Ancient History Trivia Questions
Total Questions: 120
What 2-wheeled military vehicle was introduced to Egypt from Asia in the 2nd millennium B.C.?
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chariot
Which author, known for writing 'Elements,' was frequently seen around the stacks of the Library of Alexandria?
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euclid
Which mythical club-wielding hero did the Roman Emperor Commodus imagine himself to be when he slipped into insanity?
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hercules
What was the name of the most famous library in the ancient world?
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alexandria
Which ancient city's different archaeological ages are identified using Roman numerals, with its 'Homeric' age designated as VIIa?
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troy
Which city was sacked by Persian Chosroes II in 615, leading to the taking away of the True Cross?
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jerusalem
What name did the Greeks give to the prehistoric tribes of Spain, likely derived from the Ebro River?
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iberians
What system is believed to have originated in India to prevent the Dravidians from intermarrying with their conquerors?
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caste
By about 42 A.D., which empire controlled all of Mediterranean Africa?
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roman empire
Which city was ruled by Ancus Marcius, the legendary fourth king and possible grandson of Numa Pompilius?
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rome
In which city did Alexander the Great die on June 13, 323 B.C.?
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babylon
What was the name of the strait known as the Hellespont during the time of Alexander the Great's crossing?
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dardanelles
What was the home town of the philosopher Socrates?
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athens
What was the Roman name for the region that corresponds closely to modern France?
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gaul
Which Roman Emperor, nicknamed 'The Horse Emperor', had two of his ships raised from Italy's Lake Nemi in the 1920s?
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caligula
What was the name of the personal guard of Roman emperors that consisted of 9 cohorts of 1,000 soldiers each?
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praetorian guard
In 1982, more than 80 human skeletons were discovered in the ruins of which city near Pompeii?
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herculaneum
In 447 B.C., what did the Delphi oracle tell Polycrates to leave after he found a treasure?
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unturned
What is the Latin name for the period of stability and peace in the Roman Empire that began in 27 B.C. and lasted about 200 years?
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pax romana
What celestial object did the Yamato clan of Japan claim descent from during the 300s B.C.?
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sun
Which city paid significant fines to Rome after the first two Punic Wars and was completely destroyed by Rome in 146 B.C. after the third Punic War?
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carthage
What false facial feature did statues show Hatshepsut wearing to look like a king?
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beard
Which North African city-state controlled parts of Spain from approximately 500 B.C. to 201 B.C.?
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carthage
Livy's "Ab Urbe Condita", or "History From the Founding of the City", details the history of which ancient city?
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rome
Which Roman Emperor was fed poisoned mushrooms by Agrippina and later given more poison as a remedy?
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claudius
What league of city-states was led by Sparta in ancient Greece?
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peloponnesian league
What is the name of the group that the Goths split into along with the Ostrogoths during the 4th century?
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visigoths
What war began in 431 B.C. and brought an end to Athens' Golden Age of Pericles?
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peloponnesian war
Which Babylonian ruler's code included distinct regulations for free men, slaves, and the middle class?
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hammurabi
What age did the Hittites help initiate following the Bronze Age?
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iron age
What was found in the tomb of Fu Hao, a consort of Wu Ding, and was used as currency at the time?
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money
Which man was defeated at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C., leading to Octavian's complete control of the Roman Empire?
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mark antony
According to Herodotus, the practice of geometry may have begun due to floods altering property lines along which river?
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nile
What was the capital of the empire ruled by Hammurabi?
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babylon
What ancient city was Hector a chieftain of and around whose walls was his body dragged?
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troy
What is the term for the famous formation of Greek foot soldiers who carried spears up to 20 feet long?
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phalanx
Which Babylonian ruler, regarded as the sixth king of the first Babylonian dynasty, is renowned for establishing a famous code of laws?
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hammurabi
Which metal was predominantly used in ancient Egyptian jewelry, including artifacts from King Tutankhamun's tomb?
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gold
On which island was the colony of Syracuse founded by Corinthians in the 8th century B.C.?
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sicily
Which city surrendered in 404 B.C., ending the 27-year-long Peloponnesian War?
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athens
In 202 B.C., Scipio went to Africa to defeat which famous general in the Battle of Zama?
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hannibal
Which war did a starving Athens have to surrender in 404 B.C.?
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peloponnesian war
Which Phoenician city was founded in 814 B.C. on the shores of the Gulf of Tunis?
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carthage
What was the original name of the last king of Troy, known for being swift-footed?
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king priam
Who was the first Roman emperor to be assassinated?
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caligula
Which Roman Emperor faced a conspiracy against him after declaring himself and his sister as divine?
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caligula
Tradition holds that Menelik I, the first emperor, was the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Which country does this tradition pertain to?
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ethiopia
What is the term for an ancient, elaborate coffin, derived from the Greek word meaning 'flesh-eating'?
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sarcophagus
In which city was the Royal Mummy Room of the Egyptian Museum reopened in 1994 after being closed for 13 years?
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cairo
Which major mountain range did Hannibal's forces cross along with the Alps in their 218 B.C. attack on Rome?
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pyrenees
What is the name of the site southwest of modern Cairo where the pyramid of Menkaure, the last of the major three, was built?
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giza
Which island did Agathocles, tyrant of Syracuse, bring under his control around 304 B.C.?
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sicily
Which city did the Persians destroy in 480 B.C. after defeating the defenders of the pass at Thermopylae?
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athens
What is the name of the capital of Sicily that was founded by the Phoenicians over 2,500 years ago?
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palermo
Which hill is said to be the founding site of mighty Rome?
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palatine
What ancient shrine, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, is famous in the world of the occult?
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oracle
In his teenage years, who assisted Hasdrubal in asserting Carthaginian control over the Iberian Peninsula?
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hannibal
Which rival of Julius Caesar built the theater where he was killed?
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pompey
In which Mesopotamian city did Alexander the Great die in 323 B.C., intending it to be his capital?
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babylon
Which Sumerian city, known for its very short name, was famously excavated by Sir Leonard Woolley?
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ur
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