Tales of the Border Wall Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sumer

The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia created one of the Cradles of Civilization, however, as they became weak, something had to be done in an attempt to keep out invaders. In the 21st century BC, two rulers, Shulgi and Shu-Sin, had a wall built that is believed to have been approximately 150 miles long. Constructed in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, some historians believe that this might have been the first border wall that wasn't built around a city. The wall, however, presented certain challenges. First of all, it was so long that it was very difficult to man. In addition, because there was no other obstacle on either end of the wall, all an invading army had to do was walk around it - which apparently they did!

The name "Sumer" is said to have come from the Akkadian language meaning "land of the civilized kings". Today the land that was once known as ancient Mesopotamia is located in the country of Iraq.

Answer: Persia

Also called the Red Snake due to the color of its brick, the Great Wall of Gorgon was 121 miles long, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Elburz Mountains. Although Alexander the Great was first given credit for building the wall, today it is believed that it was built in the 400s AD by the Sassanian Persians to protect their empire from invading people from the north, probably a group of Huns. Along the wall there were 30 forts that could support 30,000 men, as well as a canal system that could provide both water and protection. The Red Snake is considered to be the second longest border wall that has ever been built.

The Islamic Republic of Iran that exists today was previously known as Persia for centuries, dating back to the establishment of the empire by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC. In 1935 the Shah of Iran asked foreign diplomats to use the name Iran.

Answer: Britannia

Historians continue to debate the real purpose of Hadrian's Wall, which took about six years to construct beginning in 122 AD. While it is true that there had been rebellion in Britannia, there is some doubt that an invasion by the Picts or other barbaric tribes was a viable threat. The construction of the wall, along with its inevitable maintenance and garrisoning of soldiers would have cost more than it was worth. The wall was approximately 73 miles long; every five Roman miles there was a fort. Is it more likely that Hadrian's Wall was built to control immigration and trade and facilitate tax collection? It is known that the boundary of Roman occupation did extend to north of the border wall. Or was it perhaps an opportunity for Hadrian to showcase the power of mighty Rome? His biographer wrote that he was the first to build such a wall, but no concrete reason was given for its construction.

The earliest name for the island of Great Britain was "Albion", from "albus" meaning "white", and was probably a reference to the White Cliffs of Dover. The Latin "Britannia" is derived from "land of the Britons", which is what the Romans called the area as early as the first century BC.

Answer: Zhongguo

Built over a period of 2000 years, the Great Wall of China is not one continuous wall, although modern scientists have found that the wall and its branches extend over 13,171 miles in all. Originally walls were built to protect the various states and empires of China as early as the 7th century BC. Over time these walls were joined together and eventually became known as the Great Wall. The part of the wall that was built during the Qin Dynasty (221 BC to 207 BC) is said to be the most famous part, although most of the wall that exists today was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Originally built for defensive purposes, the wall later served to control trade and immigration into China.

As for an explanation of the name used for China in the question/answer, China has historically been known by the name of the dynasty that was in power. Before the Qin unification of China, the area was called "Zhongguo", meaning "Central States". This name designated the peoples who lived near the Yellow River, which is where ancient Chinese civilization is believed to have begun. In later periods of Chinese history, the term "Zhongguo" was used in different ways according to the direction given by the emperor.

Answer: Asia Minor

One of the reasons that the city of Byzantium, later called Constantinople by the Romans, was chosen as a site for settlement was that it had a fantastic location. Surrounded on three sides by water, it was only necessary to build one wall - at first. Originally constructed during the reign of Emperor Constantine, the Constantinian Walls were built on all sides of the city, protecting it from the land and sea. The Theodosian Wall, a double row of fortification, was built in the 5th century AD during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II, and is credited with protecting the city from attacks made by many groups, including the Arabs and Bulgars. Rebuilt after floods and earthquakes, the wall was finally breached by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

The great historian Herodotus was the first to be credited with the use of the term "Asia". It was a name for the region of the eastern shore of the Aegean Sea, which was also called Anatolia. The Romans had a province on Anatolia called Asia; when people began to call the entire continent Asia, the Anatolian peninsula was called Asia Minor.

Answer: France

Although it was a modern defensive line, the Maginot Line, constructed on the border between France and Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, and Switzerland after WWI, has to make the list of border walls - even though it was totally ineffective. After experiencing the use of trench warfare during WWI, the French Minister of War, André Maginot, poured an estimated 3.3 billion francs into the projects, which was to stretch from the border of the French Alps to the English Channel. The most heavily fortified area of the Line was on its 300 mile border with Germany. In some places the fortification was more than 16 miles deep and supported underground barracks, mess halls, and even hospitals. In 1940 Hitler attacked France by going through Belgium, and the part of the Maginot Line along the Belgium border fell after four days of heavy bombardment.

The Romans called the region that is roughly the country of modern France Gaul (Gallia), and the name continued to be used even after the early Frankish kings, such as Clovis I, Pepin the Short, and Charlemagne ruled. Over time the name Francia, or Kingdom of the Franks, was also used.

Answer: Scythia

The Serpent's Wall is an earthen fortification that stretched over 600 miles across the Ukraine. Carbon dating has determined that the wall was built sometime between the 2nd century BC and 7th century AD; there is no information regarding who built it or why, although theories abound. The area did attract many different people and invaders. Currently it is believed that the Sarmatians could have built it, protecting themselves from an invasion of the Scythians. Other people have suggested that the Goths could have built it to ward off an invasion of the Hunts or the wandering Early East Slavs wanted to protect themselves from other nomads who lived on the steppe.

Interestingly, the name Ukraine means "border"; that name, however, was not used for the area until the 12th century. Considering the wide span of dates in which the wall might have been built, the area might have had any number of names from Scythia (750-250 BC) or Oium (250-375 AD).

Answer: Dalmatia

Once known as the "European Wall of China", the Walls of Ston were a series of defensive walls built around the city of Ston, which was part of the Republic of Ragusa in the 14th century. The walls, eventually over four miles long, protected a very important item of trade for the Republic - the salt pans, which have continued to be an important source of income for the area, now part of Croatia, today. Completed in the 15th century, the wall was dismantled for other building projects after the region fell under the control of the Austrian Empire.

The name Dalmatia, taken from one of the tribes who lived in the region, has been in existence since ancient times. A long list of people, including the Romans, Croats, and the Republic of Venice, have had control of the area, however, it continued to be called Dalmatia until the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after WWI. Today it is one of the historic regions of Croatia.

Answer: Vietnam

Considered to be the longest monument in Southeast Asia, the Long Wall of Quang Ngai runs for 79.2 miles in modern-day Vietnam. Some records show that its construction was begun in 1819 by the Nguyen Dynasty, although there is confusion as to exactly how old the wall is, as others claim it took five hundred years to build. It has been theorized that the wall was built by both the soldiers of the Nguyễn Dynasty and the people they wanted to keep out! Neither side wanted the other nearby. Built along a trade route, the wall was probably used as a meeting place for vendors with goods to sell.

Invaded and colonized by many different peoples over the centuries, Vietnam has had almost as many different names. It is believed that the country of Vietnam received its name during the time of the Nguyen Dynasty. The name probably came from "Nam Việt", a combination meaning "Southern Viet". The Viet people are the largest ethnic group in Vietnam today, making up about 86% of the country's population.

Answer: Africa

Built by the Romans to secure their borders in northern Africa, the Fossatum or "Ditch" was a border defense called a "limes" (cf. 'limit' in English) that served to mark the boundaries of the Roman Empire; it was located southwest of ancient Carthage. While it is very difficult to see traces of the Fossatum Africae ("Ditch of Africa") due to the shifting sands of the Sahara Desert, the ancients claimed that it measured approximately 466 miles in length. Some historians believe that construction started about 122 AD, when the Emperor Hadrian visited the area; it is well known that Hadrian had fortifications built to defend the borders of his empire. Its existence was mentioned in the Codex Theodosianus, written by Theodosius II and his co-emperor, Honorius, in 409 to remind the Roman citizens in the area that if they failed to maintain the fortification, that the job would be given to other tribes.

The Romans used the word "Africa" to describe the area inhabited by the Carthaginians and later North Africa as a whole. Some believe the term came from the Phoenician word, "afar", which means "dust" or perhaps the Latin word "aprica", which means "sunny". Another theory is that the name came from a tribe called the Afri, or Ifira, with whom the Romans came into contact.