Question 1

In the rural west of the late empire, many cities were reconfigured as walled fortresses.For civilians, life revolved around the villa, a(n) ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  corner market 
B)  country estate 
C)  village of a few hundred people 
D)  extended family

Question 2

After the Praetorian Guard killed the emperor and installed a frightened Claudius on the throne, it was clear that the ultimate arbiter of leadership in imperial Rome was ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  democratic elections 
B)  military power 
C)  Etruscan tradition 
D)  foreign models

Question 3

The debate that resulted in the Nicene Creed is proof that, although the Christian emperors hoped to unite the empire behind a single religion, there were ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  barbarians who believed in Christ 
B)  better faiths to choose from 
C)  a lot of competing religions 
D)  divisions within Christian worship

Question 4

Hadrian's wall in the south of Scotland exemplifies his foreign policy, reversing the offensive polices of Trajan with a new focus on ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Hadrian's wall in the south of Scotland...

Question 5

One telling change in the literature of the Silver Age came in response to an increasingly irritable imperial rule.What was it?

Accepted Answer

A)  a lack of writing on contemporary affairs and recent history 
B)  an emphasis on comedies 
C)  many contemporary biographies of the emperor 
D)  political poetry

Question 6

Hadrian's wall represented a solidified, rigid defensive perimeter.Once a border demarcation was established, however, ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  negotiations were irrelevant 
B)  it required passport control stations 
C)  initiative passed to the barbarians 
D)  Romans lost the will to conquer

Question 7

________, the great eighteenth-century scholar of Roman history, suggested that instead of asking why Rome fell, "we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so long."

Accepted Answer

A)  Alexander Hamilton 
B)  Henry James 
C)  Edward Gibbon 
D)  Samuel Morse

Question 8

According to Tacitus, why did Nero, in 64 c.e., kill a number of Christians in particularly horrific ways?

Accepted Answer

A)  as punishment for arson 
B)  for the public good 
C)  to satisfy his own perverse desires 
D)  as a result of a clerical error

Question 9

The troubled succession of the early Roman Empire was exemplified in the year 69, when ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Claudius had a nervous breakdown 
B)  the Germans attacked 
C)  four different men served as emperor 
D)  Trajan took power by force

Question 10

Jesus' death was ordered by ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  Augustus 
B)  Caligula 
C)  Judas Iscariot 
D)  Pontius Pilate

Question 11

Although differences in doctrine had the potential to splinter the early Christian church into dozens of sects, a unity of belief and ritual was maintained by a ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  single religious leader known as the pope 
B)  group of secret nuns 
C)  network of bishops 
D)  regular publication of current thought

Question 12

The beliefs of the majority of Christians were considered universal, or catholic.Those disagreeing with catholic orthodoxy were known as ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  anti-Christians 
B)  episcopals 
C)  heretics 
D)  Nazarenes

Question 13

The fourth- and fifth-century "decline and fall of the Roman Empire" refers to the diminishing fortunes of ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  the frontier provinces 
B)  Rome and the Italian peninsula 
C)  the eastern empire 
D)  the western empire

Question 14

Constantine’s father was a ________ under Diocletian.

Accepted Answer

A)  Caesar 
B)  censor 
C)  consul 
D)  mercenary

Question 15

What made Maecenas, the cultural adviser to Augustus, important to literary circles?

Accepted Answer

A)  He controlled imperial patronage for the arts. 
B)  He would bring Augustus to important parties. 
C)  He was an incisive critic. 
D)  He was a publisher.

Question 16

Saul of Tarsus, in Cilicia, underwent a conversion outside Damascus and changed his name to ________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Saul of Tarsus, in Cilicia, underwent a...

Question 17

________ believed in a world of divine and natural law, and his writings were read well into the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ________ believed in a world of divine...

Question 18

Consider Map 5-2 showing the extent of the Roman Empire between 14 and 117 c.e.How could this evidence be used to explain why Trajan was considered one of the "good emperors"? What societal benefits flowed from the changes he made to the empire?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Consider Map 5-2 showing the extent of...

Question 19

Valentinian I divided the empire in two and appointed his brother Valens as ruler of the east.The two sides became increasingly separate, as ________ was spoken in the west and ________ in the east.

Accepted Answer

A)  Greek; Turkish 
B)  Greek; Latin 
C)  Italian; Latin 
D)  Latin; Greek

Question 20

Freestanding amphitheaters were built around the empire, hippodromes were constructed for chariot racing, and gladiatorial combat was as popular as ever.What did the need for entertainment (and particular kinds of entertainment) suggest about the Roman populace? Did these entertainments benefit or harm the emperor in any way?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Freestanding amphitheaters were built around the empire,...

Exam 5: The Roman Empire