Announcing Total Quiz XVII

:P

I forgot the Quiz. 

Question 2
Viminalis, Quirinalis, Caelius, ...? ...? ...? ...? (Question by Knights)
Answer: Aventinus (Aventine), Esquilinus (Esquiline), Palatinus (Palatine), Capitolinus (Capitoline). These are the seven hills upon which the ancient city of Rome was built. 

Question 3
This town was buried for over one and a half thousand years by a catastrophic natural event. Its name stems from a famous mythological figure of early settlers in the area, and a more modern city lies on its outskirts, with a name of the same origin. Name the once buried town. (Question by Knights)
Answer: Herculaneum. It was buried by pyroclastic flows from Mount Vesuvius, between 24th and 25th August, 79AD. Modern day Ercolano has prevented a lot of excavation of Herculaneum.

Question 4
He was one of the most famous generals of his country, leading its armies during one of its most dire periods. Due to a misunderstanding, his name was misspelled on an application and from that point on he used this new name. An ironic coincidence was that his countries name had the same initials as his first two. He received a nickname from his army colleagues based off this coincidence. Name that General. (Question by Justinian)
Answer: Ulysses S. Grant: He was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, his name was accidentally entered as Ulysses S. Grant on his application to west point and he used the incorrect version from then on. The nickname his army colleagues called him was Sam; "uncle sam" having the same initials as this "new" name of his.

Question 5
What was the Thai system of grading people's importance and worth called? When did it begin and end? (Question by Paul)
Answer: Sakdina. 15th century to 1932 

Question 6
Hailing from remote origins, these legendary warriors are famed for their courage, tenacity and ruthlessness. Adopted into a foreign army in the early 19th century, they have proved loyal and extraordinarily valuable troops since. A myriad of achievements in both major and minor conflicts over the last 2 centuries or so, have earned these fearsome soldiers their reputation, plus 13 of the highest medals of honour available to them. They are commonly identified with their emotive war cry and their signature weapon. Who are these soldiers? (Question by Knights)
Answer: The Ghurkas. Their famed war cry is "Ayo Ghurkali!" meaning "Here come the Ghurkas!", and their signature weapon is the Khukri.

Question 7
Victory and Failure. A battle took place between the 'civilized' and 'barbarous' - the largest of the century in this part of the world. The leader of the 'civilized' won a great victory over the 'barbarous', inflicting tens of thousands of casualties as well as taking numerous prisoners; his adversary was crippled for a hundred years after this defeat and yet he saw his reign end prematurely right after this most glorious of victories. Several of this leaders' subordinates who fought for him that day would rise to his position, and one would claim the victory against the barbarians that day as his own. What battle was this and who were the subordinates that rose to the same position as the victor of the battle? (Question by Justinian)
Answer: The Battle of Naissus, 268 a.d., between the Romans and Goths. The leader of the civilized was emperor Gallienus, his subordinates that would come to take his position were his immediate successor Claudius II Gothicus and Aurelian

Question 8
Meekness and Majesty. Rising from humble origins, I survived a near death experience in my youth. The repulsion of an ever-strengthening people earned myself great favour and respect, namely from the Emperor. Flattered and upheld as I was, I preferred to maintain a low-profile. Inevitably, hostility reached boiling point and a coup was led against me, but to no avail. Further defeats of the marauding peoples escalated my rank to Grand Commander of the armed forces. My later years consisted primarily of politics, eventually giving way to my death. Who am I, and who launched the military coup against me? (Question by Knights)
Answer: I am Wei Qing. Liu An launched an unsuccessful military coup against me, then committed suicide. His father, Liu Chang, also had a failed military coup, and committed suicide following it.

Question 9
Exiled by one king, I was the last to yield to the invader who succeeded him. According to the most popular version of my story, my mother, one of the greatest ladies of the land, was famous for her disregard of convention. I have been called the last of my race, though this is evidently untrue in modern usage, and my own origin is ethnically mixed. (Question by gcle2003)
Answer: Hereward the Wake

Question 10
This is a tale of four distinguished generals, all from the highest aristocracy of their nation and all related to each other through blood or marriage. All made a bid for supreme power, two succeeded, two failed.
One of those who succeeded paid the ultimate price for his ambitions - his own life at the hands of an equally ambitious blood relative (and one of our other four generals) and his own wife. Despite losing his last "battle" with his wife, he was an excellent general (he even acquired a nickname which described him as the 'death' of one of his state's prominent enemies).
As for the general that murdered him, he was the last of the two who succeeded to the throne; but in order for him to be accepted he had to exile the prior general's wife (who also happened to be the lover of the new ascendant to the throne and co-conspirator in the murdered general's death) to a convent.
Another of our four generals earned a great reputation for physical prowess but was defeated in his two attempts to seize the throne. The first time was by another of these four eminent commanders. The second time was accompanied by an inconveniently-timed stroke. He was defeated by a young sovereign not highly regarded at the time, but who would go on to be widely regarded as one of the greatest leaders in the history of his state, aided by a vicious group of foreign warriors.
The general who first defeated the one who would later have a stroke, also launched two unsuccessful bids for the throne. In the first of which, he was defeated by the aforementioned general. In the second of which the two were allied against the aforementioned young sovereign, however this general was betrayed and imprisoned by his new ally until his imprisoner's death, whom he also shared a first name with.
Who was the general who was conspired against by his wife?
Who was the general who murdered his own blood relative for power?
Who was the general who had an inconveniently timed stroke?
Who was the general who was imprisoned by his own ally and former enemy? (Question by Praetor)
Answer: Who was the general who was conspired against by his wife? Nikephoros II Phokas.
Who was the general who murdered his own blood relative for power? John Tzimiskes.
Who was the general who had an inconveniently timed stroke? Bardas Phocas.
Who was the general who was imprisoned by his own ally and former enemy? Bardas Skleros