The World at One Trivia Quiz

Answer: Augustus

Augustus was in fact the first Roman emperor, and remained so during much of the time of Christ. He reigned from 27 B.C. until 14 A.D. as Augustus Caesar (his name was changed to Augustus or 'venerable' from Octavian upon his ascendance to the throne).

Answer: Western Han

The Western (or Former) Han Dynasty ruled China from 206 BC until 9 AD, when the 'usurper' Wang Mang, an imperial minister, overthrew the Han emperor and established the Xin Dynasty. The Xin Dynasty ruled from 9 AD until 23 AD, when the Eastern (or Later) Han Dynasty was established.

Answer: Parthian Empire

The Parthians were the great rivals of the Romans after Carthage. They ruled the areas of modern Iran and Iraq, and at various times other parts of the Middle East, from 247 B.C. to 224 A.D. The Parthians had many great battles with Rome and neither side was ever able to destroy the other. The Parthians finally were conquered by the Sassanians, led by King Ardishir.

Answer: Xiongnu

The Xiongnu are better known to people in the West as the Huns. Protection from invasions of northern China by the Xiongnu was the driving force behind the building of the Great Wall of China. The southern and later northern Xiongnu provided Han China with a rival for hundreds of years.

When China finally gained the upper hand during the Later Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu moved west and said hello to eastern Europe!

Answer: Zapotec

Monte Alban was the central city of the Zapotec culture from 500 B.C. until 750 A.D., and its ruins can still be seen today. The Olmec and Mayan civilizations existed also at this time just to the east of the Zapotecs. To the north laid the great city of Teotihuacan, not to be confused with the later Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

Answer: Moche

The Moche society began developing around 100 B.C. and had already firmly established itself in a position of dominance along the northwestern Andean coast of South America by the year 1 AD. The Moche were excellent metal workers, especially with the precious metal varieties, and were skilled with pottery work as well.

They also built great pyramidal burial mounds, such as the Huaca del Sol, and palaces, exemplified by the Huaca de la Luna.

Answer: Austronesian

The Austronesian people of southeast Asia (Indonesians for example) had developed extraordinary boat-making and sailing skills by the year 1 AD, something that had allowed them to populate much of island Southeast Asia. Though the trip west to Madagascar was long and dangerous, somehow these folks managed to make it and become the first human settlers of Madagascar, an island associated with Africa in the modern world!

Answer: Hopewell

The Hopewell culture, also called Adena, was an ancient Amerindian culture that probably began developing in the 6th century B.C. Most of the remains of this culture are in the form of circular burial mounds in which individual remains can be found. The name 'Hopewell' is derived from a farmer that lived near one of the earliest discovered Hopewell sites.

Answer: Germania

The Romans had long since conquered Numidia (modern Algeria), previously a subject state of Carthage, and Lusitania (modern Portugal) had also been put under Roman control in years past, while Britannia (aka Great Britain) had yet to succomb to Roman rule.

The Romans made a bid to occupy what they termed 'Germania' (parts of modern Holland and Germany) beginning in 12 B.C., and had the area occupied until a terrible defeat at the battle of Teutoburger Wald in 9 A.D. forced a Roman pullback to the Rhine.

The Rhine (and the Danube) would remain the border between the Roman empire and the Germanic tribal lands for the remainder of Roman imperial history.

Answer: Gupta

The Saka Kingdom ruled much of northern India and modern Pakistan by the year 1 AD. They had previously occupied areas north of this, but were pushed south by the Yue Qi (Chinese name for the Kushans) of central Asia, a people who had previously been pushed south and west by the Xiongnu (see question 4).

The Yue Qi would eventually also migrate south and help displace the Sakas once again. Meanwhile, the kingdom of Kalinga ruled much of eastern India while the kingdom of Satavahanihara was in control of much of the south in the year 1 AD.

These kingdoms would eventually give way to the Guptas, who began their rule around 350 A.D. under Samudragupta, and the Vakataka kingdom, which would displace the Satavahanihara by around 300 A.D. Phew! Hope you enjoyed the quiz...and stay tuned!