| The Senate | composed of older Patricians, appointed by the Consul; laws required their approval; responsible for public finances, foreign policy |
| The Consuls | two men, comprised executive branch of the government; elected from nobility; commanders of the army |
| The Struggle of Orders | time of tension between Patricians and Plebeians |
| The Twelve Tablets | created after the Struggle of Orders to give Plebeians more rights |
| The First Punic War | costly war initiated by Rome due to worries that Carthaginian presence in Sicily could threaten southern Italy; resulted in Rome's acquisition of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, and the weakening of Carthage |
| The Second Punic War | Roman and Carthaginian interests in Spain clash to cause this conflict; Hannibal marches on Italy, Romans are forced to retreat to Rome and eventually threaten Carthage itself to eliminate Hannibal's threat |
| The First Macedonian War | Conflict caused by the alliance between Philip V of Macedonia and Hannibal after the Romans' defeat at Cannae; Romans initiate a war, fearing Carthaginian invasion; results in the establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia |
| The Third Punic War | Romans completely destroyed Carthage to complete the conquest of the Mediterranean area |
| Hellenization | Process by which Greek culture is introduced to and ultimately overtakes Rome |
| The Gracchian Revolution | result of an agricultural crisis when migration to cities depletes farmer population; tribune Tiberius Gracchus implements land reforms, but is eventually killed by political opponents |
