Ancient History Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 120
Which chief Greek god was the temple in Jerusalem rededicated to by Antiochus, prompting the Maccabees to go to war?
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zeus
From which event, first held in 776 B.C., did the Ancient Greeks start dating their historical events?
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olympic games
Which famous Egyptian queen's brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIII, drowned in the Nile?
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cleopatra
What astronomical event ended King Alyattes' war with the Medes?
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eclipse
To which city's library did Mark Antony reportedly donate 200,000 books, according to ancient rumor?
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alexandria
Who was the Carthaginian general defeated by the Romans at the Battle of Zama in 202 B.C.?
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hannibal
What royal title did Heliogabalus hold when he was assassinated in his bathroom by his own Praetorian Guard?
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emperor
In which battle, roughly 25 miles from Athens, did the playwright Aeschylus fight?
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marathon
Which country's 12th dynasty was founded by the former vizier Amenemhet in 1991 B.C.?
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egypt
What country did the ancient Greek historian Herodotus refer to as 'the gift of the Nile'?
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egypt
Which city fell in 476 A.D., marking the beginning of the Dark Ages?
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rome
In which ancient city are the hanging gardens, sometimes credited to Nebuchadnezzar, believed to have been built?
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babylon
On the delta of which river did Alexander the Great found a city named Alexandria in 332 B.C.?
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nile
What were the earliest Ancient Egyptian boats propelled by before they used paddles and oars?
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poles
In which city, also her capital, did Cleopatra disguise herself as a slave to enjoy revelries with Antony in the streets?
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alexandria
Whose father, Hamilcar Barca, had his troops defeated by the Romans in Sicily during the first Punic War?
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hannibal
According to Julius Caesar, which region's three parts were inhabited by the Belgae, Aquitani, and Celts?
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gaul
Which countrys emperor, Han Wu-Ti, established a colony in North Korea in 108 B.C.?
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china
What wars were precipitated by Hannibal's capture of the Roman city of Saguntum?
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punic wars
Plautus was a leading comic playwright of which ancient empire?
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roman empire
Who were the people whose gods the ancient Romans worshipped, but with different names?
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greeks
Who ruled the Huns jointly with his brother Bleda from 434 to 445?
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attila
In 621 B.C., Draco, a chief magistrate, was known for first codifying the laws for the people of which Greek city-state?
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athens
What is the name of Hannibal's father, who was known for his hatred of Rome?
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hamilcar
In which land were Bias, Pittacus, and Solon considered three of the seven sages?
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greece
Which form of execution was abolished by Constantine The Great in 337 out of respect for Jesus?
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crucifixion
Which Roman goddess did Cleopatra dress as when she entered Tarsus to seduce Antony?
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venus
What nickname, meaning 'little boot', was given to the young and ruthless Roman emperor Gaius Caesar?
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caligula
Echion was the name shared by an argonaut, one of Cadmus' warriors, and one of the Greeks associated with which famous object?
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trojan horse
Who founded the Academy in Athens around 387 B.C. and taught there for most of his life?
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plato
Which city's temple site did Hadrian choose for a shrine, sparking a Jewish revolt?
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jerusalem
Which Greek god had a statue that was one of the 7 ancient wonders and was destroyed by fire around 475 A.D. in Constantinople?
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zeus
In which Egyptian city did 72 Jewish scholars start translating the Pentateuch into Greek in the 200s B.C.?
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alexandria
Which ruler was approximately 35 miles away in Antium during the Great Fire of Rome in 64 A.D.?
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nero
Who killed the queen of the Amazons during the Trojan War?
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achilles
Which pupil of Socrates went to Sicily to attempt turning Dionysius into a philosopher king?
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plato
From which city on the Euphrates did Nebuchadnezzar rule his empire for 43 years?
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babylon
What number is missing from Hammurabi's Code of 282 laws because it was considered evil and unlucky by the Babylonians?
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13
What deceptive object did the Greeks leave for the Trojans, pretending it was a gift, in 1240 B.C.?
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trojan horse
What is the name of the fortress captured by Jewish patriots called Sicarii in 66 A.D.?
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masada
What type of vehicle did victorious Roman generals ride into the city known as the corous triumphalis?
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chariot
Which ancient Greek is known for practicing medicine on the island of Cos?
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hippocrates
In 395 A.D., when the Roman Empire split, Rome remained the capital of the Western Roman Empire. What city became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire?
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byzantium
In which city did Ptolemy I establish a renowned museum and library, rather than a mummy?
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alexandria
Which 1st century BC ruler, for political reasons, claimed to be the daughter of Ra, the Egyptian sun god?
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cleopatra
In which ancient civilization did dentistry as part of medicine begin around 3700 B.C., according to the Ebers Papyrus?
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egypt
In which historical age was the process of casting figures using the cire perdue or 'lost wax' method developed?
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bronze age
Which country signed a treaty with the Hittites after a 16-year war, with its king Ramses II marrying a Hittite princess?
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egypt
Who held the office second and reigned circa 69-79 A.D.?
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pope
Who traveled to Rome after giving birth to Caesarion, who was later known as Ptolemy XV?
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cleopatra
What title meaning 'holy' or 'consecrated' was given to Caesar Octavianus by the Roman Senate in 27 B.C.?
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augustus
Which Arabian kingdom, whose queen is mentioned in the Bible, was overtaken by the Himyarites around 115 B.C.?
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sheba
Which 18th dynasty queen is known for her famous painted limestone bust, now housed in a museum, although her actual remains have never been discovered?
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nefertiti
Which ancient city, nearly 2000 years old, was developed as an urban model by Nebuchadnezzar II?
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babylon
What name, more famous for its 'touch,' was traditionally given to kings of Persia?
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midas
In 71 B.C., against which empire did Spartacus lead a slave revolt?
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roman empire
In which ancient region, known as the 'land between two rivers', did the Griffin first originate as a design?
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mesopotamia
Which Carthaginian general made peace with Rome in 201 B.C., ending the Second Punic War?
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hannibal
What nickname, meaning 'little boot', was given to the child who would later become the Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus?
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caligula
Who was the Macedonian general that founded an ancient Egyptian dynasty?
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ptolemy
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