sentence-transformers/squad huggingface dataset:
Passage: Several years later, in 88 BC, a Roman army was sent to put down an emerging Asian power, king Mithridates of Pontus. The army, however, was defeated. One of Marius' old quaestors, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, had been elected consul for the year, and was ordered by the senate to assume command of the war against Mithridates. Marius, a member of the "populares" party, had a tribune revoke Sulla's command of the war against Mithridates. Sulla, a member of the aristocratic ("optimates") party, brought his army back to Italy and marched on Rome. Sulla was so angry at Marius' tribune that he passed a law intended to permanently weaken the tribunate. He then returned to his war against Mithridates. With Sulla gone, the populares under Marius and Lucius Cornelius Cinna soon took control of the city.

Question: In what year was a Roman army dispatched to terminate the King of Pontus?

Question: Who was ordered by the senate to become commander in the conflict with King Mithridates?

Question: What political party did Lucius Cornelius Sulla belong to?

Question: Who had successfully passed a law whose sole purpose was to lessen the power of the tribunate?

Question: What happened after Sulla returned to the conflict with Mithridates?
Passage: During the period in which the populares party controlled the city, they flouted convention by re-electing Marius consul several times without observing the customary ten-year interval between offices. They also transgressed the established oligarchy by advancing unelected individuals to magisterial office, and by substituting magisterial edicts for popular legislation. Sulla soon made peace with Mithridates. In 83 BC, he returned to Rome, overcame all resistance, and recaptured the city. Sulla and his supporters then slaughtered most of Marius' supporters. Sulla, having observed the violent results of radical popular reforms, was naturally conservative. As such, he sought to strengthen the aristocracy, and by extension the senate. Sulla made himself dictator, passed a series of constitutional reforms, resigned the dictatorship, and served one last term as consul. He died in 78 BC.

Question: How many years was normal to span between offices prior to the populares controlling the city?

Question: Who were slaughtered upon the arrival of Sulla in Rome?

Question: In what year did Sulla die?

Question: In what year did Sulla succesfully take over the populares controlled city?

Question: Which leader had achieved peace with Mithridates?
Passage: In 77 BC, the senate sent one of Sulla's former lieutenants, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ("Pompey the Great"), to put down an uprising in Spain. By 71 BC, Pompey returned to Rome after having completed his mission. Around the same time, another of Sulla's former lieutenants, Marcus Licinius Crassus, had just put down the Spartacus-led gladiator/slave revolt in Italy. Upon their return, Pompey and Crassus found the populares party fiercely attacking Sulla's constitution. They attempted to forge an agreement with the populares party. If both Pompey and Crassus were elected consul in 70 BC, they would dismantle the more obnoxious components of Sulla's constitution. The two were soon elected, and quickly dismantled most of Sulla's constitution.

Question: Where in the year 77 BC was an uprising?

Question: Which former lieutenant of Sulla had dismantled most of the constitution that Sulla had crafted?

Question: In what year was the election held that let Pompey and Crassus obtain the seat of consul?

Question: Who was the instigator in the slave revolt in Italy?

Question: When did Pompey return to Rome after having quelled the uprising in Spain?
Passage: Around 66 BC, a movement to use constitutional, or at least peaceful, means to address the plight of various classes began. After several failures, the movement's leaders decided to use any means that were necessary to accomplish their goals. The movement coalesced under an aristocrat named Lucius Sergius Catilina. The movement was based in the town of Faesulae, which was a natural hotbed of agrarian agitation. The rural malcontents were to advance on Rome, and be aided by an uprising within the city. After assassinating the consuls and most of the senators, Catiline would be free to enact his reforms. The conspiracy was set in motion in 63 BC. The consul for the year, Marcus Tullius Cicero, intercepted messages that Catiline had sent in an attempt to recruit more members. As a result, the top conspirators in Rome (including at least one former consul) were executed by authorisation (of dubious constitutionality) of the senate, and the planned uprising was disrupted. Cicero then sent an army, which cut Catiline's forces to pieces.

Question: When did the movement that considered the use of peaceful means to solve the plight of lesser classes begin?

Question: How many former consuls in Rome were executed as a result of a conspiracy?

Question: What town was a common site of agitation within the area?

Question: Who can lay claim to the destruction of Lucius Sergius Catilina's forces?

Question: Which individual had planned an uprising that ideally would see the death of most of the Roman senators?
Passage: In 62 BC, Pompey returned victorious from Asia. The Senate, elated by its successes against Catiline, refused to ratify the arrangements that Pompey had made. Pompey, in effect, became powerless. Thus, when Julius Caesar returned from a governorship in Spain in 61 BC, he found it easy to make an arrangement with Pompey. Caesar and Pompey, along with Crassus, established a private agreement, now known as the First Triumvirate. Under the agreement, Pompey's arrangements would be ratified. Caesar would be elected consul in 59 BC, and would then serve as governor of Gaul for five years. Crassus was promised a future consulship.

Question: In which year would Julius Caesar hope to be elected to the position of consul?

Question: What was the name of the private agreement between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus?

Question: What was Crassus agree to receive in the First Triumvirate agreement?

Question: When did Julius Caesar return to Rome?

Question: What provided the Roman senate with exuberance?
Passage: Caesar became consul in 59 BC. His colleague, Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, was an extreme aristocrat. Caesar submitted the laws that he had promised Pompey to the assemblies. Bibulus attempted to obstruct the enactment of these laws, and so Caesar used violent means to ensure their passage. Caesar was then made governor of three provinces. He facilitated the election of the former patrician Publius Clodius Pulcher to the tribunate for 58 BC. Clodius set about depriving Caesar's senatorial enemies of two of their more obstinate leaders in Cato and Cicero. Clodius was a bitter opponent of Cicero because Cicero had testified against him in a sacrilege case. Clodius attempted to try Cicero for executing citizens without a trial during the Catiline conspiracy, resulting in Cicero going into self-imposed exile and his house in Rome being burnt down. Clodius also passed a bill that forced Cato to lead the invasion of Cyprus which would keep him away from Rome for some years. Clodius also passed a law to expand the previous partial grain subsidy to a fully free grain dole for citizens.

Question: Who had tried to prevent the enactment of the laws that Caesar had proposed?

Question: What type of case saw Cicero testify against Clodius?

Question: Who enacted a law that would increase the partial grain subsidy?

Question: Which individual lost his home to a fire?

Question: Who was elected to the tribunate in 58 BC?
Passage: Clodius formed armed gangs that terrorised the city and eventually began to attack Pompey's followers, who in response funded counter-gangs formed by Titus Annius Milo. The political alliance of the triumvirate was crumbling. Domitius Ahenobarbus ran for the consulship in 55 BC promising to take Caesar's command from him. Eventually, the triumvirate was renewed at Lucca. Pompey and Crassus were promised the consulship in 55 BC, and Caesar's term as governor was extended for five years. Crassus led an ill-fated expedition with legions led by his son, Caesar's lieutenant, against the Kingdom of Parthia. This resulted in his defeat and death at the Battle of Carrhae. Finally, Pompey's wife, Julia, who was Caesar's daughter, died in childbirth. This event severed the last remaining bond between Pompey and Caesar.

Question: Who was responsible for the attacks on followers of Pompey?

Question: What political position were Pompey and Crassus assured they would receive in 55 BC?

Question: What caused the death of Julius Caesar's female offspring?

Question: Which individual ran for consul in 55 BC?

Question: Who was responsible for an expedition against the Parthian Kingdom?
Passage: Beginning in the summer of 54 BC, a wave of political corruption and violence swept Rome. This chaos reached a climax in January of 52 BC, when Clodius was murdered in a gang war by Milo. On 1 January 49 BC, an agent of Caesar presented an ultimatum to the senate. The ultimatum was rejected, and the senate then passed a resolution which declared that if Caesar did not lay down his arms by July of that year, he would be considered an enemy of the Republic. Meanwhile, the senators adopted Pompey as their new champion against Caesar. On 7 January of 49 BC, the senate passed a senatus consultum ultimum, which vested Pompey with dictatorial powers. Pompey's army, however, was composed largely of untested conscripts. On 10 January, Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his veteran army (in violation of Roman laws) and marched towards Rome. Caesar's rapid advance forced Pompey, the consuls and the senate to abandon Rome for Greece. Caesar entered the city unopposed.

Question: In which year did Clodius die?

Question: Who was responsible for the death of Clodius?

Question: Who did the senators decide would aid them in their conflict with Caesar?

Question: What type of powers were granted to Pompey by the senate?

Question: Ultimately what forced the senate to abandon Rome and flee to Greece?
Passage: Caesar held both the dictatorship and the tribunate, and alternated between the consulship and the proconsulship. In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers. This made his person sacrosanct, gave him the power to veto the senate, and allowed him to dominate the Plebeian Council. In 46 BC, Caesar was given censorial powers, which he used to fill the senate with his own partisans. Caesar then raised the membership of the Senate to 900. This robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige, and made it increasingly subservient to him. While the assemblies continued to meet, he submitted all candidates to the assemblies for election, and all bills to the assemblies for enactment. Thus, the assemblies became powerless and were unable to oppose him.

Question: In Rome during this time who was considered to hold both the dictatorship and the position of the tribunate?

Question: What power could Caesar use against the senate should he choose?

Question: In what year was Caesar given the power of a censor?

Question: What is considered to have counteracted the prestige of the senatorial aristocracy?
Passage: Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 BC. The assassination was led by Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus. Most of the conspirators were senators, who had a variety of economic, political, or personal motivations for carrying out the assassination. Many were afraid that Caesar would soon resurrect the monarchy and declare himself king. Others feared loss of property or prestige as Caesar carried out his land reforms in favor of the landless classes. Virtually all the conspirators fled the city after Caesar's death in fear of retaliation. The civil war that followed destroyed what was left of the Republic.

Question: On what date was Caesar killed?

Question: Who comprised most of the members of the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar?

Question: What did some members of the conspiracy believe Caesar would bring back?

Question: Why did many members of the senate flee the city after Caesar's death?

Question: Who did Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus lead the conspiracy against?
Passage: After the assassination, Mark Antony formed an alliance with Caesar's adopted son and great-nephew, Gaius Octavian. Along with Marcus Lepidus, they formed an alliance known as the Second Triumvirate. They held powers that were nearly identical to the powers that Caesar had held under his constitution. As such, the Senate and assemblies remained powerless, even after Caesar had been assassinated. The conspirators were then defeated at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Eventually, however, Antony and Octavian fought against each other in one last battle. Antony was defeated in the naval Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and he committed suicide with his lover, Cleopatra. In 29 BC, Octavian returned to Rome as the unchallenged master of the Empire and later accepted the title of Augustus ("Exalted One"). He was convinced that only a single strong ruler could restore order in Rome.

Question: Who was soon allied with Caesar's adopted son following his death?

Question: In what battle did Mark Antony see defeat?

Question: In what year did the Battle of Philippi end?

Question: How did Mark Antony die?

Question: What was the alliance that was formed with Marcus Lepidus named?
Passage: As with most ancient civilizations, Rome's military served the triple purposes of securing its borders, exploiting peripheral areas through measures such as imposing tribute on conquered peoples, and maintaining internal order. From the outset, Rome's military typified this pattern and the majority of Rome's wars were characterized by one of two types. The first is the foreign war, normally begun as a counter-offensive or defense of an ally. The second is the civil war, which plagued the Roman Republic in its final century. Roman armies were not invincible, despite their formidable reputation and host of victories. Over the centuries the Romans "produced their share of incompetents" who led Roman armies into catastrophic defeats. Nevertheless, it was generally the fate of the greatest of Rome's enemies, such as Pyrrhus and Hannibal, to win early battles but lose the war. The history of Rome's campaigning is, if nothing else, a history of obstinate persistence overcoming appalling losses.

Question: Who in Rome was responsible for imposing tribute on nations that they had conquered?

Question: What could be considered a trait of Rome's military campaigns?

Question: What was considered a problem in the Roman Republic during its last century?

Question: What would often lead Rome to wage war in foreign lands?
Passage: During this period, Roman soldiers seem to have been modelled after those of the Etruscans to the north, who themselves seem to have copied their style of warfare from the Greeks. Traditionally, the introduction of the phalanx formation into the Roman army is ascribed to the city's penultimate king, Servius Tullius (ruled 578 to 534 BC). According to Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the front rank was composed of the wealthiest citizens, who were able to purchase the best equipment. Each subsequent rank consisted of those with less wealth and poorer equipment than the one before it.

Question: Who introduced the phalanx formation into Rome's army?

Question: Were Roman soldiers expected to purchase their own equipment?

Question: Who were contained in the first rank of the phalanx formation?

Question: From what people did it appear the Etruscans had model their form of warfare on?

Question: Where did Dionysius hail from?
Passage: One disadvantage of the phalanx was that it was only effective when fighting in large, open spaces, which left the Romans at a disadvantage when fighting in the hilly terrain of central Italian peninsula. In the 4th century BC, the Romans abandoned the phalanx in favour of the more flexible manipular formation. This change is sometimes attributed to Marcus Furius Camillus and placed shortly after the Gallic invasion of 390 BC; it is more likely, however, that they were copied from Rome's Samnite enemies to the south, possibly as a result of Samnite victories during the Second Samnite War (326 to 304 BC).

Question: What was a detriment of using the phalanx formation?

Question: In what century was the phalanx formation finally discarded by the Roman people?

Question: What fighting formation would eventually replace the phalanx in battle?

Question: Where is the likely source of the change to the manipular formation?

Question: What type of ground could be found in the central Italian peninsula?
Passage: The heavy infantry of the maniples were supported by a number of light infantry and cavalry troops, typically 300 horsemen per manipular legion. The cavalry was drawn primarily from the richest class of equestrians. There was an additional class of troops who followed the army without specific martial roles and were deployed to the rear of the third line. Their role in accompanying the army was primarily to supply any vacancies that might occur in the maniples. The light infantry consisted of 1,200 unarmoured skirmishing troops drawn from the youngest and lower social classes. They were armed with a sword and a small shield, as well as several light javelins.

Question: How many horseman were likely to be found in a single manipular legion?

Question: Where could you expect the extensive amount of cavalry troops to be sourced from?

Question: What often neglected social class was the light infantry comprised of?

Question: What type of infantry joined light, and the cavalry in battle?

Question: Small shields could be found in what section of the infantry?
Passage: Rome's military confederation with the other peoples of the Italian peninsula meant that half of Rome's army was provided by the Socii, such as the Etruscans, Umbrians, Apulians, Campanians, Samnites, Lucani, Bruttii, and the various southern Greek cities. Polybius states that Rome could draw on 770,000 men at the beginning of the Second Punic War, of which 700,000 were infantry and 70,000 met the requirements for cavalry. Rome's Italian allies would be organized in alae, or wings, roughly equal in manpower to the Roman legions, though with 900 cavalry instead of 300.

Question: Where did Rome receive half of their army from?

Question: How many calvary did Rome's Italian allies use?

Question: How many soldiers were available to Rome at the start of the Second Punic War?

Question: What did Rome's Italian allies call their battle formation?

Question: What allowed Rome to source some of their military from other nearby areas?
Passage: The extraordinary demands of the Punic Wars, in addition to a shortage of manpower, exposed the tactical weaknesses of the manipular legion, at least in the short term. In 217 BC, near the beginning of the Second Punic War, Rome was forced to effectively ignore its long-standing principle that its soldiers must be both citizens and property owners. During the 2nd century BC, Roman territory saw an overall decline in population, partially due to the huge losses incurred during various wars. This was accompanied by severe social stresses and the greater collapse of the middle classes. As a result, the Roman state was forced to arm its soldiers at the expense of the state, which it had not had to do in the past.

Question: During what century did Roman controlled areas see a decline in their populations?

Question: What caused the Roman state to provide armaments to their army?

Question: What was considered an attributing factor to the decline of the Roman population?

Question: What were soldiers expected to own prior to the year 217 BC?
Passage: In process known as the Marian reforms, Roman consul Gaius Marius carried out a programme of reform of the Roman military. In 107 BC, all citizens, regardless of their wealth or social class, were made eligible for entry into the Roman army. This move formalised and concluded a gradual process that had been growing for centuries, of removing property requirements for military service. The distinction between the three heavy infantry classes, which had already become blurred, had collapsed into a single class of heavy legionary infantry. The heavy infantry legionaries were drawn from citizen stock, while non-citizens came to dominate the ranks of the light infantry. The army's higher-level officers and commanders were still drawn exclusively from the Roman aristocracy.

Question: Who was now able to join military service in 107 BC?

Question: Where would legionaries in the Roman army likely to be sourced from?

Question: Who would likely make up the majority of the Roman army's light infantry?

Question: Which consul was responsible for the reforms that allowed all citizens access to join the Roman army?

Question: What was the process that removed the property requirement for the Roman military called?
Passage: The legions of the late Republic were, structurally, almost entirely heavy infantry. The legion's main sub-unit was called a cohort and consisted of approximately 480 infantrymen. The cohort was therefore a much larger unit than the earlier maniple sub-unit, and was divided into six centuries of 80 men each. Each century was separated further into 10 "tent groups" of 8 men each. The cavalry troops were used as scouts and dispatch riders rather than battlefield cavalry. Legions also contained a dedicated group of artillery crew of perhaps 60 men. Each legion was normally partnered with an approximately equal number of allied (non-Roman) troops.

Question: Around how many units could be expected to be contained within a cohort?

Question: How many troops were placed into each tent group?

Question: Who would now be used as scouts instead of fighting alongside the army in the battlefield?

Question: What designation of troops was considered to make up the majority of a legion?
Passage: After having declined in size following the subjugation of the Mediterranean, the Roman navy underwent short-term upgrading and revitalisation in the late Republic to meet several new demands. Under Caesar, an invasion fleet was assembled in the English Channel to allow the invasion of Britannia; under Pompey, a large fleet was raised in the Mediterranean Sea to clear the sea of Cilician pirates. During the civil war that followed, as many as a thousand ships were either constructed or pressed into service from Greek cities.

Question: In which sea was a large amount of naval vessels sent in order to remove Cilician pirates?

Question: Around how many ships were sent into service from Greek cities?

Question: Who was ultimately responsible for the naval ships that were sent to the English Channel?

Question: What was the driving force behind the revitalization of the Roman naval forces?

Question: What aspect of the Roman military saw a decline in size after the subjugation of the Mediterranean?