create a list of key vocabulary terms and
summarize the main ideas of this section. Not only will this help keep the information from tumbling out
of your brain (a travesty!), it will give you material to study for this unit test and the AP Exam in May.
This civilization fact report is due on the following day for your class: ______________________
Additionally, you must complete this CFR in order to be exempt from the exam. If you don’t have it on
the day of your test, you’ve got to take the test, even if you meet the other exemption requirements.
Read pages 90 – 98 and 109 – 115 in our grey textbook, Ethel Wood’s AP World
History: An Essential Coursebook, before completing this CFR on a separate sheet
of paper.
Key Terms: Identify the significance of each of these terms. I suggest you put them in your own
words—it’ll help you process and understand them.
90-98: Estruscans / republic / Senate / patricians / plebeians / consul / tribune / Julius Caesar /
Triumvirate / Battle of Actium / Augustus Caesar / Law of the Twelve Tables / Pax Romana /
patron-client relationship / Punic Wars / 3rd century crisis / Virgil / Diocletian / Constantine
109-115: Stirrup / lateen sail / Attila the Hun / Bantu
Key Concepts: Answer the following questions.
1. Where is Rome located in relation to Classical/Hellenistic Greece? (Geography)
2. Trace the development of Rome from its beginning to end. When did it become a
republic and an empire, and when did it fall? (Politics)
3. Describe the political systems of Rome under Augustus Caesar. What accomplishments
and reforms did he put into place, and what were the effects of these reforms?
(Politics/Military)
4. What relationships did Roman citizens have with each other, and how did it link the
class system together? (Social)
5. What was the role of women in Roman society, and how did it compare to that of
women in Classical Greece? (Social)
6. How did Rome incorporate the people it conquered into the republic? (Politics)
7. What were the failures of the Roman republic, and how did this allow for Octavian to
gain power? (Politics)
8. What were Rome’s major legal innovations? (Culture)
9. What influence did Greek art and literature hold in Rome? What innovations reflected
the Roman preference for practicality? (Culture)
10. Identify reasons for Rome’s decline. (There are at least four identified in the text.)
(Interactions)
11. What areas were connected by the Silk Road, and how did it allow goods and inventions
to spread between societies without direct contact? (Interactions)
12. What roles did Central Asian nomads play in the Silk Road? (Interactions)
13. Describe the common reasons for the fall of Rome, Han China, and the Gupta Empire
between 200 and 600 c.e. (Politics/Military/Interactions)
14. Why did Rome lose its identity after it fell? What “glue”are they missing that other
societies had? (Interactions)