DÜNYA MEDENİYETLERİNE GİRİŞ - Deneme Sınavı - 8

The answer is A.

The Romans used to believe that they were descended from the Ancient Greece, the major civilization that prevailed before them in Europe and the Middle East. Their main legend of origin was recounted by Virgil (70 - 19 BCE) in the great work, The Aeneid. According to this epic poem, Rome arose in the wake of the Trojan War. The poet Virgil writes of Aeneas, a warrior of Troy and son of a prince of Troy and the goddess Athena. Virgil recounts how Aeneas was a valiant fighter for the doomed city of Troy, but when the city finally fell to its besiegers, he led a band of his people westward to found, eventually and after much wandering, the city of Rome, a new homeland for his divine nation with its godly origins. The correct answer is A.

Rome was based in part on the older civilization of Greece. The ancient Greeks gave the world philosophy, cultivation of the world of the mind, and love of learning and logic; the Romans added to this a set of structures for organizing government and society efficiently and effectively. Rome taught mankind throughout the Western world how to establish the rule of law, advance engineering and science, and create a powerful military force, thus generating practical details which enabled the rise of Western civilization.

Settling on Greek lands, Romans were influenced by the Greek culture. The Greeks first settled in Italy by 600 BCE and their influence was profound throughout the region. So, the builders of the Roman civilization certainly were exposed to many of the ideas, the institutions, and the culture of ancient Greece, especially via the culture of the Etruscans. Thus, the correct answer is E.

The Roman occupation of Mesopotamia after the Punic War was not too long. It lasted only about three years. The correct answer is C.

By the third century BCE, as the Republic aged, the public religion grew to absorb more cosmopolitan, especially Greek, ideas of the deities. Among the prominent gods of the later Republic years were six male gods: Jupiter, the all-important sky god, resembled the Zeus of Greece. Other male gods included Neptune (Poseidon to the Greeks), Mars (Ares to the Greeks), Apollo (he had the same name in both cultures), Vulcan (Hephaistos to the Greeks), and Mercury (Hermes to the Greeks). The correct answer is A.

The cult of Cybele entered the Roman life just after 200 BCE, based on the belief that the goddess had ensured victory at Zama, ending the Second Punic War, because she protected those who were besieged. She was worshipped by acts of ecstasy, including dancing or self-mutilation. As time went by, the cult engaged in ever more licentious behavior. In addition, she offered the prospect of an afterlife – very attractive to many people. The correct answer is D.

To the ancient Romans, civic virtue was central. Citizens were expected to serve their country temporarily, when needed. An example of this was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who gained eternal fame, however, for (1) his selfless devotion to the Republic when it needed him at a time of crisis and for (2) his willingness to give up power as soon as the crisis had ebbed. He was famously depicted as a model for all the Romans to emulate, “Cincinnatus at the Plow” by the prominent Roman orator Cicero.

In 458 BCE Cincinnatus was working on a small farm when the call from his country came. Although he questioned why he was being chosen, he accepted the request of delegates and was appointed temporary dictator so that he could rescue an armythat had been surrounded by the enemy.Cincinnatus formed his army, engaged the enemy, and defeated it – all in fifteen days.

The correct answer is B.

The Punic Wars were the most important institution underlying Rome’s expansion to include societies east and west. Of all the wars involving Rome, none were more important than the three on-and-off outbursts of fighting known collectively as the Punic Wars. This series of battles began in 264 BCE and ended almost a century later, in 146 BCE. The Punic Wars together amounted to a long-lasting conflict between Rome and Carthage, a powerful rival city-state and society to the south, founded originally by the Phoenicians on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. The correct answer is D.

Law, science and technology, and architecture and sculpture were the main domains of innovation in the ancient Rome. An elaborate legal system, principle of justice for all, advances in public health and hygiene, and use of arches and domes in architecture were among these innovations. However, the development of new physical theories was not one of the innovations that marked the history of Romans. The correct answer is A.

Livy was the last Roman to write a full history from the origins of the Roman Republic through 9 BCE in Latin. Although his account was not always accurate, and was influenced by myths, his history quickly became a classic and inspired many others to attempt history. The history is so extensive that he is said to have written three full books per year. His main point was that it was Rome’s moral qualities which had kept it a great civilization. The correct answer is B.

There was a series of factors underlying the disintegration in the Roman Republic. Inequality in the distribution of wealth, unfair treatment in the society and personal ambition for wealth and power were among these factors. However, building bonds with the ancient Greek culture was not a factor that accelerated the fall of Rome. The correct answer is E.

The new city attracted a great many settlers, in part because the king built a temple honoring the god Janus and then declared that any person entering the temple would be entitled to asylum in the city. So, Rome became a city of refuge for those seeking a new life.

After the fall of the Etruscans, Rome began to expand its reach, incorporating neighboring areas. In the process of the huge second Punic War, Rome expanded its direct control over much of Italy. Moreover, the war meant that Rome had also become embroiled in Greek affairs, since some of the Greek cities were allied with Carthage and others opposed. Those in opposition to Carthage called to Rome for help. Soon, as a result, Rome was expanding throughout these Greek areas, as well.

The second of the two contestants was Julius Caesar, a young consul; he was elected as part of a triumvirate with Pompey and another man, Crassus in 60 BCE. Enemies called this a “three headed monster.” Caesar had victories in the east. In response to one of them, he famously proclaimed: veni, vidi, vici – I came, I saw, I conquered.

Juvenal wrote poems denouncing pride, and he satirically examined the vanity of human wishes. He famously said that we should seek “a sound mind in a sound body.” Writing during a particularly offensive reign (when Rome was very corrupt), he said that he wrote satire because vice, crime, and the misuse of wealth had so ruled society that it was impossible not to write satire.

Three Great Roman Institutional Innovations are as follows:

Rome, while not a cultural desert, did not innovate in art, drama, or philosophy.

Mithraism was brought back to Rome by soldiers who traveled to the east and perhaps related to astrology; only men were admitted as members. The cult believed in a powerful god who could move the heavens, it advanced the idea of fatalism and avowed a lack of personal responsibility for what happens in life. Bulls were slaughtered at the Mithraic ceremonies and in the caves where the followers met are found depictions of scorpions, dogs, snakes, and lots of blood.

Most important of all for civilizational history was the arrival of Christianity, an offshoot of the Jewish religion, destined to become a major world religion via Rome. In the beginning, the Romans were tolerant toward Christianity. But when the Christians, like the Jews, refused to pay homage to Roman gods and the dead emperors, now seen as gods by the Romans, the empire turned against them and advocating Christianity was punishableby death.

Those who lived in lands that allied with Rome often received grants of citizenship. Gradually, most who lived in Northern or Southern Italy were named Roman citizens and over the centuries many migrated to Rome to live, generating a cosmopolitan atmosphere there as well as across many parts of the empire. Later, during the empire period, the Senate continued simultaneously to appoint Romans to high positions while extending Roman citizenship to yet additional subjects. Finally, in 212 CE all free subjects of the empire obtained Roman citizenship.

The Punic Wars were the most important institution underlying Rome’s expansion to include societies east and west. Of all the wars involving Rome, none were more important than the three on-and-off outbursts of fighting known collectively as the Punic Wars. This series of battles began in 264 BCE and ended almost a century later, in 146 BCE. The Punic Wars together amounted to a long-lasting conflict between Rome and Carthage, a powerful rival citystate and society to the south, founded originally by the Phoenicians, that arose in what is now Tunisia, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean.