World History to 1550
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- Who was the ruler of Greece in the 4th century B.C. who extended power from Greece to India?
- Alexander the Great
- Who wept because there were no worlds left to conquer?
- Alexander the Great
- Who was the teacher of Alexander the Great?
- Aristotle
- Before beginning his conquests, what did Alexander the Great allegedly unloose by cutting through it?
- The Gordian Knot
- Who was the king of the Huns in the 5th century whose forces overrran central and eastern Europe?
- Attila the Hun
- Who was called the "scourge of God"?
- Attila the Hun
- Who was the first emperor of Rome?
- Augustus Caesar
- Who was the adopted son of Julius Caesar?
- Augustus Caesar
- From 44 B.C. to 14 A.D. Rome enjoyed what under Augustus Caesar?
- Pax Romana
- When was the golden age for literature in Rome?
- Pax Romana from 44 B.C. to 14 A.D.
- The 18th century in England, when many excellent authors were at work is called what?
- The Augustan Age of English literature
- Who were the Native American people who ruled Mexico before the Spaniards conquereed the region in the 16th century?
- Aztecs
- Who city in ancient Mesopotamia was famed for its hanging gardens?
- Babylon
- What was it called when the Jews were taken captive into Babylon in the 6th century B.C.?
- Babylonian captivity
- What English politician, scientist, and author of the late 15th and early 16th centuries was one of the leaders of the Renaissance in England?
- Francis Bacon
- What Spanish explorer of the 16th century was the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean and claimed it for Spain?
- Vasco Nunez de Balboa
- Which English bishop of the 12th century was archbishop of Canterbury and leader of the Christian Church of England?
- Thomas a Becket
- The killing of Thomas a Becket is dramatized in which play by T.S. Eliot?
- Murder in the Cathedral
- Murder in the Cathedral was written by whom?
- T.S. Eliot
- The killing of Thomas a Becket is dramatized in which play by the French playwright Jean Anouilh?
- Becket
- Becket was written by whom?
- Jean Anouilh
- Who wrote The Canterbury Tales?
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- What disease killed nearly half the people of western Europe in the 14th century?
- Black Death
- Black Death is a form of what plague?
- Bubonic Plague
- Which second wife of King Henry VIII of England was convicted of adultery and beheaded?
- Anne Boleyn
- Who was the mother of Queen Elizabeth I?
- Anne Boleyn
- Which Italian politician of the late 15th and early 16th centuries was known for his teachery and cruelty?
- Cesare Borgia
- Which sister of the Italian politician Cesare Borgia was famous for her treachery?
- Lucrezia Borgia
- What phrase was used by a Roman writer to deplore the declining heroism of Romans after the Roman Republic ceased to exist and the Roman Empire began?
- "Two things onloy the people anxiously desire- bread and circuses"
- What period of history lasted from roughly 4000 B.C. to the onset of the Iron Age?
- Bronze Age
- Which ancient Roman politician helped assassinate his friend Julius Caesar?
- Brutus
- Which empire began as the eastern portion of the Roman Empire and was centered at Constantinople?
- Byzantine Empire
- What city was the Byzantine Empire centered around?
- Constantinople
- Which empire was conquered by Turkish forces in the 15th century?
- Byzantine Empire
- The Christian Church in the Byzantine Empire later became which independent church?
- Eastern Orthodox Church
- What was Istanbul formerly called?
- Constantinople
- Which cruel and insane Caesar ruler of the Roman Empire in the 1st century A.D. appointed his horse to the senate to humiliate the senators of Rome?
- Caligula
- Carthage was established by traders from where?
- Phoenicia
- Which city was a commercial and political rival of Rome for much of the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C.?
- Carthage
- Which queen of Carthage was a lover of Aeneas in the Aeneid?
- Dido
- Which politician of ancient Rome was known for his insistence that Carthage was Rome's permanent enemy?
- Cato
- What words did Cato end all his speeches in the Roman senate with?
- "Carthage must be destroyed"
- Who was the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire?
- Charlemagne
- Which king of France in the late 8th and early 9th centuries was crowned emperor in 800?
- Charlemagne
- Throughout the Middle Ages, which French emperor was considered a model for Christian rulers?
- Charlemagne
- What code of the Middle Ages emphasized bravery, military skill, generosity in victory, piety, and courtesy to women?
- Chivalry
- Which queen of Egypt in the 1st century B.C. had an affair with Mark Antony?
- Cleopatra
- Which play by what author dramatizes Cleopatra's affair with Antony and her suicide?
- Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare
- How did Cleopatra commit suicide?
- By letting an asp, a poisonous snake, to bite her
- Which Italian explorer is responsible for the European discovery of America in 1492?
- Christopher Columbus
- What Spanish military leaders established Spanish rule in the New World by overthrowing Native American governments?
- Conquistadores
- Which Roman emperor of the 4th century founded the capital of the eastern part of the Roman Empire and allowed Christians to practice their religion within the empire?
- Constantine the Great
- Which Polish scholar of the 16th century argued that the earth moves about the sun?
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Which Spanish explorer and conquistador of the 16th century overthrew the Aztec rulers of Mexico and established the authority of Spain over the country?
- Hernando Cortes
- What were the series of wars fought from the late 11th through the 13th centuries to gain control of the Holy Land?
- Crusades
- What happened in 1099?
- The Crusaders conquered Jerusalem
- What term is applied to the early Middle Ages?
- Dark Ages
- Who was the greatest orator of ancient Greece?
- Demosthenes
- What speeches did Demosthenes deliver attacking King Philip of Macedon, an enemy of Athens?
- Phillipics
- Which Dutch scholar of the late 15th and early 16th centuries attempted to solve some of the controversies of the time of Reformation?
- Desiderius Erasmus
- What is Erasmus' most famous work?
- The Praise of Folly
- Which Norwegian explorer dsicovered Vinland in 1000?
- Leif Ericson
- The Canadian province of Newfoundland and New England are possible locations for what place found by Leif Ericson?
- Vinland
- The Fall of Rome, the collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, was caused partly by which invading tribe in the middle years of the century?
- Vandals
- Which last Roman emperor was abdicated in 476?
- Romulus Augustulus
- Which king and queen of Spain in the late 15th and early 16th centuries united their country and sponsored Christopher Columbus?
- Ferdinand and Isabella
- Ferdinand and Isabella were of which areas of Spain?
- Aragon and Castille (respectively)
- Which system of obligations bound lords and their subjects in Europe during much of the Middle Ages?
- Feudalism
- Which landed estate was given by a lord to a vassal in return for the vassal's service to the lord?
- Fief
- Which Mongolian general and emperor of the late 12th and early 13th centuries conquered northern China and southwestern Asia?
- Genghis Khan
- Which English noblewoman of the 11th century rode naked through her town of Coventry to save the people from an oppresive tax?
- Lady Godiva
- Which town did Lady Godiva ride naked through?
- Coventry
- What were the organizations of artisans in the Middle Ages that sought to regulate the price and quality of products such as weaving and ironwork?
- Guilds
- Which German printer of the 15th century invented the printing press and the technique of printing with "movable type"?
- Johann Gutenberg
- What was the first book printed from movable type?
- Gutenberg Bible
- Which king of ancient Mesopotamia was known for putting the laws of his country into a formal code?
- Hammurabi
- Whcih general from Carthage took an army of 100,000, supported by elephants, from Spain to Italy over the Alps?
- Hannibal
- Which battle took place in southeastern England in 1066?
- Battle of Hastings
- In the Battle of Hastings, invaders from the French province of Normandy, lead by whom, defeated English forces under whom?
- William the Conquerer and King Harold (respectively)
- William the Conquerer's self declaration of King of England brought about what?
- Norman Conquest of England
- Which king of England in the early 16th century established himself as head of the Christian Chruch in England after the pope refused to allow his marriage to be dissolved?
- Henry VIII
- Who were Henry VIII's 6 wives?
- Catherine of Aragon (divorced), Anne Boleyn (beheaded), Jane Seymour (death attributed to birth of child), Anne of Cleves (divorced), Catherine Howard (beheaded), and Catherine Parr (survived)
- Which ancient Greek historian is called the father of history?
- Herodotus
- What was the first attempt at narrative history and the beginning of all Western history writing?
- Herodutus' history of the invasion of Greece by the Persian Empire
- Which system of writing with pictures that represent words or sounds was used by ancient Egyptians?
- Hieroglyphics
- Which major political institution in Europe lasted from the 9th to 19th centuries and modeled on the ancient Roman Empire?
- Holy Roman Empire
- The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire after Charlemagne were of what nationalities?
- Germans and Austrians
- Which 18th century French author wrote that the Holy Roman Empire was "neither holy, Roman, nor an empire"?
- Voltaire
- What was the personal submission of a vassal to a lord, by which the vassal pledged to serve the lord and the lord to protect the vassal?
- Homage
- Which war between France and England lasting from the middle of the 14th century to the middle of the 15th was fought over kings of England invading and trying to claim the throne of France?
- Hundred Years' War
- Which tribe from western Asia conquered much of central and eastern Europe during the 5th century?
- Huns
- According to Plutarch, the words by which Julius Caesar succinctly described one of his victories was what?
- "Veni, vidi, vici"
- What does "veni, vidi, vici" mean?
- I came, I saw, I conquered
- March 15, 44 B.C., the day Julius Caesar was assassinated is also known as what?
- Ides of March
- Which Native American people built a notable civilization in the 15th and 16th centuries in present-day Peru?
- Incas
- In the Roman Catholic Church, what is a declaration by church authorities that someone who says certain prayers or does good deeds will have some or all of their punishment in Purgatory remitted?
- Indulgence
- The attack by whom on the sale of indulgences began the Reformation?
- Martin Luther
- Which court established by the Roman Catholic Church in the 13th century tried cases of heresy and other offenses against the church?
- Inquisition
- Which period of history succeeded the Bronze Age in 2000 B.C.?
- Iron Age
- Which French military leader of the 15th century took up arms at the age of seventeen to establish the rightful king on the French throne?
- Joan of Arc
- What was the language of ancient Rome?
- Latin
- The crew of which Portuguese navigator of the 16th century was the first to circumnavigate the globe?
- Ferdinand Magellan
- Which list of rights and privileges did King John of England sign under pressure from English noblemen in 1215?
- Magna Carta
- Which king of England signed the Magna Carta?
- King John
- In which famous battle of the 5th century B.C. did the ancient Greeks defeat a much larger army of the Persian Empire?
- Battle of Marathon
- Which Native American people living in what is now Mexico and northern Central America were conquered by the Spanish around 1600?
- Mayas
- Which family of skilled politicians and patrons of the arts lived in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance?
- Medici
- Which Italian ruler of the 15th century was patron of Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci?
- Lorenzo de Medici
- Which region of western Asia, in what is now Iraq, is known as the "cradle of civilization"?
- Mesopotamia
- Sumerians, Akkadians, Hittites, and Assyrians lived in what part of the world?
- Mesopotamia
- Which period of European history began with the Fall of Rome in the 5th century and ended with the Renaissance?
- Middle Ages
- Which Aztec emperor of the 16th century was overthrown by Hernando Cortes?
- Montezuma
- Which English statesman and scholar of the 16th century, author of Utopia, and saint of the Roman Catholic Church was beheaded because he refused to recognize Henry VIII as head of the Christian Church in England?
- Thomas More
- Which ancient Roman emperor "fiddled while Rome burned" and, according to tradition, put the apostles Peter and Paul to death?
- Nero
- What was the overthrow of the English government in 1066 by forces of Normandy under William the Conqueror?
- Norman Conquest
- Which empire developed by Turks between the 14th and 20th centuries was succeeded in the 1920s by the present day Republic of Turkey?
- Ottoman Empire
- What are the famed "ancient universities" of England dating back to the 12th and 13th centuries?
- Oxford and Cambridge
- What is Latin for "the Roman peace"?
- Pax Romana
- Which long war between Athens and Sparta in the 5th century B.C. ended with a Spartan victory?
- Peloponnesian War
- Which Greek stateman's rule is known as the Golden Age of Greece?
- Pericles
- The Persians under which kings attempted to conquer Greece several times in the 5th century B.C.?
- Darius and Xerxes
- Who were the kings of ancient Egypt?
- Pharaohs
- Which ancient nation of the eastern Mediterranean Sea is now Israel and Lebanon?
- Phoenicia
- Which Spanish conquistador of the 16th century overthrew the rulers of the Incas and established the nation of Peru?
- Francisco Pizarro
- Which Italian explorer of the late 13th and early 14th centuries visited the court of Kublai Khan?
- Marco Polo
- Which city of the Roman Empire was destroyed in the 1st century by Mount Vesuvius' eruption?
- Pompeii
- Which Spanish explorer and conquistator of the late 15th and early 16th centuries conquered Puerto Rico and discovered Florida?
- Juan Ponce de Leon
- Which ancient Greek astronomer's system prevailed in astronomy for nearly 1500 years until the Solar System was developed?
- Ptolemy
- What were the three wars between Carthage and Rome in the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C.?
- Punic Wars
- Which religious movement in the 16th century began as an attempted reform of the Roman Catholic Church but resulted in the founding of Protestant churches?
- Reformation
- What was the cultural rebirth that occured in Europe from roughly the 14th through the middle of the 17th centuries?
- Renaissance
- Which English king of the 12th century fought in the Crusades?
- Richard the Lion-Hearted
- Who founded the Roman Empire in 753 B.C.?
- Romulus and Remus
- Which series of wars was fought by two English houses in the late 15th centuries for rule of the country?
- Wars of the Roses
- Which two houses fought in the Wars of the Roses?
- The House of Lancaster (red rose) led by Henry Tudor and the House of York (white rose)
- Which stone discovered in Egypt in the late 18th century was the key to understanding Egyptian writing?
- Rosetta stone
- Which river in northern Italy did Julius Caesar cross in violation of the orders of the leaders in Rome?
- Rubicon
- Which Kurdish general conquered Egypt and Syria in the 12th century and precipitated a Crusade with the capture of Jerusalem?
- Saladin
- Which Italian religious reformer of the 15th century was hanged and burned for heresy?
- Girolamo Savonarola
- What are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?
- Colossus of Rhodes, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Pharos of Alexandria, Pyramids of Egypt, Statue of Jupiter by Phidias, the Temple of Diana at Ephesus, and the Tomb of Mausolus (Mausoleum)
- What was the ancient Greek city-state and rival of Athens?
- Sparta
- Which Roman slave of the 1st century B.C. led an insurrection of slaves that defeated several Roman armies before being crushed?
- Spartacus
- Which ancient circles of large, upright stones date from 1800 to 1500 B.C.?
- Stonehenge
- Which ancient Greek historian and general fought in and recorded the Peloponnesian War?
- Thucydides
- What outer garment for men in ancient Rome was worn as a sign of citizenship?
- Toga
- Who was the first inquisitor-general of the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century?
- Tomas de Torquemada
- Which war between Greece and the city of Troy (now Turkey) began about 1200 B.C.?
- Trojan War
- Which pharaoh's tomb from 1400 B.C. was found in the 1920s?
- Tutankhamen (King Tut)
- Which women in ancient Rome tooks vows of chastity and tended the sacred flame in the temple of the goddess Vesta?
- Vestal virgins
- Who were the warriors from Scandinavia that raided much of coastal Europe in the 8th to 10th centuries?
- Vikings