Total Quiz XI, Part 1

TQ in Brief: TQ is a history trivia contest. Anyone is free to participate and the contest is open to all forum members and guests.

How to Play: Go to the questions page, enter your name and submit answers to the questions. You are allowed an unlimited number of submissions and you may use any source, reference or search engine to help you with your answering. Points are awarded for correct answers. The participant with the most points win. The scoreboard will be updated regularly. Only use the answer sheet to submit answers, DO NOT post answers on the forum.



Q1. First I had a military career. Then by applying some of the skills learn there, I became the �Father� of the modern version of this pursuit.. I had many names including Augustus. I was definitely influenced by a fellow into evaluation, into details. I died at the turn of the century and it took 30 years for my countrymen to catch up with my standards. Who am I? (by Dawn)

Answer: General Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt Rivers
Extra Info: Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers (14th April, 1827� 4 May 1900) was an English army officer, ethnologist, and archaeologist. He was noted for his innovations in archaeological methods, and in the museum display of archaeological and ethnological collections. (Wikipedia)
Those who answered the Question completely: Decabal

Q2. His burial place states the three cities: where he was born, where he died, and where his body lies. He spent the last years of his lifetime working on a poem commissioned by a certain ruler. He was unable to complete the poem at his death, and thus wished it to be destroyed. But this work was already so magnificent that the emperor saved it from destruction, and survived to become one of the most famous poems. Name the great poet who wrote works on "Pasturelands, countrysides, and leaders." (by Imperator Invictus)

Answer: Vergil (Publius Vergilius Maro, or the Medieval spelling: "Virgil"). His great work was the Aeneid, comissioned by Augustus. Following his death, the poem was "finished" by his colleagues. His tomb reads "Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc Parthenope: cecini pascua, rura, duces." (Mantua gave birth to me, Calabria took it, Parthenope/Naples now holds me: I sang of pasturelands, countrysides, and leaders). The last part of the Latin is usually translated less literally as "Pastures, fields, and heroes," but I did not want to make the question a keyword search in Google.
Those who answered the question Completely: Achilles, Paul, Serge_L, Dawn, Decabal, Hugoestr, Aeolus, Itihaas

Q3. If we are to believe his accounts, then they would stand among the greatest journeys. Curiosity drove him into Mongol lands, where he met a Khan whose empire would fracture after his reign. After returning, he would later enter Mongol lands again and even took part in royal matters. Other area he visited included Byzantium, Samarkand in Central Asia, the Far East, the sea routes of the Indian Ocean, and a city orignally a camp for Kel Tamasheq nomads. Name this traveler. (by Imperator Invictus)

Answer: Ibn Battuta. (Marco Polo would fit all the description, EXCEPT the last location mentioned in the question - Timbuktu).
(This of course, was desgined to be something of a trick question. Marco would be too simple of an answer for a question that's this long!)
Answered By: Paul, Decabal, Dawn, Yan, Achilles

Q4. A manuscript illustrated by Sicilian monks, which now rests in Spain, tells the story of a particular emperor who distrusted his son, who might have been illegitimate. During a hunting trip, the emperor discovered that his son hid a knife in his boot. Threatened, he had his son jailed. However, his son's supporters pleaded and brought in a parrot during a banquet, which in sad tone uttered the name of the emperor's son. Finally, the emperor forgave his son and named him his successor. Name this emperor, who was also known for a written work that has the same name as a type of building. (by Imperator Invictus)

Answer: Basil I "the Macedonian." The mauscript was written by Scylitzes. Basil was known for the "Basilica," the most important compilation of Byzantine laws since Justinian.
Answered by: Paul

Q5. He was once one of the most powerful men of his time. However, he was put on trial before a court, presided over by his successor, and pleaded guilty to all charges. As punishment he was stripped of all his titles and after his death his body was thrown into the river. Who was he and was unusual about his trial? (by Komnenos)

Answer: Pope Formosus ( 891-896) . He was already dead when put on trial. His decomposed corpse was dug out and brought into the courtroom.
Answered By: Paul, Decabal, Dawn, Serge_L

Q6. He was born the son of a humble craftsman in Holland. His profession took him all over Europe and in the country, in which he died, a title was bestowed on him, that wouldn�t be given to another foreigner for many a year. He is not well known under his birth name. and even more famous is an old school friend of his. Who is he and what�s his friend�s name? (by Komnenos)

Answer: Pope Adrian VI (Adrianus Florentius) and Erasmus of Rotterdam. He was the only Dutch pope and the last non-Italian till the current one.
Answered By: Yan, Dawn

Q7. Who invented the Turtle Ship? (by Gubuk Janggoon)

Answer: Yi Sunshin
Extra Info: The Turtle Ship, which is also known as Kobukson or Geobukseon, is a galley that was invented in the 15th century. The Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin and Lt. Na Dae Yong is credited for inventing the turtle ship, which gained fame by successfully repelling the Japanese invading armada, against extreme odds, in the Seven-Year War (1592-98). (Wikipedia)
Answered by: Rider, Decabal, Achilles, Dawn, Paul, Serge_L, Itihaas, Hugoestr, Yan, Aeolus

Q8. 'Chinese' who lead an army into the Sahara. (by Paul)

Answer: Charles "Chinese" Gordon (1833-85) was an British general in the nineteenth century. During the Taiping rebellion in China, which had destroyed six hundred cities, Gordon took command of the "Ever Victorious Army" formed by the merchants of Shanghai and saved the city from the Taiping advance in 1864. He worked in Egypt opening up vast portions of the Nile and, in 1877, was appointed governor of the Sudan. For several years he fought against slavery, eventually returning to England. In 1884 the Mahdi, a self proclaimed Islamic prophet calling himself the "expected one," leading a popular revolution defeated the Egyptian Army. Gordon was sent to Khartoum to evacuate the small British garrison but instead chose to defend the city. Month after month surrounded by the Mahdi's numberless hordes, the city finally fell and he was slain.
Answered by: Dawn, Decabal, Itihaas, Aeolus

Q9. What ethnic group founded the Jin (Gold) dynasty of China (by Gubuk Janggoon)

Answer: The Jurchen
Answered by: Dawn, Yan, Decabal, Paul, Achilles, Hugoestr, Aeolus, Serge L, Itihaas


Q10. Who and when carried first bombing raid on Berlin in WW2. (by Mosquito)

Answer: In june 1940 French Navy sent single bomber (Farman 223.4 named Jules Verne) which flow from Bordeaux, over english channel toward Baltic Sea from which it flow sought and approached Berlin from the north. From Berlin french bomber flow over Germany to Paris where landed safelly on Orly Airfield.
Note: I also accepted the answer of "Poland wed sept 16.1939," which predates the answer given by the question writer.
Answered by: Yan, Dawn, Hugoestr, Decabal

Q12. What do the following people have in common : Edward the Black Prince of Wales; Henry Plantagenet, then Earl of Derby; Thomas Beaucamp, Earl of Warwick; Sir John de Grailly, Vicomte de Benanges et Castillon; Ralph. 1st Earl of Stafford; Roger (Mortimer), 3rd Earl of March? (by Dawn )

Answer: They are all founding members of the order of the Garter
Answered by: Paul, Decabal, Aeolus

Q13 This "War" was fought in the 19th century and its global influence lasts until this day. On one side was a great innovator who aggressively promoted his ideas in his country, resulting in the death of several animals and a particularly "awful" execution. Despite his prestige at the time, he ultimately lost to another brilliant innovator born on the borderland of Austria-Hungary (by Imperator Invictus)

Answer: War of Currents. It was a marketing conflict between Thomas Edison and Tesla about whether electricity should be in Direct Current or in Alernating current.
Answered by: Paul, Serge_L, Yan, Decabal, Hugoestr,



Q11. This was the great capital of a great European empire. The city was named after the beloved wife of its ruler. What is the name of this city? (by cavalry4ever)

Answer: Medina Azahara or Medina Al-Zahara, capital of the Western Caliphate. The city of Cordoba was the previous capital.
Note: I also accepted Nicaea for this question, since it was named for the wife of Lysimachus, and it was a relocation of a "European Empire." The Empire of Nicaea itself had possessions in Europe, so I think it's enough for a stretch, at least not far from the Caliphate of Cordoba being considered European.
Answered By: Dawn, Aeolus

Q12. As a Prince, he struggled to hold his inherited homelands. As an outcast, he rallied his men and returned to power in foreign lands. As a poet, he composed his autobiography to remind future generations of his hardships and victories. As a man, he was one of the greatest of his time. Who was he? (by Imperator Invictus)

Answer: Zahir-ud-din Mohammad Babur "Tiger" (or "Beaver"), founder of the Mughul Dynasty. Having lost his homelands, he went south and defeated the Delhi Sultanate, eventually consolidating his rule as the Mughul Empire. The Baburnama is his autobiography which tells the story of his life and comapaigns.

Edited by Imperator Invictus