It Wasn't A Pleasant Death Trivia Quiz

Answer: Beheaded

Athalia was the daughter of King Ahab and was born in Samaria. She was married to Jehoram of Judah. After her husband was killed, Athalia had all of her in-laws murdered so that no one could take the throne from her. She reigned as queen of Judah from 841 to 835 BC. Athalia was unaware that one of her grandsons was saved from death.

When Joash was eight years old, he became king and Athaliah was executed.

Answer: Drowned

After the death of her first husband, Artemisia became queen of the Greek city of Halicarnassus during the fifth century. She had a son named Pisindelis who fought alongside of her in battles. During a sea battle, Artemisia had an allied ship sunk. Her people immediately turned against her.

After falling in love with a man named Dardanus, Artemisia realized her love was unrequited. In her anger, Artemisia had his eyes gouged out and she drowned herself.

Answer: Poisoned

Roxane was the daughter of Oxyartes who was ruler of Bactria (today it's part of Afghanistan). In 327 BC, Oxyartes surrendered to Alexander after Alexander and his men arrived in Bactria during the night. Besides Bactria, Oxyartes also offered his daughter, Roxanne.

She and Alexander had a son six years after they were married named Alexander IV. When Alexander IV was twelve, he and Roxane were poisoned in 309 BCE because Alexander IV was a legitimate heir to his father's throne.

Answer: Drowned

Amastris was the daughter of Oxyathres and the queen of Heraclea Pontica (now in Turkey). She was married to her first husband, Craterus, in a mass wedding set up by Alexander the Great. After Alexander the Great died in 323 BC, Craterus gave Amastris permission to marry Dionysius after he abandoned her for another woman. Amastris married one more time as a way to gain more political advantage.

When her sons became of age, they had Amastris drowned to get Heraclea Pontica. Amastris's third husband, Lysimachus, had her sons killed and took Heraclea Pontica.

Answer: Poisoned

Xu was an empress during the Han dynasty. She and her husband Emperor Xuan were truly in love. For politics sake, Xuan was told to take a second wife. Out of love and devotion for Xu, he only had one wife. In 71 BCE, when Xu went into labor with her first child, she was poisoned with wolfsbane. Both she and the child died. Xuan remarried as he was told. Five years later, Xuan's second wife and her family were executed after Emperor Xuan learned the family had poisoned Xu after being rejected by Xuan when he decided not to take a second wife years before.

Answer: Immolation

Anula was queen of Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. Anula married her first husband, King Cornaga, after he became king in 62 BCE. Twelve years later she killed Cornaga after falling in love with Siva, a palace guard. Anula married Siva after she was dethroned and three years later killed the new king and put herself and Siva into rule.

After killing three more paramours, Anula tried ruling on her own. Her rule lasted four months before she was locked inside the palace and burned to death.

Answer: Suicide by snake

In 30 BCE, Cleopatra ruled Egypt at the age of seventeen. When Cleopatra needed Caesar's help, the two began a relationship. When Caesar was murdered, Cleopatra aligned herself with Mark Anthony to protect herself and her son with Caesar. Cleopatra and Mark Anthony had three children together. To keep herself from being captured by Caesar's nephew Octavian, Cleopatra had two asps smuggled in with a basket of figs and she committed suicide by snake bite.

Her son by Caesar was killed by Caesar's nephew, Octavian, so that Octavian could rule.

Answer: Self-immolation

Born in 8 BCE, Empress Wang was the daughter of Wang Mang of the Tang dynasty. When the empress was four she was married off to the three-year-old Emperor Ping. When Empress Wang and her husband were teenagers, Wang Mang realized he couldn't control his son-in-law anymore and had Emperor Ping murdered.

After Emperor Ping's murder, Wang Mang had Empress Wang married to a two year old emperor. When Empress Wang realized she would continue to be used by her father, she locked herself in the palace and let herself burn along with her palace.

Her death occurred in 23 CE.

Answer: Drowned

Empress Dowager Hu became a concubine to Emperor Xuanwu and birthed his first son sometime during the 6th century in China. She became a dowager when Xuan Wu died and she took over as ruler ad litem for their five year old son. Empress Dowager Hu enjoyed the power of rule so much that when her five year old son became of age to rule, Hu had him killed.

After her son's death, people realized the only way to stop Hu was death. When Empress Dowager Hu ran from her enemies in 528, they tracked her down to a convent and drowned her in the Yellow River.

Answer: Strangled

Galswintha married King Chilperic of Neustria (today part of France). Her husband was a womanizer and returned to his womanizing ways shortly after their marriage. King Chilperic's mistress, Fredegund, asked him to kill Galswintha. In 568, King Chilperic ordered a servant to strangle his wife while she was in bed. After Galswintha's death, King Chilperic married his mistress.

Answer: Drawn & Quartered

Brunhilde married her husband, King Sigebert, and became queen of Austrasia (today part of France). She was the sister of Galswintha and wanted war after she learned that Galswintha had been murdered. During the war, King Sigebert was killed. Brunhilde married her nephew-in-law and he helped her get away from Queen Fredegund. Brunhilde was captured by Queen Fredegund's son, Chlotar, after Queen Fredegund died. King Chlotar had Brunhilde drawn and quartered in 613.

Her remains were dumped in a bonfire.

Answer: Died in childbirth

Urraca was queen of Castille and León (now Spain) after the death of her brother in 1109. Even though they were cousins, Urraca married Alfonso I of Aragon. When Alfonso wanted Urraca's land she fought her husband for it and won. Urraca dumped her husband and had several affairs. One of her affairs produced a child.

In 1126, Urraca died at the age of 46 while giving birth to her third child.

Answer: Strangled

Joan I was made heir to the throne at a young age. When she was seven years old, Joan married her six-year-old Hungarian cousin Andrew. When Joan's husband became king of Naples over Joan, citizens of Naples revolted and Andrew was killed. Joan married three more times. She was stripped of her title in 1381 and thrown in prison. In 1382, Joan was strangled while in her prison cell.

Answer: Beheaded

Anne was the first English queen to be publicly executed. When Anne met Henry VIII, she was working in the household of his then wife, Catherine of Aragon. It took seven years for them to become husband and wife. Anne gave Henry a daughter, but no sons.

When she was unable to give him a male heir, Henry accused Anne of treason and incest and had her killed. Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536 by a French swordsman while she knelt in prayer.

Answer: Stabbed

In 1852, Elizabeth married Emperor Franz Joseph when she was fifteen. Besides, four children, Elizabeth's husband also gave her syphilis. Elizabeth was visiting Lake Geneva in 1898 when she was stabbed by an anarchist, Luigi Lucheni. Her corset staunched the bleeding, but when the corset was removed Elizabeth bled to death.