Don't Fence Me In! Trivia Game | World History

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1. This ancient empire reached the fullest extent of its development under the reign of Assurbanipal. It stretched from west of the Nile Delta to the Caucasus Mountains in the east, and included the ancient "Land Between the Rivers". Which empire was formed by these Mesopotamians, known for roasting and skinning their enemies alive?

Answer: Assyrian

The exploits of the Assyrians are well-documented in the Bible. Why didn't Jonah want to go to Nineveh? Was it because he was hiding from God, or was it because of the gruesome spectacles there? Who in their right mind would want to go to a place where people were roasted and flayed alive? The Assyrian empire was rather short-lived.

However, they did provide a lesson for future empire builders. Such cruel masters can never gain loyalty from the people they rule - they can only gain fear, hatred, and resentment.

2. Cyrus the Great was the founder of this empire, the largest the ancient world had seen up to that time. Eventually it stretched from approximately Thrace and modern day Tunisia in the west to the Indus River in the east. In the north, it nearly extended to the Caspian Sea, and to the south it reached the upper edge of the Arabian Peninsula. Whose expansion eventually brought them into conflict with the Greeks at the Battle of Marathon?

Answer: Persian

Cyrus the Great learned a valuable lesson, and treated his conquered people with fairness and toleration. Within the Persian empire, people were expected to acknowledge the king, pay taxes, provide levies for the army, and keep the peace. In exchange they were permitted a large degree of self-government and religious freedom.

The Greeks may well have been the only people who did not willingly become part of the Persian empire. After the two empires began to come into conflict with each other, it is said that King Darius sent an envoy to Athens and Sparta to demand submission in the form of earth and water.

The story goes on to tell that the Athenians threw the envoy in a pit, and the Spartans threw him into a well. Thus began the Persian Wars!

3. Begun by Philip II, this empire eventually included Greece to the west, and eastward all the way to the Indus River. With the capital at Pela, the king also ruled Egypt, Mesopotamia, and eventually Persia. It covered 2.01 million square miles at its peak of power.

Answer: Macedonian Empire

Of course, Philip II's empire was greatly extended by his son, Alexander. Unfortunately, the empire crumbled very quickly after Alexander's sudden death. He did not have an heir (yet!) to rule, and he didn't help matters when asked on his deathbed who his successor should be.

He replied "To the strongest"! Of course, his generals took that as an invitation to fight to see who the strongest really was. After twenty-five years of war, the once-great empire was divided into three kingdoms by Alexander's generals - Ptolemy ruled from Egypt, Seleucus from Babylon, and Antigonus from Asia Minor and Greece.

4. This empire was ultimately so large, that the people dared to call the Mediterranean "our sea". In the north it stretched to the border of Scotland, to the south it included North Africa, and to the east it went as far as Palestine.

Answer: Roman Empire

The Romans immediately began building their empire as soon as the Latin tribes were strong enough to take the city of Rome from the Etruscans and rule themselves. According to tradition, that occurred in 509 B.C. This is a bit confusing to history students who are told that there are two periods in Roman history: The Republic 509 B.C.-27 B.C., and The Empire 27 B.C.-476 A.D.

By the time of the Empire Period, when Rome was ruled by an emperor, the Romans already ruled a vast empire, and controlled nearly every bit of land that touched the Mediterranean Sea.

5. This empire existed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and was the largest contiguous land empire the world has ever known. Beginning in Central Asia, it stretched from eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, and in the west to parts of the Middle East, covering approximately 9.3 million square miles.

Answer: Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, who was proclaimed Ruler of All Mongols in 1206. Expansion of his empire occurred very rapidly until arguments regarding succession began to occur among his grandchildren. One faction believed the royal line should follow from Genghis's son and initial heir �gedei, and others believed succession should follow one of his other sons, such as Tolui, Chagatai, or Jochi.

In 1538 the Mongol Empire dissolved when it was overthrown by the Han Chinese Ming Dynasty.

6. This empire essentially was the eastern half of the Roman empire. With its capital at Constantinople, it continued for nearly a thousand more years after the fall of the empire in the west.

Answer: Byzantine Empire

When the Roman emperor, Diocletian, decided that the empire was just too large for one person to rule effectively, he set the stage for the division of Rome into two parts: The western part was "Latin" in language and custom, and the eastern part was more "Greek".

There was to be an emperor in charge of each part that was called an Augustus, and an emperor-in-training that was called a Caesar. The Augusti would reign for twenty years, and then step down in favor of the Caesars. When Constantine became the Augustus of the eastern empire, he built a new eastern capital called Constantinople - and the rest is history!

7. This empire was founded by Osman in the late thirteenth century. Reaching the peak of its power c. 1590, it did continue to exist until 1918, in spite of its later nickname of "The sick man of Europe".

Answer: Ottoman Empire

Although joining the Central Powers, the losing side of WWI, brought several setbacks to the Ottoman Empire, there were also nationalist movements, such as the Arab Revolt and the Young Turks, that caused the dissolution of the empire. The Armistice of Mudros, signed in 1918, ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theater, but Constantinople was occupied, and the Ottoman Empire was partitioned.

In 1922 the sultanate was abolished, and the Republic of Turkey came into existence in 1923. Many of the other territories became protectorates of either Britain or France, and have since gained their independence.

8. The founder of this empire, Otto I, was crowned in 962, and the last emperor, Francis II, abdicated during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806. Located in Central Europe, at its peak of power it included the Kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, much of northern Italy, and most of Burgundy.

Answer: Holy Roman Empire

Actually, the beginnings of the Holy Roman Empire go back to the time of the Frankish king, Charlemagne; the groundwork for the formation of the empire was laid by two of his grandsons, Louis the German and Charles the Bold. In 842 they took the Strasbourg Oath, agreeing to work together against their other brother, Lothair. Louis' kingdom east of the Rhine was ruled by Charlemagne's descendants until 911, when the last one died without an heir.

The year Otto was crowned by the pope (962) marks the historical beginning of the Holy Roman Empire with a continuous history and as a reasonably well delineated territory.

9. This empire was the third largest in world history. It was established in 1721, and finally met its end in 1917. At one time it stretched from Eastern Europe, across parts of Asia, and into North America.

Answer: Russian Empire

Peter the Great changed his title in 1721 from Tsar to Emperor of All Russias however, most of his successors continued to use the title Tsar or Tsarina. Prior to the issuance of the October Manifesto (1905), the Tsar ruled as an absolute monarch subject only had two restrictions: He and his wife had to belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Pauline Laws of succession had to be obeyed.

10. The "sun never set" on this empire, the largest the world has ever known. At the peak of its power, the ruler of this empire ruled 20% of the world's population on 22% of the world land area.

Answer: British Empire

The forerunner of the British empire was established by Queen Elizabeth I in 1583, when she gave Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent for overseas discovery and exploration. Hostilities with Spain interfered with colonization until the Treaty of London was negotiated by King James I in 1604.

The loss of the American colonies was a severe blow. However, during the Napoleonic Wars the British Empire recovered and the period from 1815-1914 is generally known as Britain's "imperial century": after 1815 Britain had no serious international rivals, and was able to control the seas, but was challenged by Germany from the late 1890s onward.

In addition, being the leader of the Industrial Revolution enabled Britain to both control and defend its huge empire.

Source: Author ponycargirl

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Don't Fence Me In! Trivia Quiz

Identify the great empires from the clues given.

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