Once They Were a Capital Trivia Quiz

Answer: Morocco

Located in northern Morocco, Meknes is now a city of some 750,000 (2012 Census) and the sixth largest city in the country. It was the national capital during the reign of Ismail Ibn Sharif (1672-1727), known as the "Warrior King" and the second ruler of the Alaouite dynasty.

The capital of Morocco relocated to Fez in 1727 and moved again, to Rabat, in 1912.

Answer: Aceh

The ancient city of Kutaraja, located on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, was founded in 1205. The modern city of Banda Aceh, home to 220,000 (2010 Census) and the largest city in Aceh province, now stands on the site of the former capital of the Sultanate of Aceh.

Officially known as the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, the sultanate was founded in 1496 and was a major power in southeast Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Conquered by the Dutch in 1902, it was incorporated into the Dutch East Indies territory and then as part of the independent state of Indonesia.

Answer: Egypt

The full name of Al-Askar was 'Madinatu l-'Askari' ("City of Cantonments"). Located on the eastern bank of the River Nile, it was the capital of Egypt from 750 until 868, taking over from Alexandria following the Muslim conquest of the region in the middle of the 7th century.

Cairo became the official capital of Egypt in 969 and has remained so ever since.

Answer: Prussia

Founded in 1255, Konigsberg (which means "King's Barrow") became a city in the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights before becoming the capital of Duchy of Prussia in 1525. It remained as capital for 176 years before the formation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, when the capital was relocated to Berlin. Host to a major university and the home of people such as Immanuel Kant, the city remained important into the 20th century.

Virtually destroyed during WWII, the Konigsberg was occupied by the Soviets in 1946 and renamed Kaliningrad, although little of the original city now remains.

Answer: Ethiopia

Located north of Tana Lake and southwest of the Simien Mountains in northern Ethiopia, Gondar is now a city of some 350,000 (2012 estimate). Nicknamed "The Camelot of Africa", its former royal castles are popular tourist attractions today.

The city of Debre Berhan had been the official capital of the Ethiopian Empire in the middle of the 15th century, but in 1475, the Emperor announced a return to the tradition of a moving capital. This tradition survived a further century and a half until Gondar was named the permanent capital of the empire in 1635. The capital was relocated to Addis Ababa in the late 19th century.

Answer: Moldavia

First settled before the 14th century, the city of Iași (also called Jassy) succeeded Suceava as the capital of the Principality of Moldovia in 1564. It remained so for almost three centuries, when the principalities united to form the state of Romania within the Ottoman Empire in 1859. Iasi continued as the capital until independence from the Ottomans was achieved in 1878 and the Kingdom of Romania was founded three years later, the capital moving to Bucharest.

The modern city of Iasi is home to 290,000 (2011 Census). Located in the northeast of the country, Iasi is still the largest city in eastern Romania and is often called "The Cultural Capital of Romania".

Answer: Oman

The city of Salalah is located on the Persian Gulf in the south of the Sultanate of Oman. The traditional capital of the Dhofar region, it was a major trading city in the 13th century. Today, it is the second-largest city in Oman, with an estimated population of just under 200,000 in 2009.

The official capital of Oman from 1932 until 1970 under the rule of Sultan Said bin Taimur. Following his overthrow in 1970, the capital was relocated to Muscat, the Sultanate's largest city, where it remains to this day.

Answer: Dahomey

The modern city of Abomey, home to 90,000 (2012 estimate), is located in southern Benin in west Africa. From early in the 17th century until 1904, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey. The old Royal Palaces here were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.

The Kingdom Dahomey became a French colony early in the 20th century and was renamed Benin following independence in 1975.

Answer: Denmark

Founded in the 980s, the history of Roskilde dates back to the pre-Christian, Viking Age. Located on the Danish island of Zeeland it had an official population of 50,000 on January 1, 2016 and was Denmark's 10th-largest city.

Roskilde was the capital of Denmark from the 11th century until 1443, when that status moved 20 miles east to Copenhagen.

Answer: Incan Empire

The modern city of Cusco, home to 435,000 (2013 estimate), is located 11,200 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains in southeastern Peru. A major tourist destination, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Cusco was the historic capital of the Incan Empire from the 13th century until the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Today it is known as the "Historic Capital of Peru".