Fall of the Roman Republic · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

The fall of the Roman Republic

History · Ancient Greece & Rome · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What river did Julius Caesar cross with his army in 49 BC?

    • The Tiber
    • The Rubicon
    • The Nile

  2. Who killed the Gracchi brothers?

    • A mob of angry senators
    • Foreign invaders
    • Rival gladiators

  3. Julius Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Why couldn't Caesar just march his army back out of Italy after crossing the Rubicon?

    • Because bringing an army into Italy was already an act of war against Rome
    • Because his soldiers refused to leave
    • Because the river was too dangerous to cross again

  5. Look at the timeline. Which event happened right after the Marius-Sulla civil war?

    GracchiMarius-SullaRubiconCaesar DiesActiumAugustus
    • The Gracchi were killed
    • Augustus became emperor
    • Caesar crossed the Rubicon

  6. A student says, 'The Republic fell because of one bad emperor.' What is wrong with that claim?

    • Augustus was actually a king, not an emperor
    • Rome never had emperors before Augustus, and the fall took a hundred years of violence, not one ruler
    • Nothing, that is correct

  7. Tiberius Gracchus died in 133 BC. Augustus became Rome's first emperor in 27 BC. How many years passed between these two events?

    Answer: ______________

  8. Which argument best supports the idea that the Republic's fall was NOT inevitable?

    • Julius Caesar was destined to become a dictator from birth
    • Rome's government could never work for an empire so large
    • Key moments, like the senate killing the Gracchi instead of compromising, were choices that made war more likely
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The fall of the Roman Republic W1-mt__o3TCmfomv-s1

  1. The Rubicon · The Rubicon marked the border a general could not legally cross with troops.
  2. A mob of angry senators · Senators who did not want to lose their land killed both brothers, years apart.
  3. True · Senators stabbed him on March 15, 44 BC, hoping to save the Republic.
  4. Because bringing an army into Italy was already an act of war against Rome · The crime was crossing with an army at all. Turning back would not undo that act of war.
  5. Caesar crossed the Rubicon · After the Marius-Sulla wars came Caesar's war, which began with crossing the Rubicon.
  6. Rome never had emperors before Augustus, and the fall took a hundred years of violence, not one ruler · The collapse built up over generations of political murder and civil war, long before Augustus took power.
  7. 106 · 133 minus 27 equals 106 years of political violence before Augustus's rule began.
  8. Key moments, like the senate killing the Gracchi instead of compromising, were choices that made war more likely · Historians point to specific decisions, like violent reactions to reform, as choices that pushed Rome toward war rather than an unavoidable fate.
Worksheet · LightMySky