Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Plutarch- a famous priest in ancient Rome. Known for the explanations of religion in Rome

Etruscans- people that inhabitted Italy before the Romans; had a strong influence on Roman culture

Lucretia- a woman who is idealized by the Roman people for being a perfect wife

Tarquinius Superbus- the last king of theRroman monarchy. He was overthrown during the Republican Rebellion, this rebellion turned Rome into a monarchy

Patrician- the highest class in the early republic; this class controlled most of Rome's government during the early republic

Plebian- the class lower than the Patricians; this class had a little less wealth than the highest class, but had very little control over the government

Gallic Tribes- tribes that are from the area of Gaul; these tribes destroyed Rome in the days of the early republic

Carthage- a city-state located in northern Africa; was defeated by Rome during the Punic Wars

Scipio Africanus- a famous Roman general known for driving Carthage out of Spain and defeating Hannibal in North Africa

Hannibal- a military genius and Carthaginian general; he decimated the Ramons before he had to go and defend Carthage; he was defeated defending Carthage

Macedonia- an empire that fought four wars with Rome; Macedonia was not successful in defeating Rome in any of these wars; Macedonia tried to make itself more powerful by making an alliance with Carthage during the Punic Wars; this backfired when Rome defeated both empires

Philip V- the ruler of Macedonia during the first two Macedonian wars; died before the third Macedonian war took place

Auxillary- a foreigner to Rome that joined the Legion; auxillaries were usually in calvary and artillery units; were seen as lesser fighters because they were not Roman; at some points in Roman history, there were more auxillary fighters than actual Roman fighters

Decanus- A decanus was the equivalent to a modern day sergeant; a decanus was responsible for a contubernium; the most experienced soldier in the contubernium; main duties were to lead the contubernium, make sure his unit's tent was built correctly and disciplining the legionaries in his unit

Centurion- a leader of a centuria. The highest ranking centurion out of the six centuria assigned to a cohort would control the cohort

Legate- the highest ranking member of a legion. The legate was hand picked by the emperor.