A Millennium of Deaths Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Bulgar-slayer

When Basil took the Byzantine throne he faced internal rebellion and invasion from Arab forces on the eastern borders. After he had crushed the rebellion and defeated the Arabs, internal stability and secure eastern borders meant he had his hands free to deal with his biggest foe, the Bulgarian empire.

In previous years Byzantine lands had been pillaged by Bulgarians on a regular basis. In a series of battles between 1000 and 1018 CE he managed to defeat and subjugate the Bulgarian empire. It is said that after a battle in 1014 he gauged out the eyes of 15,000 captured Bulgarians, earning him the nickname 'Bulgar-slayer'. Basil not only was a great general, he also proved a capable ruler who offered defeated Bulgarian nobles titles and positions of great importance in an effort to absorb Bulgarian elite into the Byzantine Empire.

When he died he had extended the western borders to the Danube and left his successors a full treasury and a stable empire.

Answer: He drowned

He drowned in the River Saleph (in present day Turkey). It is unclear how it happened, but some sources claim he was bathing in the river and hadn't bothered to take off his armour. Barbarossa's death left the German part of the crusader army without their leader. It soon fell in disarray and only a small part of it reached the Holy Land.

The other leaders of the Third Crusade were Philip II August, King of France and Richard the Lionhearted, King of England. They conquered a number of coastal cities in the Holy Land but failed to retake Jerusalem.

Answer: Constantinople

The leaders of the Fourth Crusade had planned to invade the Holy Land via Egypt. Venice had agreed to supply them with a large number of ships. When the crusaders were unable to pay, Dandolo suggested them to pay their debts by conquering Zadar, a city on the Adriatic, for Venice.

After the crusaders had conquered Zadar they were joined there by Alexius Angelus, son of the deposed Byzantine emperor Isaac II. Dandolo and Angelus managed to persuade the crusaders to try to put Angelus on the Byzantine throne.

The crusader army attacked the unsuspecting Byzantines in 1204 CE and conquered the city. Constantinople was looted by the crusaders, and the Venetians took a big booty to Venice. The crusaders never even reached the Holy Land. The Fourth Crusade was a complete failure.

Answer: He had a hot iron poker inserted into his anus.

Edward II had already been deposed a couple of months before he was murdered.

It is not known how he was killed. The rumour about the hot iron poker didn't start until 25 years after his death and there are no contemporary sources to back the story up.

Answer: She fell off a horse while hunting

In 1477 CE Mary's father, Charles the Bold, was slain in the battle of Nancy by Louis XI, King of France. Louis wanted Mary to marry his son Charles so the Burgundian domains would be joined with France. Mary refused and sought support from her subject in the Low Countries, which she could only obtain by granting them great privileges. Later Mary further strengthened her position by marrying Maximilian of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor.

When things finally started to look up, a hunting accident ended her life abruptly. Her son and successor Philip (later nicknamed the Fair) was only four years old. Maximilian was protector of the Burgundian estates until Philip reached maturity. Philip the Fair was the father of Charles V who became the most powerful ruler in 16th century Europe.

Answer: William the Silent, Prince of Orange

William of Orange, nicknamed the Silent, was the leader of the Dutch revolt against Spain which started the 80 years war (1568-1648 CE). In the years prior to the revolt power had shifted from local nobility to Spain. William grew dissatisfied with this loss of power and privilege and objected to the harsh treatment of Dutch Protestants by the Spanish.

In 1566 CE a wave of iconoclasm spread through the Spanish Netherlands. Philip II, a strict Roman Catholic, reacted by appointing the Duke of Alba as governor. Alba erected the 'Council of Blood' to root out Protestantism, but his cruel policies lead to more resentment and rebellion. William was summoned before the Council, but failed to appear and fled.

Unlike William, Lamoral of Egmont, another disenchanted nobleman, refused to flee. Alba had him arrested and condemned to death. He was beheaded in Brussels on June 5, 1568.

Balthasar Gérard was a fanatical Roman Catholic. He was tortured for three days before he was gruesomely executed. King Philip posthumously rewarded Gérard by donating three estates to his parents.

Dutch rebellion continued after William's death and eventually resulted in the independence of the United Provinces (of the Netherlands).

Answer: Shah Jahan

Shah Jahan's third wife was Mumtaz Mahal, who died in 1631 CE. The mausoleum is of course the Taj Mahal.

The construction of the Taj Mahal took 20 years and nearly bankrupted the empire. In 1658 Jahan's third son Aurangzeb disposed of his brothers and took the Mughal throne by force. He had Shah Jahan imprisoned in the Red Fort of Agra until his death. From his room in the Red Fort he could see his creation.

Babur was central-Asian warlord who conquered Northern India and laid the foundations of the Mughal Empire.

Akbar was the grandson of Babur. Under his reign the Mughal empire reached its golden age.

Answer: In his bathtub

Marat was a leader of the French revolution and publicist of the revolutionary newspaper 'L'Ami du Peuple' (The Friend of the People). His inflammatory articles sent a wave of revolutionary fanaticism and paranoia through Paris leading to the execution of many. He suffered from a skin disease and the only way to relieve his pains was to take baths. Spending most of his time there he even received visitors from his bathtub. Under the pretext of a political discussion Charlotte Corday had arranged a meeting with Marat. She stabbed him in the chest while he was in his bathtub. She was guillotined two days later.

Jacques-Louis David, a close friend of Marat, made a painting of the event called 'La Mort de Marat' ('Marat's Death').

Answer: Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria

Rudolf was the only son and heir of Austrian emperor Franz Joseph. He most probably shot his mistress and committed suicide a couple of hours later.

Franz Joseph, who was afraid of a scandal, ordered Minister-President Taaffe to suppress the true circumstances of the crown-prince's death. Of course it didn't take long before rumours started to spread. The Mayerling mystery, as it was soon called, gave rise to all sorts of conspiracy-theories. Some claim that both Rudolf and Mary were murdered.

Even today the whole truth concerning the mystery isn't known and it probably never will be. Taaffe wrote a personal account about the mystery, but the 'Taaffe papers' went missing.

Franz Ferdinand, nephew of Franz Joseph, became the new crown prince. He was murdered in 1914 by Gavrilo Princip. This event triggered World War I.

When Franz Joseph died in 1916 he was succeeded by his grandnephew Karl who was the last Austro-Hungarian emperor. The Austro-Hungarian empire was dissolved at the end of WWI.

Answer: It was hung upside down

The bodies of Mussolini, his mistress Claretta Petacci and a couple of other Fascists were hung upside down from the roof of gas station in Milan. People threw stones and spat at the bodies. Later they were taken down and buried.