Download Unit 1

Unit 1: The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire Study Guide
Vocabulary you should know: (Multiple choice and fill in the blank)
Republic – Democracy – Patrician – Plebian – Consuls – Tribunes- Dictator –
Legions – Cincinnatus – Lucius Sulla – S.P.Q.R. - Marcus Crassus – Pompey –
Julius Caesar – Triumvirate – Gaius Octavian – Marcus Antonius – Cleopatra –
Battle of Actium – Augustus Caesar – Roman Empire – Aqueducts – Concrete
Battle of Teutoborg Forest – Marcus Aurelius – Barbarians – Hadrian’s Wall –
Praetorian Guards – Commodus – Gladiator – Visigoths – Ostrogoths – Franks –
Germanization – Diocletian and his Reforms – Christianity – The Great Persecution
Constantine – Battle of Milvian Bridge – Council of Nicaea – Constantinople –
The Huns – Battle of Adrianople – Theodosius – Vandals – The Sack of Rome –
Attila the Hun – Honoria – Aetius – Battle of Chalons – Gaiseric –
Romulus Augustulus – Odoacer – Theodoric the Ostrogoth – Medieval
Essays: (Choose three questions and prepare detailed and organized responses)
1) Compare and contrast the dictatorships of Cincinnatus and Lucius Sulla.
Why were dictatorships necessary during the era of the Roman Republic?
What were the risks of the Senate giving all their power to one man?
2) What was the Triumvirate? Who were the men involved in it? How did this
power structure eventually lead to the downfall of the Republic?
3) Describe the process of Germanization. How did the multiple Germanic
barbarian invasions change Roman culture? (Religion, military, government
etc…)
4) Compare and contrast the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine. How did
each emperor reform and transform the Roman Empire in an attempt to
save it?
5) Describe the effect that the Huns had on the eventual collapse of the
Roman Empire. How did their invasions motivate the Germanic tribes to
attack Rome? Who was Attila and what was his influence on the Huns and
the Roman Empire?