FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!

Quiz about Historical Fact or Mere Fiction

Historical Fact or Mere Fiction? Quiz

This quiz follows the usual Multiple Choice procedure. In this case, three options are strictly fictitious. Find the remaining one that's historical fact. Most items are from general and European history.

A multiple-choice quiz by flem-ish. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
flem-ish

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
37,146

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
4 / 10

Plays
2707

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What was remarkable about the Turkish Janissaries? Hint

They were recruited from the children produced from the Sultan's harem

They were recruited from Christian children

They were recruited from Mongolian tribes

They had to be circumcised like the Jewish men

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. What was the name of the poison that killed Socrates? Hint

Hemlock

The juice of belladonna

Arsenic

The juice of nightshade

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. What was the meaning of the word Khan in Mongolian names such as Ghengis Khan and Kublai Khan? Hint

The ruler

The terrible

The magnificent

The father of the people

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. How come Beethoven's name is actually written VAN, and not VON Beethoven? Hint

His family was Dutch in origin

His family was Flemish in origin

It was the local dialectical form

It was just an old aristocratic name

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. In what situation did Marco Polo's 'travel book' come into being? Hint

The Doge of Venice ordered him to make a report

He dictated his story to a fellow prisoner

Having fallen in disgrace, with the Khan, it's how he spent his time in prison

He kept a diary

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. What did Otto the First of Germany do to or for Pope John XII, one year after the Pope had crowned him as Holy Emperor? Hint

He asked for the money back that he had used to bribe him

He gave him the piece of land that's now the Vatican

Deposed him

He sent him a regiment of Swiss soldiers that are now the papal Swiss guard

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. What did Pope Urban II promise to the participants of the First Crusade ? Hint

Their beatification

A guaranteed ticket to Heaven if they got killed

A piece of land from the Papal territories

A large sum of money

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. What's the original meaning of the name Hebrew? Hint

The God-chosen people

The circumcised

The people that are crossing over from the other side

The bearded ones

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. What was an exchequer? Hint

A knight with a chequered blason

A tax-collector

A chequered piece of cloth to make calculations

A person who controls what leaves a storehouse

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. What was the official profession of the French clairvoyant Nostradamus? Hint

Tax collector

Doctor

Professor

Priest

(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

Select a User ID:

Choose a Password:

Your Email:

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was remarkable about the Turkish Janissaries?

Answer: They were recruited from Christian children

The Janissaries were members of an elite corps in the standing army of the Ottoman Empire from late 14th century to 1826. They were originally chosen from among the children of the Christians. They were re-educated in Muslim style. Celibacy was obligatory. When they became too powerful, they were finally eliminated.

2. What was the name of the poison that killed Socrates?

Answer: Hemlock

Socrates lived from 470 B.C. till 399 B.C. He was an Athenian and also took part in warfare to defend his city. After his condemnation for 'impiety' and 'corruption of youth', he still had to wait for a month till the sentence could be carried out. The guards at his cell offeree to help him escape. He turned them down and accepted his fate.

3. What was the meaning of the word Khan in Mongolian names such as Ghengis Khan and Kublai Khan?

Answer: The ruler

Another famous Khan is Aga Khan IV. He was born on December 13, 1939, in Geneva, Switzerland. His real personal name is Karim Al Hussein Shah. Aga just as Khan is a title. The Turks have a related word: Han, for prince.

4. How come Beethoven's name is actually written VAN, and not VON Beethoven?

Answer: His family was Flemish in origin

He was born in Bonn December 17, 1770. His family was Flemish in origin and can be traced back to Malines where there must have been a hamlet called Beethoven. It was Beethoven's grandfather who first settled in the Rhineland area.

5. In what situation did Marco Polo's 'travel book' come into being?

Answer: He dictated his story to a fellow prisoner

'The Travels of Marco Polo' was originally published as 'Il Milione'. He had dictated his report to a fellow prisoner in a Genoa prison. His prison mate was named Rusticello. He was a professional storyteller, who probably added on to and embellished the basic facts given to him by Polo.

6. What did Otto the First of Germany do to or for Pope John XII, one year after the Pope had crowned him as Holy Emperor?

Answer: Deposed him

John XII was born in Rome 937, and died there May 964. After having become Pope, he was asked to sign the so-called Ottonian Privilege which obliged the Pope to take an oath of obedience to the Emperor. Otto soon called together a Council at St. Peter's Rome, and had John XII replaced by Leo the VIII. There then followed a very chaotic and confusing period of Pope and Anti-Pope chaos.

7. What did Pope Urban II promise to the participants of the First Crusade ?

Answer: A guaranteed ticket to Heaven if they got killed

At the Council of Clermont, 1095, Urban II pleaded with the French Knights to rescue the Holy Land from the Turks. Their slogan was, 'God wills it'. The Council was formed in response to a request for aid from the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus.

8. What's the original meaning of the name Hebrew?

Answer: The people that are crossing over from the other side

Most etymological explanations accept that the name Hebrew was the name given by the local populations who saw the Hebrews pass by. In a way, the name fit right from the start, 'those looking for new lands'. They were originally nomads from across the Euphrates and Jordan Rivers.

9. What was an exchequer?

Answer: A chequered piece of cloth to make calculations

The word is related to Latin 'scaccarium', meaning chessboard.

10. What was the official profession of the French clairvoyant Nostradamus?

Answer: Doctor

Michel de Nostredame or Nostradamus was born on 14 Dec. 1503 at Saint Remy, France and died on July 2, 1566. After publishing his 'prophecies' in a book called 'Centuries', he was invited to the court of Catherine de Medicis, queen Consort of Henry II.

Source: Author flem-ish

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Beatka before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.