Select any three (3) questions below answer 2 pages per question:

The text of your answers must be double- spaced and typed using Times New Roman font (12-point size) with one-inch (2.54 cm) page margins. Number your answers with the corresponding numbers of the questions as they appear above. Footnote citations for each answer should be single-spaced and typed in Times New Roman font at 10-point size.

 

1. Because of the strong patriarchal elements of Roman society, does this mean that Roman women had no influence or power at all? Justify your position by examining the roles and rights of women within the contexts of both household and community life.
2. In surveying Rome’s history, from the monarchy, through the Republic, to the Principate, and the Dominate, one might be justified in describing the Roman state as an oligarchy. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Justify your position by outlining the main institutions and offices of Rome’s government at each of the major stages of political development noted above.
3. Why did Rome’s Republican system of government become increasingly unstable during the second and first centuries BC, and how was this instability resolved? In answering this question, describe various social, political, and military factors that contributed to growing turmoil from the time of Tiberius Gracchus onward, and explain how Augustus restored political stability to Rome.
4. Explain why Rome became such a formidable military power during the Republic. In doing so, be sure to address key forms (and changes) of organization within Rome’s armies as well as technological, demographic, and cultural considerations.
5. Why was Rome so successful in expanding its power and influence throughout Italy, other parts of Europe, and around the Mediterranean? Can Rome’s imperial expansion be explained in strictly military terms, or were there important political, demographic, cultural, and geographic influences?
6. Would you describe Roman culture as inclusive or exclusive when it came to matters of religion? Provide evidence to support your stance and in doing so account for the development of Christianity within the Roman Empire.
7. Consider the roles and relative influence of the lower classes of the Roman population in such developments and processes as the Struggle of the Orders, movements for land reform, expansion of citizenship, and recruitment for Rome’s armies. Would you say that the lower classes were relatively powerless, or did they exert some degree of influence?