General knowledge · 12 questions

Ancient Rome

An empire of surprises, from public office to bath time. Twelve questions, with a few convincing wrong turns along the way.

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Question 1 of 12

How many ordinary consuls normally served together in the Roman Republic?

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1. How many ordinary consuls normally served together in the Roman Republic?
- A. One
- B. Two (answer)
- C. Four
- D. Ten
Two consuls shared the office, and each could veto the other's decisions.
2. What was the normal term of a Republican Roman consul?
- A. Six months
- B. Five years
- C. One year (answer)
- D. Life
The ordinary consulship was annual rather than a lifetime appointment.
3. In its traditional Republican form, a Roman dictator was principally what?
- A. Hereditary monarch
- B. Provincial tax collector
- C. Elected religious leader
- D. Temporary emergency magistrate (answer)
The ancient office was an exceptional magistracy, not inherently the permanent regime implied by the modern word.
4. The Twelve Tables of the fifth century BCE were principally what?
- A. Written laws (answer)
- B. Military formations
- C. Religious festivals
- D. Provincial boundaries
They were a written collection of laws produced following plebeian demands.
5. What were Roman comitia?
- A. Military supply depots
- B. Provincial governors
- C. Assemblies of the people (answer)
- D. Priestly colleges
Comitia were formal popular assemblies, distinct from the Senate.
6. Who is conventionally regarded as Rome's first emperor?
- A. Julius Caesar
- B. Mark Antony
- C. Pompey
- D. Augustus (answer)
Augustus's reign is conventionally dated from 27 BCE. Julius Caesar was not the first emperor.
7. At Actium in 31 BCE, Octavian defeated whose forces?
- A. Mark Antony's (answer)
- B. Hannibal's
- C. Spartacus's
- D. Mithridates VI's
Actium was the decisive naval confrontation between Octavian and Antony, whose forces were allied with Cleopatra.
8. Which emperor greatly extended Roman citizenship in 212 CE?
- A. Claudius
- B. Caracalla (answer)
- C. Hadrian
- D. Trajan
Caracalla extended citizenship to virtually all free inhabitants of the empire, not enslaved people.
9. The traditional beginning of the Republic in 509 BCE marks which change?
- A. Conquest of Carthage
- B. Founding of Constantinople
- C. Division of the empire
- D. Replacement of kings by elected magistrates (answer)
509 BCE is the traditional date of the monarchy's overthrow, not the foundation of the city.
10. What did a hypocaust chiefly provide?
- A. Underfloor heating (answer)
- B. Fresh drinking water
- C. Night-time lighting
- D. Waste-water filtration
Hot gases circulated beneath raised floors to heat rooms, especially bath-houses.
11. What was a strigil used for during bathing?
- A. Heating bathwater
- B. Scraping oil and dirt from skin (answer)
- C. Testing water depth
- D. Perfuming clothes
The curved scraper removed oil and dirt rather than supplying a modern soap-and-shower routine.
12. Which troops occupied Chesters fort for almost all its Roman existence?
- A. Praetorian guards
- B. Naval marines
- C. Auxiliary cavalry (answer)
- D. Legionary artillery crews
Inscriptions identify Chesters as predominantly a cavalry fort, not a legionary fortress.

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