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Constitution of the Roman Republic - Quiz
Contributed by: Ashcroft
  • 1. Which social class in the Roman Republic held the most political power?
A) Equestrians
B) Slaves
C) Plebeians
D) Patricians
  • 2. Who were the two elected officials of the Roman Republic who jointly ruled the state?
A) Consuls
B) Censors
C) Tribunes
D) Aediles
  • 3. What was the term for the event where a Roman general would assume temporary control during times of crisis?
A) Republic
B) Dictatorship
C) Tyranny
D) Monarchy
  • 4. Which famous military general declared himself dictator in 49 BC and effectively ended the Roman Republic?
A) Julius Caesar
B) Mark Antony
C) Scipio Africanus
D) Pompey
  • 5. What was the name of the Roman official responsible for conducting the census, managing public finances, and supervising public morals?
A) Consul
B) Censor
C) Praetor
D) Tribune
  • 6. Which event marked the official end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire?
A) Sack of Rome by the Visigoths
B) Punic Wars
C) Battle of Actium
D) Assassination of Julius Caesar
  • 7. What was the term for the group of 300 men appointed to advise the consuls in the Roman Republic?
A) Council of the Plebs
B) Senate
C) Sibylline Books
D) Curia Hostilia
  • 8. Who were the magistrates in charge of maintaining public order and overseeing games and festivals in ancient Rome?
A) Censors
B) Aediles
C) Dictators
D) Quaestors
  • 9. What was the name of the body of magistrates that oversaw judicial matters in the Roman Republic?
A) Quaestors
B) Aediles
C) Censors
D) Praetors
  • 10. What was the name of the group of judges in ancient Rome who heard court cases and passed judgments?
A) Praetorian Guard
B) Centumviri
C) Centurions
D) Quaestors
  • 11. What powers did the magistrates hold in the Roman Republic?
A) They could only preside over assemblies without other powers.
B) They were solely responsible for declaring war.
C) They had no influence over the Assemblies.
D) They exercised religious, military, and judicial powers.
  • 12. What was a significant outcome of the Conflict of the Orders?
A) Plebeian citizens gained equal political rights.
B) Tribunes were abolished.
C) The Senate became the sole governing body.
D) Patricians lost all political power.
  • 13. How did the Roman Republic's constitution evolve from its origins?
A) It was codified into a single written document early on.
B) It remained unchanged since the Roman Kingdom.
C) The Senate became the only governing body.
D) It evolved substantively and significantly over almost five hundred years.
  • 14. What role did the plebeian assembly play in the Roman Republic?
A) It had full legislative authority.
B) It had no significant role or power.
C) It served as an advisory council to the Senate.
D) It was responsible for electing magistrates.
  • 15. What was a consequence of the increasing centralization of authority in the late Roman Republic?
A) Magistrates were no longer able to veto each other.
B) Plebeians lost their political rights.
C) The Senate gained unprecedented power over the Assemblies.
D) It put the republic on a path to civil war.
  • 16. How did Roman assemblies make decisions?
A) Decisions were made by drawing lots.
B) After hearing speakers, the presiding officer could call for a direct up or down vote.
C) Through open debates and discussions among assembly members.
D) By consensus after lengthy deliberations.
  • 17. How were the comitia different from the contio?
A) The comitia were formal gatherings where legal actions were taken, while the contio was an unofficial forum with no legal decisions made.
B) The comitia and contio served identical purposes.
C) Both were informal gatherings for public announcements.
D) Both were formal assemblies for enacting laws.
  • 18. In which year were fourteen rural tribes added to the Roman tribal assembly?
A) 495 BC
B) 287 BC
C) 471 BC
D) 241 BC
  • 19. What was one of the main responsibilities of the censors?
A) Leading military campaigns
B) Conducting the census
C) Appointing consuls
D) Judging criminal cases
  • 20. Who assassinated Caesar, preventing any plans he might have had from being enacted?
A) Pompey's supporters
B) Antony and Octavian
C) Roman citizens
D) The liberatores
  • 21. What was a common method to end debates in the senate?
A) A vote by acclamation.
B) Immediate approval of all proposals.
C) A filibuster by talking until nightfall.
D) Debates were never ended prematurely.
  • 22. Under whose presidency did the comitia calata meet for religious purposes?
A) The consul.
B) The praetor.
C) The censor.
D) The pontifex maximus.
  • 23. What is there no basis to believe Caesar planned for regarding the republican system?
A) Expansion of territories
B) Reduction of military power
C) Complete abolition
D) Sweeping reform
  • 24. What was a key feature of the Roman Republic's early tribunes?
A) They declared war on enemies
B) There were exactly ten tribunes
C) They levied taxes
D) Their number at this early time is unclear
  • 25. What was the primary purpose of Roman assemblies in legislative matters during the middle republic?
A) Actively debating and rejecting bills.
B) Representing foreign interests.
C) Drafting new legislation independently.
D) Serving as a legitimizing symbol rather than a deliberative body.
  • 26. Which law allowed plebiscites to apply to all Romans?
A) Lex Hortensia
B) Senatus consultum ultimum
C) Plebiscitum Ovinium
D) Lex Caecilia Didia
  • 27. How was deference to the senate ingrained in Roman Republic society?
A) By military enforcement
B) Through popular votes
C) Through aristocratic social norms
D) Via religious rituals
  • 28. What was the term length for a consul in the Roman Republic?
A) Two years
B) Ten years
C) One year
D) Five years
  • 29. Who was elected by patrician members of the senate for a term of five days?
A) Aedile
B) Interrex
C) Dictator
D) Quaestor
  • 30. What power did tribunes have to protect individuals from injustice?
A) Auctoritas
B) Imperium
C) Auxilium
D) Intercessio
  • 31. How many voting blocs were there in the centuriate assembly?
A) 50 voting blocs.
B) 300 voting blocs.
C) 193 voting blocs.
D) 100 voting blocs.
  • 32. Who was responsible for coining money in the Roman Republic?
A) Vigintisexviri
B) Aediles
C) Quaestors
D) Dictators
  • 33. Which power did consuls have that allowed them to consult the gods for the people?
A) Imperium
B) Prorogation
C) Cursus honorum
D) The auspices
  • 34. What was a significant influence of late Republican praetors?
A) Military strategy
B) Religious festivals
C) Civic infrastructure
D) Roman law
  • 35. What was one of the consuls' responsibilities during domestic affairs in the Roman Republic?
A) Administering justice
B) Holding the annual feriae Latinae (a spring festival)
C) Leading separate consular armies
D) Introducing legislation
  • 36. How many praetors were there by Sulla's time?
A) Six
B) Two
C) Eight
D) Four
  • 37. What was a primary duty of censors besides conducting the census?
A) Assessing public morality
B) Appointing tribunes
C) Conducting trials
D) Leading military operations
  • 38. What was the term used to describe the inviolability of tribunes?
A) Sacrosanct
B) Auctoritas
C) Potestas
D) Imperium
  • 39. Who argued against the idea that long commands were a rejection of republican principles?
A) Pompey
B) Antony
C) Erich Gruen
D) Julius Caesar
  • 40. Who represented the curiae in the curiate assembly during the middle republic?
A) Military tribunes.
B) Thirty lictors.
C) A council of elders.
D) The Senate.
  • 41. What was the main responsibility of praetors later in the Roman Republic?
A) Holding religious festivals
B) Commanding armies
C) Administering justice
D) Introducing legislation
  • 42. Which magistrate was appointed by consuls to resolve urgent issues?
A) Aedile
B) Dictator
C) Quaestor
D) Magister equitum
  • 43. What marked Rome's path away from a state without domination by a single man?
A) The establishment of the Senate
B) The creation of the triumvirate
C) The emperor Tiberius' successful accession in AD 14
D) Caesar's assassination
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