The Rise and Fall of Rome, 264 BC – AD 476 · TEST YOURSELF
Ancient Rome quiz: 7 questions
Try these 7 multiple-choice questions on The Rise and Fall of Rome, 264 BC – AD 476 for free. After each answer, you can read the explanation.
After Cannae, Hannibal expected Rome to negotiate. What gave Rome the resources to continue the war?
Rome could draw on the manpower of its Italian allies. A census counted roughly 700,000 eligible men across that network, and the core allies remained loyal after Cannae. Hannibal had won a great battle, but the alliance he fought had not broken.
Marius recruited landless men into his army in 107 BC. How could their dependence on commanders contribute to the Republic’s later civil wars?
Veterans who needed farms looked to powerful commanders to secure land from the Senate. That dependence helped generals build support among their soldiers. Sulla, Pompey, Caesar and Octavian each operated within this system, although their careers also reflected other struggles in the Republic.
Augustus claimed to have “restored the Republic.” Which arrangement secured his control over the army?
Republican offices remained, but Augustus controlled the frontier provinces where most legions were stationed. Soldiers swore loyalty to him; fixed pay and terms, together with pensions from a state military treasury, tied their service to the imperial system. The client-army era had ended by making soldiers dependent on the emperor.
In AD 212 Caracalla extended citizenship to most free inhabitants of the empire. What motive did Cassius Dio attribute to him?
Cassius Dio attributed the grant to a desire to extend taxes paid by citizens, including the 5% inheritance tax. Citizenship had long helped Rome integrate communities; by extending it so widely, the grant also diminished its use as an incentive.
The silver denarius fell from about 97% pure under Augustus to under 5% by the 270s. What major problem was associated with this debasement?
As money lost value, the government found it harder to pay soldiers and collect revenue, while obligations could become ruinous for city elites. It increasingly demanded goods and services directly. The old bargain of inexpensive, loyal government gave way to extraction amid the third century’s political and military crises, including attacks by Goths and Persia.
Why do many historians regard the Vandal capture of Carthage in 439 as a major blow to the western empire?
Africa supplied grain and was the western government’s largest intact source of revenue. A soldier cost the taxes of about five households, so the loss made armies harder to pay and maintain. With fewer resources to defend the remaining territories, the government became more vulnerable to further losses.
In 476 Odoacer deposed the West’s last emperor without a battle, a sack, or a revolt. Which answer best reflects the changing relationship between Roman rule and western elites?
Decades earlier, Salvian had reported Romans moving to Gothic rule to escape Roman taxes. Western taxpayers had seen the government struggle to provide protection, while successor kings could govern through Roman laws and bishops. The deposition came after that relationship between rulers and subjects had already changed.
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