HIEU 322 Quiz Early Roman Empire

HIEU 322 Quiz Early Roman Empire

HIEU 322 Quiz Early Roman Empire

1. Which of the following is true about Emperor Claudius?
2. This Roman Caesar succeeded Tiberius, and reigned from 37 to 41 A.D. He was lazy, incompetent, tyrannical, and dismissive of the Senate. It was later rumored that either he or one of his early supporters (Sutorius Marco) had smothered Tiberius Caesar.
3. Tiberius’ reign began with the execution of Augustus’ grandson, Agrippa Postumus. The author believes, as did Tacitus, that this execution represented the “first crime of the new principate.”
4. This prefect under Tiberius was portrayed by Tacitus as one of the most infamous and sinister personalities in Roman history. He supposedly had an affair with the wife of Tiberius’ son, Drusus II, and was rumored to have played a part in Drusus’ untimely death. Through intrigue and murder, he attempted to isolate the emperor, and maneuver his family into the Imperial line.
5. Which of the following is true concerning Augustus and slaves?
6. Which of the following is true about sources for the Julio-Claudians?
7. Only two surviving ancient writers give significant accounts of the whole Julio-Claudian period:
8. Augustus was a power hungry tyrant who refused to relinquish power, and who established an open monarchy in Rome.
9. Which of the following is true about Caligula?
10. Why did Claudius move against and conquer Britain in A.D. 43?
11. Augustus ended all elections in Rome during his reign.
12. Augustus retained the form of Roman republicanism (and was very respectful of the Senate), but changed the substance. Like spokes on a wheel, all things led to Augustus. He was in charge.
13. Claudius was a student of the law, and as emperor conducted trials in his own court at the expense of the magistrates, provincial governors, and the senate.
14. The name given to the monarchy that Octavian began late in the first century B.C. It was a term traditionally applied to highly respected statesmen, but by Octavian it was used to indicate head of state as first among equals.
15. When Agrippina threatened to support Nero’s step-brother, Britannicus—son of Claudius– as the rightful heir to the throne, Nero had him poisoned to death right.
16. Nero was very close and supportive of his mother, Agrippina.
17. The conquest of Britain reflects Claudius’s need for:
18. Which of the following is true about Augustus Caesar?
19. This sound Roman emperor ruled from 41 to 54 A.D. He was an excellent administrator and his government displayed imposing activity (including the acquisition of England as a province). It is believed that he his ambitious wife, Agrippina the Younger, killed him with poison mushrooms so that her son by another marriage could become ruler.
20. This Roman Emperor was the successor of Augustus Caesar. He reigned from A.D. 14 to 37.
21. NOT true about Emperor Claudius:
22. A spectacular undertaking of Claudius’ reign was this artificial harbor two miles north of Ostia, Rome’s existing (and very shallow) port near the mouth of the Tiber River.
23. Which of the following is true about Tiberius, A.D. 14-37?
24. Tiberius instituted a tyrannical reign of terror, sentencing hundreds to death for treason or maiestas, and relying with question on delatores (or informers)
25. Augustus Caesar was a very unpopular and hated political figure in Rome.
26. Claudius opposed public works projects, such as aqueducts, highways, and canals, and closed down all expenditures for them.
27. In 31 B.C. this grandnephew of Julius Caesar became absolute master of the Roman Empire (31 B.C.-14 A.D.). Remembering that Julius Caesar had been murdered because of his recourse to naked power, he concealed his ascendancy behind acceptable republican facades and traditions. Thus his method of consolidating power: retain the form while changing the substance. He is also remembered as Octavian.
28. NOT a rule the Roman government insisted upon for its subjects:
29. Which of the following is true about Augustus and the military?
30. NOT a component of Imperial stabilization under Augustus:
31. This grandnephew of Augustus was supposed to be Tiberius’ successor, but he died suddenly in A.D. 19 after a dispute with the Roman governor of Syria. The governor was charged with murder (and committed suicide), but many, including the fallen hero’s wife, believed he was killed by a jealous Tiberius.
32. This local queen in eastern Roman Britain was robbed and flogged by the Romans, and her daughters raped—despite the fact that her husband, who died around 60 A.D., and been a loyal Roman ally. Outraged, she launched a rebellion, collecting an army (of 100,000-200,000), and destroying a Roman legion. She was defeated by the Romans the following year, 61.
33. These Roman soldiers the “elites” of the Roman military. Originally bodyguards for a commander on the field, their duties were expanded under Augustus to protect the emperor. Appointed by the emperor, they were arranged into 9 cohorts (5,400 men). They were powerful, untouchable, and increasingly involved in the “making and breaking” of emperors.
34. The richest of Augustan annexations and produce of one-third of the Roman annual grain supply was:
35. Which of the following is true about the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 60?
36. Why was Caligula assassinated in A.D. 41?
37. Which of the following is true about Nero, 54-68 A.D.?
38. The law of treason ( maiestas) was used greatly during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Maiestas ultimately included not only high treason but also arrogance, sacrilege, slander, extortion, adultery, rape, incest, and murder.
39. Nero liked to participate in chariot races, and in the arts.
40. To Romans, the peaceful working of the state depended on maintaining the Peace of the Gods, pax deorum. Augustus endeavored to achieve this by:
41. Briefly discuss how Augustus was different from Caligula—i.e. why was Augustus successful and Caligula not? Be sure to offer more explanation than simply “Caligula was insane.”