Romulus to the fall of Byzantium

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. According to legend, Romulus and Remus were the twin sons of what Roman god of war? Vulcan Mars Jupiter Neptune

2. Octavian, first emperor of Rome, is better known by what name? Answer: (One Word)

3. Once capital of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, this city was once Byzantium and then renamed Constantinople. What is it called now? Athens Ankara Istanbul Rome

4. Which Roman emperor issued the Edict of Milan, making it legal to be Christian? Valerian Diocletian Constantine Nero

5. The Romans built many structures out of what synthetic, lime-based material still in common use today? Answer: (One Word)

6. What Roman emperor built a famous wall in the north of England as a line of defense against the Picts? Answer: (One Word)

7. Which emperor was captured by Persians and forced to undergo continuous public humiliation? Valerian Constantine Nero Nerva

8. The fall of the Roman Empire is sometimes blamed on the presence of what poisonous element in their pipes and cooking utensils? arsenic lead platinum uranium

9. What Julian emperor reputedly made his horse consul and, not surprisingly, is commonly considered rather insane? Caligula Nero Claudius Tiberius

10. What was the name of the horse who, legend says, served as consul? Incitatus Pegasus Bucephalus King of the Wind

11. The emperor Nero tried several times to kill his mother -- for example, he sent her to sea on a sabotaged boat with assassin sailors -- but only succeeded several years later, when she told the assassins sent for her to stab first at her womb, whence her ungrateful son had been born. Name the mother. Agrippina Octavia Messalina Livia

12. On the subject of crazy emperors: one of the Julian emperors was said to have taken up an unusual hobby near the end of his reign. He threw unfortunate people (some say women, some say children, some say slaves) off a cliff near his palace in Capri. One legend has it that the angry ghosts of his victims pulled his statue down from that very same cliff. What was his name? Caligula Nero Claudius Tiberius

13. Gladiators held contests in a massive arena in Rome, the Colosseum, where they were watched by tens of thousands of people. Name the center of entertainment in Constantine's capital, Constantinople. Colosseum Hippodrome Arena Amphitheatre

14. Who was the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) emperor who codified Roman law, was married to Theodora, and reconquered much of the old Roman empire (only to have it collapse after his death)? Answer: (One Word)

15. The First Triumvirate was a ruling trio composed of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and what rich man who had sponsored Caesar previously? Lepidus Crassus Pompey Jr. Sulla

16. The SECOND Triumvirate was composed of Marc Antony, Octavian, and what third avenger of Julius Caesar's death? Crassus Lepidus Cleopatra Marius

17. Back in the days of the Roman Republic, two brothers -- Tiberius and Gaius -- tried to enact land reforms. In the process, they each in turn resorted to various illegal methods to stay in power, and they each became involved in bloody power struggles. Tiberius was stabbed to death and Gaius was killed with 3000 of his followers. What was their surname? Caesar Gracchus Scipio Aurelius

18. What emperor was a Stoic philosopher and wrote 'Meditations'? Diocletian Antoninus Pius Marcus Aurelius Augustus

19. Emperors in Rome had a personal, 9000-man guard which would occasionally murder them and appoint new emperors in their place. Name them: the _______ Guard. Answer: (One Word)

20. During the days of the Republic, the Romans conquered what ancient people from whom they took the idea for aqueducts? Lusitanians Minoans Etruscans Greeks