Kings, Khalifs, Sultans and Chieftains Quiz

Answer: Vercingetorix

Vercingetorix was born into a small Gallic tribe called the Arverni. His father was the chieftain but he was killed in an accident when a large tree fell and crushed him while he was in his home. Vercingetorix was proclaimed chieftain and won many battles against their enemy, the Roman Empire.
But he was finally defeated at Alesia, dragged to Rome and put on display like an animal, and killed for public amusement.

Answer: Boudicca

Boudicca was the wife of the chieftain of the Iceni tribe but the Romans killed him and, to add the finishing touches, they raped her daughters in her presence. She became the chieftain and united the Celtic tribes. She also lead a massive revolt against the incoming Roman armies and won many battles, but she was defeated in the end. She lives on as an icon for all woman!

Answer: Brennus

Brennus was the chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe in (present day) Northern France. He expanded Gallic lands from Gaul to Asia Minor.

Answer: Orgetorix

Orgetorix was a very smart man who used the flaws of his opponents to lead him to victory. He also was a fine warrior that took most of Gaul and some of Spain.

Answer: Ragnar Lodbrok

Ragnar Lodbrok was a crazy Viking chieftain who was very pagan. His favorite fighting style was to attack Christian cities on feast days knowing that they would be at church. As an early soldier he started as a berserker and never lost a battle. He become one of the most important chieftains of the Norse people.

Answer: Abd al-Aziz II

Abd al-Aziz II was an interesting man in that he was a poor military leader. Actually, he was a something of a pacifist. But he loved art and brought artistic splendour to his land.

Answer: Tahir Ibn Husayn

Tahir Ibn Husayn was a leading general in the Abbasid army and led them to great victories, and because of this he was rewarded lands in east Persia.

Answer: Alfred the Great

Alfred the Great was a small and sickly child and the eighth son of his father, Ethelwulf, King of Wessex. He established the Dane Law after conquering neighboring kingdoms. He installed the Dane Law and set up public schools. He also encouraged literacy and created a Golden Age for the Anglo- Saxons.

Answer: Alaric the Great

Alaric was proclaimed the leader of the Visigoths who were a peaceful people on the Danube River. They were driven out by the Huns and forced to take refuge in the Roman Empire. They Visigoths suffered a massive loss of food and were basically starving to death, and the Romans did nothing.

It was so bad that people had to sell their children into slavery for food. The Visigoths left and could never find a solid place to live. So, after being betrayed four times by the Romans, Alaric led his men to Rome and took the heart of the Roman Empire.

They had the city but chose to leave after three days. Alaric had a freak heart attack and died barely a month after.

Answer: Attila

Attila the Hun was known to the West as "The Scourge of God". He was the master of horse archery and he led his troops to bring every European army and the Church to its knees.

Answer: Gaiseric

Gaiseric was pushed into the southernmost corner of Spain by the Romans, but he adopted a new way of fighting, with ships. He led his new navy to conquer almost all of North Africa, the wealthiest part of the Roman Empire. They also brought their version of Christianity - Arianism - to the people there.

Answer: Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz

Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz was one of the only Umayyad Caliphs that enforced the Sharia, or Islamic law. He lived a modest life that without most of the luxuries of the palace. He even lived with the common people in a small house in the trading center of Damascus.

Answer: Harun al-Rashid

Harun al-Rashid is featured as the Caliph of the story "Thousand and One Nights". He lead the Abbasids to their largest expansion of the Empire, and to their highest level of wealth, prosperity and knowledge. He also founded the "House of Wisdom" in Baghdad. Harun al-Rashid also an extremely kind man and frequently gave money to poor beggars and enemies.

Answer: Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan

Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan was the fifth Caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus. He conquered much of modern Iraq, North Africa, and Hejaz on his vast military campaigns. He made Arabic the official language of the Caliphate. Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan also began the policy of putting silk around the Kaaba in Mecca.

Answer: Ghenghis Khan

Ghenghis Khan, known in the Western World, was in my opinion the best general ever and had the largest land empire of the world. He was born into the Mongol tribe in 1162. In 1171, when he was aged nine, his father, Yusekui was murdered by the neighboring tribe, the Tartars.

The entire tribe left the family of little Temujin (Ghenghis Khan's birth name). He was left with his nine brothers and sisters and his mother. She said to him, "For-fill your name, seek revenge", (Temujin means "Iron Hammer").

He was stranded in the Gobi and the steppes many times and attacked by other tribes, but in 1186 he got a small army for himself and conquered the neighboring tribe. When he had enough soldiers he destroyed the cruel Tartars. And after many years of fighting he conquered all of the tribes of the region of Mongolia in 1206.

After that he then conquered the Jurchen (Jin) Dynasty because they had paid the Tartars to kill Yusekui. Then he went on to conquer the Xiaxia, Xi Xia, and much of west Asia.

Then he conquered most of the Song Dynasty. Later he moved on the Khwarezmian Dynasty because their Caliph, Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad killed and disgraced the Mongol caravans. So Chinghis Khan destroyed the Khwarezmain Empire and conquered most of the Middle East. Then he took Russia, parts of Poland, and Hungary. The Great Khan was going to conquer the rest of the Song Dynasty but had a sudden riding accident and split his stomach lining. He died eight months later.

Answer: Mehmed II

Mehmed II was 23 when he conquered Constantinople. He renamed it Istanbul and took the title of "Caesar Destroyer". He also conquered large areas in Anatolia, Europe, and some parts of Africa. In Istanbul he changed the language official language to Arabic and he also turned the Haghia Sophia into a mosque.

He kept the Christian faith in the city but made Christians pay an extra tax. He was an astute Muslim and made Hajj five times.

Answer: Osman I

Osman "Ghazi" or Osman I was born as a farmer somewhere in the Eurasian steppe. But his people were drawn away from the Mongol invaders and he took refuge in a small area of land in the Seljuk Turk Empire. The Seljuk Turks had just converted to Islam and so did Osman and his refugees because it gave them a leg up in their society. (Islam teaches the all Muslims are equal in faith and the eyes of Allah).

He eventually gained land for himself after he outwitted the Shah of the land, Alaadaan. He began the conquest of many areas of Anatolia and proclaimed the first capital of the Ottomans, Söğüt. Just for a fun fact: it was said that Osman had the highest regard for manly beauty.

Answer: Suleiman the Magnificent

Suleiman the Magnificent and, in the East, Suleiman the Lawgiver. He completed the construction of the Ottoman Law System. Suleiman became a prominent monarch of the world, ruling over the apex of the Ottoman Empire's military, political and economic power. Suleiman personally led Ottoman armies to conquer the Christian strongholds of Belgrade, Rhodes, and most of Hungary before his conquests were checked at the Siege of Vienna in 1529.

He also took more land in Africa and some even in the Iran and Iraq.

He ruled most of the Middle East and large swathes of North Africa as far west as Algeria. Under his rule, the Ottoman fleet dominated the seas from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. He destroyed any army of Europe that challenged him on land and any fleet that challenged him at sea.

Answer: Akbar the Great

Akbar the Great was the Shah of the Mughal Empire, which he ruled from his capital of Delhi. He also made friends with the Hindu kings to prevent wars. He led the Mughals to their most prosperous age and is acknowledged as the greatest Mughal Shah.

Answer: Glaseric

Glaseric was the chief of the Almanni tribe. These warriors were feared by the Romans above all other Barbarian tribes because their fierce leader. Glaseric was invited to a Roman court session because the Romans wished to assassinate him. So they hired a assassin to kill him.

The assassin stabbed Glaseric in the neck but was Glaseric pulled out his dagger and stabbed the assassin in the face and the Roman senator who had arranged the assignation. Previous to this he was in a battle with the Romans and was wounded seven times but did not die. Also he was over six foot five and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds!