History Quiz

20 questions · 13 eras · Answers explained · Updated 15 October 2026

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1. Ancient Egypt

   1. Why was knowing Coptic so useful to Champollion?

   1. Coptic texts explained what every hieroglyph meant
   2. The Rosetta Stone had a fourth text in Coptic
   3. It was the last form of Egyptian, so it showed him the sounds of the language
   4. Coptic priests could still read hieroglyphs in his day
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   C. It was the last form of Egyptian, so it showed him the sounds of the language. Coptic is Egyptian written in Greek letters. Knowing it let Champollion match hieroglyphic signs to the sounds and words of the language they recorded. Read the full story →

2. Ancient Egypt

   2. What was the actual result of the Battle of Kadesh?

   1. A decisive Egyptian victory and the capture of Kadesh
   2. A stalemate: the Hittites kept control of the region
   3. The Hittite king was captured and executed
   4. Egypt lost all its territory in Canaan
   Show the answer

   B. A stalemate: the Hittites kept control of the region. Ramses survived and claimed victory on his temples, but he did not take Kadesh, and Hittite records show the region stayed under their control. Read the full story →

3. Ancient Greece

   3. According to Herodotus, who showed the Persians the mountain path around Thermopylae?

   1. Ephialtes, a local Greek
   2. Pausanias, regent of Sparta
   3. Miltiades, the Athenian general
   4. Callimachus, the Athenian war leader
   Show the answer

   A. Ephialtes, a local Greek. Ephialtes, from the region of Malis, led the Persians over the mountain so they could attack the Greeks from behind. Read the full story →

4. Ancient Greece

   4. What became the basic unit of Athenian citizenship under Cleisthenes?

   1. The family clan
   2. The deme, a village or city district
   3. The army regiment
   4. The temple of the city's goddess
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   B. The deme, a village or city district. Every citizen registered in his deme and was officially named after it. Demes were then grouped into trittyes and ten new tribes. Read the full story →

5. Ancient Rome

   5. Why did the new Republic have two consuls rather than one ruler?

   1. So that one could rule the city and one the countryside
   2. Because the law required one patrician and one plebeian
   3. So that each could block the other and neither held power alone
   4. So that one could lead the army while the other led worship
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   C. So that each could block the other and neither held power alone. Two consuls with equal power, each able to veto the other and serving for a single year, meant no individual could become a king again. Plebeians only won the right to stand for the consulship in 367 BCE. Read the full story →

6. Ancient Rome

   6. Why did Sulla's signet ring enrage Marius?

   1. It bore the royal emblem of Mithridates
   2. It was a gift from the king of the Cimbri
   3. It showed Jugurtha being handed over to Sulla
   4. It showed Sulla wearing a king's diadem
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   C. It showed Jugurtha being handed over to Sulla. The ring claimed credit for ending the war against Jugurtha, which Marius regarded as his own victory. Sulla's son later copied the scene on a coin. Read the full story →

7. Medieval Europe

   7. What did the Paris medical faculty blame for the plague in 1348?

   1. Rats arriving on ships from Genoa
   2. Poisoned wells in Jewish quarters
   3. Fleas carried in bales of imported cloth
   4. A conjunction of three planets in 1345
   Show the answer

   D. A conjunction of three planets in 1345. The physicians blamed a conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars that, they believed, had corrupted the air. Medieval doctors knew nothing of bacteria, and the role of rats and fleas was only discovered in the 1890s. Read the full story →

8. Medieval Europe

   8. Where is the only confirmed Norse site in the Americas?

   1. Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts
   2. Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
   3. Hudson Bay, northern Canada
   4. L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland
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   D. L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Excavations at L'Anse aux Meadows in the 1960s found Norse buildings and objects. In 2021 tree-ring analysis showed that wood there was cut with metal tools in the year 1021. Read the full story →

9. Renaissance

   9. Who summoned Raphael to Rome to decorate the Vatican?

   1. Pope Leo X
   2. Pope Alexander VI
   3. Pope Sixtus IV
   4. Pope Julius II
   Show the answer

   D. Pope Julius II. Pope Julius II summoned Raphael to Rome in 1508 to decorate the papal apartments.

10. Renaissance

    10. Which of these Leonardo works is a portrait?

    1. The Last Supper
    2. Vitruvian Man
    3. The Annunciation
    4. Mona Lisa
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    D. Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa, begun around 1503 and reworked for years afterward, is Leonardo's most famous portrait; the Last Supper is a mural of a group scene and the Vitruvian Man a drawing.

11. Age of Exploration

    11. Who sponsored Columbus's voyage?

    1. King of Portugal
    2. King of England
    3. Queen Isabella of Castile
    4. Doge of Venice
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    C. Queen Isabella of Castile. Queen Isabella of Castile, with Ferdinand of Aragon, sponsored Columbus's voyage to find a western route to Asia.

12. Age of Exploration

    12. Who first sailed around Africa to reach India?

    1. Vasco da Gama
    2. Columbus
    3. Magellan
    4. Cabot
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    A. Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa in 1498.

13. American Revolution

    13. According to Pierce Butler, why did the Convention give the president such broad powers?

    1. Delegates wanted to copy the powers of the British king
    2. Delegates expected Washington to be the first president
    3. Delegates feared a new British invasion from Canada
    4. Delegates needed someone to collect the states' debts
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    B. Delegates expected Washington to be the first president. Butler wrote that the powers would not have been so great had not many members “cast their eyes towards General Washington as President”. The office was shaped around trust in one man. Read the full story →

14. American Revolution

    14. Which law did Parliament pass in 1766, on the same day it repealed the Stamp Act?

    1. The Tea Act
    2. The Townshend Acts
    3. The Declaratory Act
    4. The Coercive Acts
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    C. The Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act asserted that Parliament could make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”. Britain gave up the tax but not the principle, so the quarrel was postponed rather than settled. Read the full story →

15. French Revolution

    15. Which revolutionary slogan later became France's national motto?

    1. Life, Liberty, Property
    2. Freedom, Justice, Peace
    3. Unity, Strength, Honor
    4. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
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    D. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity' was one of the Revolution's slogans; it became France's official motto in 1848.

16. Industrial Revolution

    16. What new social class emerged from the Industrial Revolution?

    1. Proletariat
    2. Nobility
    3. Clergy
    4. Peasantry
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    A. Proletariat. The industrial working class (proletariat) emerged as a new social class.

17. American Civil War

    17. How many volunteers did Lincoln call for after Fort Sumter?

    1. 50,000
    2. 75,000
    3. 100,000
    4. 125,000
    Show the answer

    B. 75,000. After Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion.

18. World War I

    18. How much ground was gained during the five-month Battle of the Somme?

    1. A few yards
    2. A few miles
    3. Ten miles
    4. Twenty miles
    Show the answer

    B. A few miles. After five months of fighting and over a million casualties, the front moved just a few miles.

19. World War II

    19. What was the code name for the D-Day operation?

    1. Operation Overlord
    2. Operation Torch
    3. Operation Market Garden
    4. Operation Husky
    Show the answer

    A. Operation Overlord. Operation Overlord was the code name for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

20. Cold War

    20. What does 'détente' mean?

    1. Containment
    2. Confrontation
    3. Relaxation
    4. Victory
    Show the answer

    C. Relaxation. Détente is French for 'relaxation,' referring to the easing of tensions between superpowers.

About this quiz

Twenty questions across thirteen eras of history, from Ancient Egypt to the Cold War. Tap an answer to see if you are right; each one is explained. It works as a quick history trivia game for adults, on your own or with friends; when you finish, try the themed quizzes below.

The questions come from the lessons in Aurelius: Learn History, where each one follows a short illustrated story. They are written and checked by the Aurelius editorial team.

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