Countdown to the Millennium: I Quiz

Answer: Tiberius

Rome had never actually been ruled by a dynastic line of succession in the past so Augustus had to take great care to make the succession as stable as possible. Tiberius was actually the stepson of Augustus. Augustus never had any biological sons. His mother, Livia, had married the emperor after divorcing his father. Tiberius was adopted as a full son and potential heir of Augustus. By chance, Tiberius' brothers were eliminated from the line of succession as a result of their own deaths or personal scandals, giving Tiberius a much clearer path to the throne. Tiberius, now the clear heir to Augustus, was power and rank equal to the emperor a year prior to Augustus' death. That way, Tiberius would have ruled beside Augustus prior to eventually succeeding Augustus as emperor, giving him some extra legitimacy during the succession process.

Answer: Han

Wang Mang was a Han Dynasty official who was related to the ruling members of the dynasty through his aunt, Empress Wang Zhengjun. While he didn't experience the same level of luxuries as the main line of the imperial family, he did gain a strong reputation for humility and scholarliness, which would eventually lead to his promotion to commander of the armed forces.

However, when the emperor died suddenly without an heir, Wang set off on a course that would end up with him as the emperor of the new Xin Dynasty.

He cracked down on his political enemies and built up a personality cult through false prophecies before finally seizing control. His rule, however, was beset with many problems as the Xin Dynasty only lasted 14 years before ending in 23 A.D. when Wang Mang died in a peasant revolt.

After a period of warfare, the Han Dynasty would later be restored by Emperor Guangwu.

Answer: Arminius

The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also known as the Varian Disaster, was a defeat so significant that the Romans would never again attempt to conquer the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine river. The leader of the alliance of Germanic tribes was Arminius, leader of a Germanic tribe called the Cherusci. During his youth, he lived as a captive in Rome and received both citizenship and military education before becoming a commander of Roman auxiliary forces. Arminius would get his revenge against the Romans by leading the Roman commander, Publius Quinctilius Varus, into an ambush.

This defeat cost the Romans three legions, three cavalry units, and six auxiliary cohorts. Varus committed suicide when it was clear that defeat was certain. While the Romans would attempt to get revenge against Arminius in battle, it was actually members of his own tribe that killed him as a result of a power struggle.

Answer: Crucifixion

Crucifixion was a form of execution that had been employed by various nations for centuries. The purpose of this form of capital punishment is to cause a slow and painful death for the victim as they could be left hanging on a large wooden cross for days attached by either rope or nails.

The crucifixion of Jesus is iconic in Christianity as the cross has become a key symbol of the religion, symbolizing Jesus' sacrifice for the sins of humanity. According to Christian belief, Jesus was resurrected after three days, one of several miracles believed by his followers that proved to them that he was the son of God, which led to the development of Christianity.

Answer: Vietnam

The Trung sisters were born in Northern Vietnam in the Chinese controlled territory of Jiaozhi. The reason behind the rebellion was a result of harsh treatment of the local population by the Chinese and the forcible attempts to eradicate Vietnamese culture and replace it with Chinese culture. Trung Trac, one of the sisters, experienced the death of her husband, whom was executed by the Chinese authorities for trying to stand up against them.

The Trung sisters managed to take over much of Northern Vietnam, yet were eventually defeated by the Han general, Ma Yuan. Both sisters were captured and executed, and the Chinese regained control over the area, but sisters are still seen as national heroines in Vietnam for their act of rebellion.

Answer: Boudica

Boudica was the queen of a Celtic tribe known as the Iceni. Her husband, Prasutagus, had allied with the Romans in exchange for some level of independence. However, when he died, the Romans betrayed the Iceni and seized control. Boudica and her daughters were captured by the Romans, who whipped her, and raped her daughters, making her hatred of the Romans deeply personal. Boudica managed to form alliances with other tribes, creating a large army that surprised the Romans and brought forth much destruction in Roman settlements. Yet, the rebellion would be decisively put down during the Battle of Watling Street.

The Roman general, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, defeated the much larger army led by Boudica, who was killed in this battle, effectively ending the revolt.

Answer: Nero

The Great Fire of Rome was a massive urban fire that raged on for six days. Nero was an emperor who was very unpopular according to many of his contemporaries. He was described as being a tyrant who ordered the deaths of many including his own mother, and spent massive amounts of money on himself. Rumors emerged that he was responsible for the fire and that while Rome was burning, he spent the time playing music on his lyre.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but Nero placed the blame on Christians and put many to death as a result. Nero ended up being the last emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a deteriorating political situation would lead him to commit suicide.

The period following his death would become known as the Year of the Four Emperors, a chaotic time that would eventually lead to the rise of the Flavian dynasty under the triumphant Vespasian.

Answer: Kushans

The Kushans were part of a larger confederation of nomadic groups known as the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi were originally from the area to the west of Han China, yet were pushed out by another nomadic group known as the Xiongnu. Eventually a Kushan prince by the name of Kujula Kadphises would unite the tribes and form the Kushan Empire. Once the various nomadic groups were once again consolidated into one, he would go on to conquer much of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom, which was made up of most of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan at the time. Later emperors of the Kushan Empire would see the empire expand to a size of over 1,400,000 square miles with holdings across Bactria, Northern India, and Western China.

Answer: Judaism

The Siege of Masada was the last stand of the Jewish rebels during the First Jewish-Roman War. Tensions were high between the Jews and the Romans, with taxation being a major point of contention between the two groups. The war ended up destroying a huge portion of the city of Jerusalem including the Second Temple, the holiest site in Judaism. Part of this was due to infighting between the Jewish rebels as factions such as the Sadducees and Pharisees would end up fighting at some points with more radical factions such as the Zealots.

The Roman commanders that fought against the rebellion included Vespasian and Titus, future emperors. The Romans would eventually chase the Jewish rebels down to the fortress of Masada. The rebels in the fortress were part of the Sicarii faction, which was a group of Zealots involved in assassinations. Rather than surrender to the Roman forces, almost everyone in the fortress committed suicide.

Answer: Vesuvius

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was one of the largest volcanic eruptions ever recorded in history. The volcano released massive amounts of volcanic gas and ash into the air for hours, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum, along with many of their inhabitants. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum are now valued for providing archaeologists and historians valuable insight into Roman society at the time of the eruption. Pompeii was preserved as a result a thick layer of volcanic ash that covered the city and its inhabitants, preserving them over time.

Herculaneum was preserved as a result of a mudslide caused by the eruption, burying the settlement.