client kingdoms kingdoms still ruled by their own kings but subject to Rome. (p. 142)






fasces the Latin name for the symbol of the Etruscan king’s right to execute or scourge his subjects with a bundle of rods and an ax. (p. 127)

First Punic War a war between Rome and Carthage that lasted 23 years. (p. 133)

First Triumvirate a political alliance between Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey in which they agreed to advance one another’s interests. (p. 144)

Forum a public meeting place, a development parallel to that of the Greek agora. (p. 127)

franchise allies who enjoyed all the rights of Roman citizenship except that they could not vote or hold Roman offices. They were subject to Roman taxes and calls for military service, but ran their own local affairs. (p. 129)






Gauls the Celts, people who swept aside a Roman army and sacked Rome around 390 B.C. (p. 128)






ius civile (civil law) a law that consisted of statutes, customs, and forms of procedure. (p. 130)

ius naturale (natural law) a universal law that could be applied to all societies. (p. 130)






latifundia huge Roman estates created by buying up several small farms. (p. 141)






manumission the freeing of individual slaves by their masters. (p. 137)






paterfamilias a term that means far more than merely "father," it indicates the oldest dominate male of the family, one who holds nearly absolute power over the lives of his family as long as he lived. (p. 135)

patricians the aristocracy, wealthy landowners who held political power. (p. 129)

plebeians common people of Rome who had few of the patricians’ advantages. (p. 129)

pomerium a sacred boundary intended to keep out anything evil or unclean. (p. 127)

praetor a new office created in 366 B.C., these people would act in place of consuls when they were away, although they primarily dealt with the administration of justice. (p. 130)

Pyrrhic victory a phrase for a victory involving severe losses, stemming from the victories of Pyrrhus which were won despite major casualties. (p. 133)






Second Punic War a war fought between Carthage, led by the young Hannibal, and Rome. By the end of the war in 202 B.C., Rome was victorious, ensuring that Roman heritage would pass on to the Western world. (p. 134)

senate originating under the Etruscans, it is a council of noble elders who advised the king. (p. 129)

Struggle of the Orders a great social conflict that developed between patricians and plebeians, the plebeians wanted real political representation and safeguards against patrician domination. (p. 130)






tribunes the people whom plebeians were able to elect; tribunes would in turn protect the plebeians from the arbitrary conduct of patrician magistrates. (p. 130)