The Roman Empire V Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

When Aelius Caesar died in 138, Hadrian chose Antoninus Pius (138-161) as his successor, on the condition that Antoninus adopt both Verus (then seven years old) and Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian's nephew.

Answer: 23 years

His reign was comparatively peaceful; while there were several military disturbances throughout the Empire in his time, in Mauretania, Iudaea, and amongst the Brigantes in Britannia, none of them is considered serious. The unrest in Britannia is believed to have led to the construction of the Antonine Wall from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, although it was soon abandoned.

He was virtually unique among emperors in that he dealt with these crises without leaving Italy once during his reign, but instead dealt with provincial matters of war and peace through their governors or through imperial letters to the cities such as Ephesus (of which some were publicly displayed).

This style of government was highly praised by his contemporaries and by later generations.

Answer: equanimity

His body was placed in Hadrian's mausoleum, a column was dedicated to him on the Campus Martius, and the temple he had built in the Forum in 141 to his deified wife Faustina was re-dedicated to the deified Faustina and the deified Antoninus.

Answer: Lucius Verus

In the spring of 168 war broke out along the Danubian border when the Marcomanni invaded the Roman territory. This war would last until 180, but Verus did not see the end of it. In 168, as Verus and Marcus Aurelius returned to Rome from the field, Verus fell ill with symptoms attributed to food poisoning, dying after a few days (169).

However, scholars believe that Verus may have been a victim of smallpox, as he died during a widespread epidemic known as the Antonine Plague.

Answer: Armeniacus

Contemporary accounts state that Verus did not live a hard life during the campaign. He was always surrounded by actors and musicians, enjoying copious banquets and other pleasures of life. Apparently his cheerful disposition spread to the troops, and morale was high.

His attitude apparently did not undermine his effectiveness. Verus remained a diligent leader and performed his tasks with competence. On his return to Rome, Verus was rewarded with a Roman triumph, and the title of Armeniacus. The parade was unusual because it included Verus, Marcus Aurelius, their sons and unmarried daughters as a big family celebration.

Answer: Aquileia

In 177, the Quadi rebelled, followed soon by their neighbours, the Marcomanni and Marcus Aurelius once again headed north, to begin his second Germanic campaign (secunda expeditio germanica). He arrived at Carnuntum in August 178, and set out to quell the rebellion in a repeat of his first campaign, moving first against the Marcomanni, and in 179-180 against the Quadi. Under the command of Marcus Valerius Maximianus, the Romans fought and prevailed against the Quadi in a decisive battle at Laugaricio near (modern Trenčín, Slovakia).

The Quadi were chased westwards, deeper into Greater Germania, where the praetorian prefect Tarutenius Paternus later achieved another decisive victory against them, but on 17 March 180, the emperor died at Vindobona (modern Vienna).

Answer: Hadrian's mausoleum

He was immediately deified after passing away and his ashes were returned to Rome, and put in Hadrian's mausoleum (the modern Castel Sant'Angelo) until the Visigoth sack of the city in 410. His campaigns against Germans and Sarmatians were also commemorated by a column in Rome.

Answer: the supreme

Exsuperatorius (the supreme) was a title given to Jupiter, and Amazonius identified him again with Hercules.

Answer: True

All the months were renamed to correspond exactly with his (now twelve) names: Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus, Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius. The legions were renamed Commodianae, the fleet which imported grain from Africa was termed Alexandria Commodiana Togata, the Senate was entitled the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people themselves were all given the name Commodianus, and the day on which these reforms were decreed was to be called Dies Commodianus.

Answer: He was strangled while having a bath

On December 31 his food was poisoned, but he threw up the poison and the conspirators therefore sent the wrestler Narcissus to strangle him in his bath. Upon his death, the Senate declared him a public enemy (a de facto damnatio memoriae) and restored the original name to the city of Rome and its institutions. Commodus' statues were torn down.

His body was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian. However, in 195, the emperor Septimius Severus, trying to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius, rehabilitated Commodus' memory and had the Senate deify him.