Ancient Rome Vocabulary

  1. Republic – government elected by citizen
  2. Proletariat – “the mass of poor people” in Roman cities
  3. Plebeian – Roman lower classes
  4. Civil war – war between rival groups of the same country
  5. Veto – a rejection of a proposed law.
  6. gravitas – “seriousness” of Roman character
  7. Patrician – Roman upper class and wealthy people
  8. Triumvirate – group of three powerful men in Rome
  9. Monarchy – rule by king or queen
  10. Senate – governing body of Rome
  11. mercenary – a ‘hired’ soldier, usually hired from another country
  12. Tribune – elected leader of Rome’s lower classes
  13. Legion – the Roman army
  14. Consul – elected for one year terms by Senators to govern the Republic
  15. Dictator – elected by Senate in times of crisis.  Given absolute authority
  16. Gladiator – slave trained to fight to the death for Roman entertainment
  17. Civil service – handles the day to day running of a government.
  18. Stoicism – encouraged strength, duty, and loyalty.  Main philosophy of Romans.
  19. Apostle – follower of Jesus of Nazareth
  20. Bishop – official appointed to run a geographical area of the Catholic Church
  21. Policy – rules set up by government or an organization.
  22. Succession – rules for determining who becomes ruler when one ruler dies.
  23. Satire – plays that poked fun of Roman politicians and celebrities.
  24. Messiah – a ‘savior’.  Jesus of Nazareth was an example.
  25. Pope – head of the Roman Catholic Church
  26. Aqueduct – invention of the Romans to control water flow into the cities.
  27. Epicureanism – philosophy of Romans that emphasized pleasure over pain.
  28. Villa – Wealthy Roman estate in the country side.
  29. Martyr – person who dies for a cause or religion.

 

From a Georgia Virtual Learning pdf