Download Core D Ancient History Week 17 p. 137

Core D Ancient History
Week 17
p. 137-149: Roman Empire
1. Research online the Han Empire of China (202 BC – AD 221). Compare and contrast its
achievements with the Roman Empire.
2. In your opinion, is it important for American students to learn more about non-Western
history or should we focus mainly on European and American history? Defend your
answer.
3. What was the praetorian guard and why did it become significant?
4. What policies did the Romans pursue, particularly in the east, so that they could govern
territory with few administrative officials and soldiers?
5. Describe what happened when the Romans tried to expand into Germany.
6. What policies did Augustus pursue in the area of religion?
7. Summarize the life of Nero, supplementing your text with additional research online. Is it
true that he played a fiddle while Rome burned? What did he do to the early Christians,
and why?
8. Read Romans 13:1-7. Many scholars believe Paul wrote this letter early in Nero’s reign.
Do you think his instructions would have been the same if he were writing at the height
of Nero’s tyranny? Why or why not?
9. Summarize the ways the five “good emperors” improved and strengthened the Roman
state.
10. What was the Roman empire’s military/strategic situation under the successors of
Augustus? Did it have secure borders?
Add to your Timeline:
Age of Augustus (31 BC-AD 14)
Virgil (70-19 BC)
Early Roman Empire (AD 14-180)
Nero (AD 54-68)