Who's the Boss? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan was named Temujin at birth. "Khan" is the term for a Mongol ruler, and adding "Genghis" would designate him as the ruler of the universe, or universal ruler. Genghis Khan lived from 1162 to 1227.

Answer: Vlad the Impaler

Also known as Vlad Tepes, Vlad III was the son of Vlad Dracul, Dracul meaning "dragon." Vlad III earned his nickname by impaling his defeated enemies, as well as disobedient subjects, on the end of spikes. Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" was inspired by Vlad the Impaler.

Ivar the Boneless was a Viking leader in the A.D. 800s.

Antigonus the One-Eyed was a close friend of Alexander the Great.

Mehmed the Executioner was Mehmed I, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421.

Answer: Hirohito

Hirohito became emperor in 1926 and he ruled until his death in 1989. In the tradition of Japanese emperors, Hirohito was believed by the Japanese people to be divine, or a god, descended from Amaterasu, the sun goddess of the Japanese religion of Shinto. After the war he was not tried as a war criminal, but was forced to reject any claim to divinity.

Answer: Mansa Musa

"Mansa" means emperor and "Musa" is the Islamic name for Moses. Mansa Musa gave away so much gold on this pilgrimage that the price of gold was lowered worldwide for more than 10 years. The Empire of Mali under his rule was the second-largest land empire in world history.

Answer: Kamehameha the Great

Kamehameha first unified the island of Hawaii in 1791 and then brought Maui and Oahu under his control in 1795. He ruled as Hawaii's first king from 1782 to 1819. He had over 20 wives and 35 children. His full name was Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea, according to Wikipedia.

Answer: Ivan the Terrible

Ivan IV was the first Russian ruler to assume the title of czar (or tsar), meaning emperor. All of the following rulers followed suit. He ruled from 1547 to 1584. Enraged during an argument with his second son and heir, Ivan Ivanovich, the elder Ivan stuck the younger with his scepter, inflicting a mortal wound.

Answer: Louis XIV

Louis XIV famously said, "I am the State!" He is often cited as the prime example of an absolutist ruler in European history prior to folks like Hitler and Stalin. Louis' reign began at the age of five.

Wladyslaw IV was the King of Poland from 1632 to 1648. John XXIII was Pope from 1958 to 1963. Ptolemy XV was the three-year-old son of Cleopatra, who was proclaimed pharaoh at the death of his mother. He was the last pharaoh.

Answer: Caesar Augustus

The adopted son of the great general Julius Caesar, Octavian ruled as Rome's first emperor from 27 BC to AD 14. He gained the throne by defeating two rivals, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus, with whom he had formed a ruling trio known as the Second Triumvirate. Augustus died at the age of 75.

Answer: Moctezuma

Moctezuma II was the ninth Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan, the great Aztec capital. His full name in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, was Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin. The Aztec Empire reached its greatest extent under his rule.

Answer: Suleiman the Magnificent

One of the greatest rulers of the Ottoman Empire, Suleiman was also known as the Lawgiver. His reign from 1520 to 1566, recognized as the Golden Age of the Ottomans, was the longest of any Ottoman sultan.

Yaroslav the Wise was the 11th-century ruler of the Kievan Rus, the first Russian state. Harald Bluetooth was the Viking king of Denmark and Norway from 958 to 986. Ethelred the Unready was an English king of Wessex who ruled from 978 to 1016.