Understanding World Societies:
Printed Page 173

Chapter Chronology

> CHAPTER 6 STUDY GUIDE

PUT IT ALL TOGETHER

Now, take a step back and try to explain the big picture. Remember to use specific examples from the chapter in your answers.

THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

  • How did the Romans integrate conquered Italian territories into their state? How did their policies in this regard create a foundation for further expansion?
  • How did the evolution of Roman political institutions reflect the evolution of Roman society?
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ROMAN IMPERIALISM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

  • What explains the instability that characterized Roman politics in the century following the Punic Wars? Why did republican institutions fail to produce the kinds of reforms and compromises that had resolved earlier political conflicts?
  • How did Rome help connect greater Europe to the economic and cultural life of the Mediterranean world?
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ROMAN DECLINE AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

  • What factors facilitated the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire? Why did many Romans initially fear Christianity? Why did such fears diminish over time?
  • How and why did the political, cultural, and economic center of the Roman Empire shift from west to east starting in the third century C.E.?
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LOOKING BACK, LOOKING AHEAD

  • How was Roman society and culture shaped by Greek ideas and ideals? Why was Greek civilization so appealing to so many Romans?
  • What are the implications of the claim that, together, Greek and Roman civilization represent the “classical era” in Western history? What does this claim suggest about the connections between these two civilizations and the contemporary Western world?
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