Famous Romans Trivia Quiz

Answer: Romulus

Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. According to records by Plutarch and Livy, Romulus acted as the first king of Rome. A quarrel between the pair over who would rule the city and give it his name saw Remus being killed with a shovel by Romulus.

Answer: 5 years

Julius Caesar was one of the greatest military strategists in history, rivalling Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Apart from being a brilliant military mind, he was also an influential political leader, even though his reign only lasted five years.

Answer: Yes

His lover, Cleopatra, locked herself away in a temple with her treasures when it was clear that Antony was losing the battle with Octavian. Having heard rumours that Cleopatra was dead, Antony, lovesick, killed himself by falling onto his sword. With Antony dead, and Cleopatra alive, she knew the Romans would swiftly take control of Egypt and either enslave her or kill her. Thus, Cleopatra famously got a venomous snake to bite her, so she would not be captured by the Romans.

Answer: Nero

Like many Roman emperors, Nero was not born Nero. He was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus in AD 37. Despite having a philosophic and modest childhood, Nero grew to become a cruel person, who murdered two of his three wives, as well as having his mother killed.

Answer: Brutus

Brutus (full name Marcus Junius Brutus) was the most infamous assassin of Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Many conspirators were in on the plot, but it was some of Caesar's supposed last words that have made Brutus famous, "Et tu, Brute?".

Answer: Incitatus

There are many stories that depict Caligula as insane, none more well-known than the story that he tried to make his horse, Incitatus, a Senator. Incitatus was apparently attended to by eighteen servants, and was fed oats mixed with flakes of gold.

Answer: Trajan

Many records from the era depict Trajan as an influential man. In his writings, Pliny the Younger described Trajan as a moral and just emperor, and Dio Cassius maintained that he was a dignified and fair ruler.

Answer: Pliny the Younger

Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption of Vesuvius is perhaps the most reliable, as he witnessed it from the town of Misenum, while his uncle, Pliny the Elder, sailed towards the pyroclastic flow. Pliny the Younger wrote to Tacitus, a Roman historian, describing the black cloud that descended upon Pompeii.

Answer: Seven

Marius is perhaps best known for his remodelling of the Roman armies. He was also elected to the consul seven times in his lifetime, which was unprecedented.

Answer: Byzantium

Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was the first Christian emperor of Rome. He moved the capital of the Roman empire to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople, in honour of himself.