The Best of the Worst Trivia Quiz

Answer: Attila the Hun

It is thought that Attila became leader of the Huns in 434 A.D. after he murdered his brother, Bleda. By that time the Hunnic Empire stretched from the Ural River into the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire, wealthy and affluent, negotiated a treaty with the Huns and paid them to stay away.

The poor, dying, western empire was not so lucky. Even though Attila expanded the empire into other areas, the lure of the supposed riches of Rome called him. Stories vary regarding his death; was it a nosebleed? internal bleeding caused by too much drinking? stabbing by one of his wives? or the fact that Pope Leo I sprinkled him with holy water? Whatever the cause, the Huns ceased to be a problem in the Roman empire after that, but Attila gained the nickname "Scourge of God" because of the pillaging, plundering, destruction, and devastation of whatever was in his path.

Answer: Caligula

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Caligula, spent much of his childhood hanging out in the military camp of his father, the general Germanicus. The "Little Boot" was part of the miniature soldier's uniform he would wear. He succeeded his great-uncle, Tiberius, and became the third Julio-Claudian emperor.

Although the first months of his reign seemed promising to the Roman people, Caligula after recovering from a serious illness, went on a killing rampage which included the deaths of his cousin/adopted son, grandmother, father-in-law, brother-in-law, and according to accounts, anyone else who annoyed him.

While reports of his cruelty may be exaggerated. (Did he really have a section of spectators thrown into the arena during intermission because they had run out of criminals?) His mental illness is further documented by his atrocious invasion of Britain, alleged plans to make his favorite horse a consul, and claim of divinity, replacing status in Roman temples with ones in his image - there was even a plan to do that in the temple in Jerusalem! His Praetorian Guard could tolerate no more. Caligula is said to have been killed in much the same way Caesar was.

Answer: King John

Perhaps better known as "Lackland", John was the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Acquitaine. Henry II died knowing that his favorite son, John, had sided in war against him with his brother, Richard, and Phillip Augustus of France. Richard became king upon his father's death, and almost immediately embarked for the Third Crusade, leaving his brother, already with a reputation for being a poor ruler, in charge.

While Richard was captured on the way home, imprisoned and held for ransom, John tried to seize the crown. John earned the nickname "Softsword" shortly after becoming king.

Many people in Brittany believed him to be responsible for the death of his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, and rebelled. After losing the war in Brittany, John was forced to increase taxes.

Not only that, but due to his quarrel with the pope over who would be the Archbishop of Canterbury, England was placed under the threat of interdiction. He was forced to sign the Magna Carta by a group of rebel nobles, who went to war when he tried to renege on the agreement. Was he really so wicked, greedy, and evil? A thirteenth century historian, Matthew Paris, commented that "Hell was too good for a horrible person like him".

Answer: Hitler

"Adolf" means "noble wolf" in Old High German. In the 1920's this nickname was used, but only it among close friends. The Wagner family (grandson of Richard Wagner and an opera director) called him "Uncle Wolf" and remained close friends until the end of the war. Many of his headquarters also were named with a "wolf" connection: Wolfsschanze was located in East Prussia, Wolfsschlucht in France, and Werwolf in Ukraine.

P.S. No need to list his bad deeds; everyone knows!

Answer: King Herod

Herod is probably best known for his role in the Christmas story. The wise men told him they were on their way to visit the new baby who would become king of the Jews. Unable to discover who they were visiting, Herod ordered the killing of all the boy babies two and under in the area around Bethlehem. Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt, where the holy family lived until Herod died.

The killing did not stop there. Herod also ordered the deaths of his father-in-law, several of his ten wives and two of his sons, as well as many other people.

He so feared for his life that he built the great fortress Masada as a place of refuge in the middle of the desert "just in case" of retaliation for his cruelty. Why was he great? He was good at politicking with the Romans, and he did provide for many buildings throughout Judea.

Answer: Ivan IV

Ivan IV, also called "the Terrible", became tsar of Russia when he was sixteen years old. During the early years of his reign, positive contributions were made to the country. After suffering a serious illness, and losing his beloved wife (whom he believed to have been poisoned by nobles), he established Russia's first police force, the "Oprichnina", whose job it was to seek out and punish anyone who displeased him. Actually, his original nickname was "grozny", which rather means to inspire terror (therefore, formidable)rather than being cruel. Nevertheless, he did kill his own son in a violent fit of rage; although it seems that he felt remorse after such incidents, it did not keep them from occurring.

Answer: Idi Amin Dada

Called "the Butcher of Uganda", it is estimated that Idi Amin was responsible for the deaths of 100,000-500,000 people. It is said that his many victims included political opponents, members of minority ethnic groups, intellectuals, criminals, and just anyone he wanted out of his way.

As he was dying, one of his wives asked the current president of Uganda to allow him to come back home to die, but she was told, he would have to "answer for his sins the moment he was brought back".

Answer: Maximilien Robespierre

As a young lawyer, Robespierre wanted to protect people's rights. He became involved in revolutionary activities when he volunteered to protect the Third Estate during the meeting of the Estates General in March of 1789. At the time, he was a true disciple of the ideas of the Enlightenment, and that is when he was given the famous nickname. By 1792, however, with many opposing factions operating in France, and war with Austria inevitable, his method of operation changed.

The Reign of Terror lasted for approximately fifteen months. During that time anyone opposed to revolutionary ideas was killed, including King Louis XVI, and Queen Marie Antoinette, many without a trial or any idea of what they had done wrong.

As it turned out, Robespierre eventually fell from power and was sentenced to death without a trial; his decapitation effectively ended the Terror.

Answer: Josef Stalin

It is difficult to know how many deaths were ordered by Stalin, but many recent estimates are somewhere around twenty million. In the 1930s Stalin engineered the Great Purge of party members who were too popular or seen as a threat to his power. Modern scholars believe that it might have taken 1% of the population of the Soviet Union at the time. From 1941-1949, Stalin ordered the deporation of more than three million Russians to Siberia or Central Asian republics, with almost half of them dying of disease or malnutrition.

Many of the different ethnic groups attracted his distrust, and in some cases entire nationalities were deported, with many dying on the way to their destination. The world may never know exact numbers.

Answer: Vlad the Impaler

Also known as "Vlad Tepes" and "Dracula" it is estimated that Vlad the Impaler was responsible for the deaths of anywhere from 20,000 to 300,000 people. It is very difficult to authenticate stories that tell of his misdeeds, however, while it appears that his favorite method of killing his victims was impaling, he also employed techniques such as boiling, decapitating, and quartering. Was Vlad really a patriot, defending his homeland from the Ottoman Turks? You decide.

P.S. Kazikli Bey means "The Impaler Lord".