History 130, Fall 2003

            Study questions for the Final Exam

            Part I. Identify the following names, places, dates etc. with 2 or 3 sentences. You will be graded on recognizing what is most important about each item.

Dates:

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March 15, 44 B.C.

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476 A.D.        

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January 13th, 27 B.C.

Wars and Battles:

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Battle of Arausio

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Battle of Actium

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Punic Wars

People:

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Augustus Caesar

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Caligula

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Catiline (= Catalina)

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Cicero

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Cleopatra

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Constantine

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Decius                       

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Diocletian                 

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Hannibal       

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Julius Caesar

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Livy

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Marcus Aurelius

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Marius                      

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Mark Antony

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Mithras

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Mithridates

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Nero

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Pliny [theYounger]

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Plutarch

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Pompey [the Great]

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Romulus

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Romulus Augustulus

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Sabine Women        

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Spartacus

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St. Paul

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Sulla

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Tacitus

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Tarquin the Proud

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Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus

Laws and Edicts

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Edict of Milan

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Edict on Prices

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Julian laws

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Lex Hortenisa

Cultural or political Institutions:

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Comitia Centuriata (= Council of Centuries)

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Council of Plebeians

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cursus honorum

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gens

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paterfamilias

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Patricians/plebeians

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patron/client

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Consul

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Second Triumvirate

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tetrarchy

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Tribune of Plebeians

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Twelve Tables         

Places:

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Constantinople

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Hadrian’s Wall

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Rubicon River

Miscellaneous:

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Pax Romana

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Virgil’s Aeneid

 

Part II. write an essay on one of the following questions.

 Figure 25 minutes of writing, with 5 minutes left for planning,  and proofreading. please try to write legibly and in complete sentences  Specific examples are very helpful, both for clarifying what you mean and for convincing me you actually know what you mean but assume I have read the same things you have read--refer to the examples, but don’t spend a lot of time re-telling them.  You will be graded on seeing the crucial issues in each case and the appropriateness of the examples you choose, as well as the clarity of your essay.

 

  1. Discuss the causes of the fall of the Roman Republic [not the empire!].

  2. Discuss the causes for the persecution of the Christians by the Romans, and explain why it didn’t work.

  3. Discuss the problems which led to the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine, and what they tried to do about them.

  4. Discuss the causes of the fall of the Roman Empire in the West.

  5. Discuss Marius’ reforms of the Roman Army, including the reasons for them and their long-term consequences.

 

Part III: write a 50-minute essay on one of the following questions:

(as in part II, organization, clarity and specific examples will make a big difference in your grade.

  1. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of governments of the Athenian in the classical period and of the Roman republic (both theory and practice.) Where was the power, and what sort of man could get it. Give examples.

  2. Compare  Greek and Roman attitudes, values, and expectations of life in general and the state in particular. Give examples.

  3. Did the Greeks or the Romans contribute most to our present civilization? Justify your answer with examples.

  4. Thucydides said that he wrote history so than men in the future could, by knowing what happened in the past, better understand the events of their own time. Is there anything you learned in this class which has given you some insight into our own situation? Discuss.