Exam 5: The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius was seen by Dio Cassius as a decline from "a kingdom of gold into one of iron and rust." Do you agree with Cassius's metaphor? What were the major difficulties following the last of the "good emperors"? Were the problems caused by internal or external forces?

Certain Christian tenets did not fit with Roman paganism.Imagine you are a Roman whose neighbor has converted to Christianity.What do you perceive as the neighbor's change in behavior? How does that make you feel?

________ was a cruel and vicious emperor whose bizarre actions made many suspect he was insane.

The historian Tacitus related an incident in which Nero used a city fire ________.

A pervasive negative mood in the decades following the reign of Augustus is apparent in the ________ of the time, which was satirical and pessimistic.

Because Rome had a large early Christian population, and because Peter was thought to be first bishop of the city, ________.

As the Roman government became more efficient, it took on more functions.To pay for these services, Rome ________.

Why did the Roman underclass live in cramped apartment buildings?

"Augustus" was an honorific title meaning "________."

A measure of the desperate straits of the Roman military in the third century was the use of ________ in the army.

Jesus of Nazareth was named christos by his followers, meaning "________."

Because they denied the existence of the Roman gods, Christians were accused of ________.

Early Christians James and Paul argued over whether ________.

Octavian became the undisputed ruler of Rome following the Battle of ________.

Early Christians organized themselves into communities and elected ________ to lead worship and supervise funds.

The Circus Maximus's racing companies called factiones and gambling were all elements of one of the Romans' favorite entertainments, ________ racing.

Diocletian emphasized the divine nature of the imperial office, requiring citizens to worship the same.This caused conflict and led to ________.

At first, Christians were thought to be a sect of Jews and thus ________.

After Rome's destruction of Jerusalem, Christians congregated in ________.

Gaius Caesar Germanicus, known as Caligula, acted erratically and was eventually killed by members of the ________.