Ancient Rome Flashcards

What is Roman History?

Mad emperors, haunting ruins, brutal entertainments, political dynasties, lascivious lifestyles, aristocratic families, triumvirate, and legionaries. These are the familiar themes of early Rome, but really, how did it all began?

Legend has it, Rome began with the tumultuous founding of the city of two nonfictional twins, Romulus and Remus, who were believed to be raised by a she-wolf. It continued with the rise of Gaius Julius Caesar, his death from 23 stabbed wounds, and the rise of Octavius, Constantine, Theodosius, and many others.

It all sounds interesting but why study these? How are these events relevant when they took place years ago?

Roman History elaborates the history of Rome from its foundation to the fifth century A.D. It has been the most influential subject to discuss in the modern world – influencing the Rule of Law and the American Founding Fathers to the origins of the Catholic church.

If you study Roman History, you’ll notice that things change – governments, cultures, religions, military alliances, as well as political structures. However, there is one thing that doesn’t change in history, and that’s the nature of humans.

Thucydides, an Athenian general, and historian, once said, “For those people who understand that in human things, nothing changes for them. But they’ll find lessons. If it be judged useful by those inquirers, who desire exact knowledge of the past as an aid to the understanding of the future, which in the course of human things must resemble it, if it does not outright reflect it, I shall be content.” Here, Thucydides recognized that because human nature doesn’t change, we can learn from history and apply it to the future.

That is why we need to study history. For instance, if we see in Roman history the illustrations of corruption that results from the acquisition of wealth or military power, we should be vigilant and see that it can possibly happen again in our time. If we read in history the examples of how people react in fear or in great stress (like when there is a plague or famine and slavery), then we can guess that similar circumstances might occur again, as well as reactions, or cowardice that some people show and the courage or nobility. We still experience all these things. And history doesn’t happen to be put in the past because we are meant to learn from it.

Within the field, courses in Roman history may include geography, sociology, anthropology, music, arts,  architecture, engineering,  poetry, mathematics, religion,  philosophy, laws, humanities, civics, agriculture, health, and modern life.

Your studies in Roman history might be as a major in some universities or colleges or as a minor in others. By studying these concepts in Roman history, you’ll gain (hopefully) a new understanding of the attitudes, culture, and politics of Italy – a home of a once mighty empire.

Careers in Roman History

Majority of students who study Roman History become educators, historians, biographers, state librarians, museum curators, historical site guides, conservation manager, artifact restorers, museum educators, tour managers, and researchers.

For more information about careers for students of history, you can read books and guides, or visit the American Historical Association page.

Learning Roman History

A philosopher by the name of George Santayana once said, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” History graduates and lovers have made a study and a life out of it. Though many years after getting the diploma, most history major students (like most of us do) tend to forget dates, names, and other facts memorized in college.

Historians and successful graduates advise that it is essential to study topics in Roman history realistically. In other words, students should narrow down topics to something more specific than contemplating a subject that is so broad as the history of Rome from 753 BC to 1453 AD in one sitting. Perhaps you can start with topics or events that strikes your fancy and piques your curiosity.

In most cases, you will be advised by other students to memorize an extensive catalog of pointers and notes to cover principal and essential events in a lot of detail.  However, rather than memorizing everything, it might be best to pay attention to the topics that you know is important and establish a link between one event to another. For instance, Julius Caesar wasn’t born by caesarean section, contrary to the belief that the term originated from him and the history of his birth.

And while it is useful to watch Roman History documentaries or crash course videos to specific major events in Roman History, the use of study tools like flashcards and mind maps or timelines can be extremely helpful to reinforce your memory of all the facts on Roman history.

Roman History in Brainscape

In Brainscape, you’ll find several classes, decks, and study cards for Roman History – beginning with the Certified Brainscape Class below on Mythology – deducing the clues to the origins of Rome’s timeless sanctity found in myths. This class contains the basics of mythology, covering topics on ancient gods, their powers, and family trees. Like every other sacred city that needs a creation story, Rome is no different. This class, curated by experts, tells the tale of what defines the lives and beliefs of ancient Romans.

If in case you need more flashcards on Roman History, we have classes created by users around the world, summarizing and categorizing all the necessary concepts you need to know about Rome – with facts and events such as those of Cleopatra, or Anthony, and emperors like Julius Caesar who lived by the sword and died by the sword.

To top it all, one of the most significant benefits that Brainscape offers is that you can create your personalized set of flashcards! Research shows that building your own flashcards leads to higher levels of memorization. It helps the brain to remember important bits of information – another strategy to optimize the learning process while you study Roman History and other related subjects.

Learn Faster in Brainscape

Brainscape is an adaptive web and mobile study platform dedicated to helping individuals learn effectively and efficiently. It applies the principles of the existing cognitive theories to boost the learning process – giving rise to a new technologically accessible pedagogy called “Cognitive Based Repetition” (CBR). This method makes use of the most highly-effective cognitive science techniques: Metacognition, Active Recall, and Spaced Repetition.

Metacognition requires users to reflect on how the concepts are understood. Brainscape will ask users to rate (on a 1-5 scale) “How well did you know this?” upon displaying each answer. This process aids in memory trace – the actual method of storing memories.

Active Recall, on the other hand, occurs when you make a mental effort to recall the answer. This process "actively" retrieves the answer from your memories (than just passively "identifying" the correct answer). Studies claim that this reinforces the connection between the brain and what you need to remember.

Brainscape also devised an algorithm to apply the process of Spaced Repetition. It works side by side with metacognition. While metacognition assesses how well you knew the answer, Spaced Repetition determines how frequent the cards will appear again. This means the platform will skip over certain cards you already know (cards rated 5), and will frequently repeat specific cards (those rated 1 or 2). Spaced repetition, in short, allows you to focus on concepts you need to spend more time on. This is more effective than just studying the entire concept repeatedly.

An ancient philosopher remarked that “All roads lead to Rome.” One time, he was right, 2000 years ago, all highways led to the most powerful empire known to man – the Roman empire. In studying, however, one should understand that not all kinds of study tools can lead to success. We should learn from history because history speaks for itself. And, according to history, many students and experts became successful with Brainscape. All of them believed and experienced that Brainscape is an excellent supplementary tool to learning.

Want to find the road to success? Try Brainscape!

How to Get Started

To begin using the most powerful study platform in the form of Brainscape, try browsing some of the Roman History classes listed below. You may also browse further into any of the classes to see how they are structured into decks. Once you have selected classes that you want to use, jump in, and join millions of app users who love Brainscape!