What are the geographic characteristics of Italy/Rome? How did the geographic characteristics help Rome to develop? Who else lived on the Italian...

• What are the geographic characteristics of Italy/Rome?

• How did the geographic characteristics help Rome to develop?

• Who else lived on the Italian peninsula other than the Romans in the early era?

• How did different Roman foundation stories/myths help to shape their culture? (i.e. revisit the Aeneid and Romulus and Remus stories)

• How did the Greeks influence the foundation of Rome?

• What is a republic?  How was the roman republic organized? What sector of society made up the Roman senate?  

• Look at the sheet of terms/roles to help you with this question

• Also reference the sheet with the chart of the Roman republic government to help you study

- How did Roman democracy compare to Athenian?

- How did the 12 tables reform government/legal code?  

- What’s the difference between a republic and an empire?

- Why was gaining control of the Mediterranean area a difficult task at this time? (i.e. Who else existed there?)

How did Roman fighting style help them establish an empire?  (see readings from wars with Carthage)

- What advantages did Roman military have over other armies? How did this help their empire grow?  

- Why were conquered people open minded to have the Romans rule them (initially)?  

- Why is a republic ill equipped to govern a large amount of land?

- How did the Senate fail to meet the people’s needs under the republic?

- How did the Gracchus brothers try to help the poor during the tense days of the republic?  What needs did the people have?

-  How did the senate respond to the Gracchus brothers? Why did the senate’s response to the  Gracchus brothers spell doom for them?

- What conditions led to Caesar’s rise to power?

- How did people like Marius and Sulla set the stage for Caesar?

- Was Caesar a hero or a villain?  (know the main arguments for each side) What were the implications of his actions on the Republic?  

-  What happened after Caesar was murdered?  

- How did Octavian come to be the first true emperor of Rome (hint: what types of methods did he use to rise to power?)

- How was society well-governed during the Pax Romana?  How did Augustus help stabilize society?  

- Know the answers to the video worksheet completed for hw (from the Engineering an Empire video clips)

- What was Roman society sometimes called a Greco Roman society? How does the Pantheon  illustrate this concept?  

-  Why was Rome sometimes an unpleasant place to live?

- How did the Roman government deal with these problems?

- Why is Marcus Aurelius a unique emperor?  

-  What does cosmopolitan mean?  Why is Pompeii a famous city? How does Pompeii illustrate the pos/neg sides of living in a city?  How did the people in Pompeii explain the destruction happening around them?

- Be able to recognize the areas conquered by the Roman empire.  

- Who was the founder of Christianity and where did the religion originate from?

- How was/is Christianity similar to/different from Judiasm?

- What are the basic values of Christianity?   

- How did Christianity start to gain followers?  Why were people attracted to this religion?

- What was Roman religion like before Christianity and what was Roman policy towards other religions?  

- Why did Christianity threaten Roman government?  How did they treat the Christians?  

- How did slavery function in the Roman empire?

- How were slaves treated?

- How did Romans respond to uprisings: - case study: Spartacus rebellion

- How did Diocletian and Constantine both rise to power (but remember this doesn’t happen at the same time in history. Constantine is after Diocletian)

- What reforms did Diocletian and Constantine make while acting as emperor?  Impact of these reforms?  

- What are the political, economic, social, and military reasons credited to causing the fall of Rome?  Which cause was the main factor to the downfall?