Ancient Rome Vocabulary (25 Terms) Democracy – a government that receives its power from the people.
Dictator - a person who takes over and has complete control over a country’s government.
Republic - a form of government in which people rule through elected representatives.
Representative Democracy - a democracy in which citizens elect representatives to speak for them in government.
Absolute Monarchy – a monarch (king or queen) with total power.
Tyrant – a person who illegally takes power and controls a government.
Citizen – a legal member of a country.
Plebeian – an ordinary, working male citizen of ancient Rome; they had the right to vote.
Patrician – a member of a wealthy, landowning family who claimed to be able to trace its roots back to the founding of Rome; they controlled the law because only they could be judges.
Senate – an assembly of elected representatives; the most powerful ruling body of the Roman Republic.
Law of the Twelve Tables – written around 450 B.C.E. that formed the foundation of Roman law which applied to all Romans.
Hannibal - the leader of the Carthaginian military during the Second Punic War; his goal was revenge and defeat of Rome.
Scipio – the leader of the Roman military during the Second Punic War; his goal was revenge and defeat of Carthage.
Carthage - an empire which rule North Africa and southern Spain, controlled the western Mediterranean. Rome – the capital of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire.
Punic Wars – a series of three wars between Rome and Carthage over control of the western Mediterranean.
Colosseum – site of the infamous gladiatorial games and entertainment of ancient Rome.
Legion - a military unit of about 6,000 citizen soldiers.
Julius Caesar – a successful general, consul, speaker, and dictator; he was murdered by the Roman Senate who feared his gaining power.
Mark Antony – general and friend of Caesar who fought with Cleopatra for control over Rome after Caesar’s death.
Cleopatra – Queen of Egypt and wife of Mark Antony who fought with Antony for control of Rome after Caesar’s death.
Octavian - Julius Caesar’s adopted son who defeated Antony and Cleopatra and named Rome’s first emperor in 27 B.C.E.
Augustus – As emperor, Octavian took the name Augustus, and ruled the Roman Empire for more than 4o years. This time is known as the Augustan Age.
Caesar – the title that Roman Emperors took to represent their power; equal to king or emperor. Pax Romana – the period of peace and cultural growth that Augustus created in the Roman Empire; meaning Roman Peace.