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This Roman Empire trivia quiz has 98 free questions with answers and covers a thousand years of Rome: the legend of Romulus, the Republic and its consuls, Julius Caesar and the crossing of the Rubicon, Augustus and the emperors who followed, the legions, the Colosseum and the gladiators, Pompeii, the aqueducts and roads, and the slow fall of the Western Empire. Seventy questions run from ones any history-class graduate can answer to ones that will test a classics student. Each question is multiple choice with a short explanation after you answer, and every answer has been checked against a reliable reference. Play it solo, or use it as a ready-made ancient history round for a quiz night or classroom.
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Q 01Who was the first Roman Emperor, marking the end of the Roman Republic?
Augustus
Augustus, born Gaius Octavius, became the first Roman Emperor in 27 BC, ushering in the Pax Romana and transforming the Republic into an Empire.
Q 02Which Roman god was the equivalent of the Greek god Poseidon, ruling over the sea and freshwater?
Neptune
Neptune was the Roman god of freshwater and the sea, often depicted with a trident, similar to his Greek counterpart, Poseidon.
Q 03Under which Roman Emperor did the construction of the Colosseum begin?
Vespasian
Vespasian began the Colosseum around AD 72 on the site of a drained artificial lake, returning the land to public use; his son Titus inaugurated it in AD 80 with 100 days of games.
Q 04Which ancient Roman road was famously known as the 'Regina Viarum' or 'Queen of Roads'?
Via Appia
The Via Appia, or Appian Way, was one of the earliest and most strategically important Roman roads, connecting Rome to Brindisi and earning its nickname for its significance.
Q 05Whose calendar reform put a 365-day year with leap days in force from 45 BC?
Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar enacted the reform in 46 BC with advice from the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria; the 365-day year with a leap day every four years took effect on 1 January 45 BC.
Q 06What was the estimated seating capacity of the Roman Colosseum for public spectacles?
50,000-80,000
Modern estimates put the Colosseum's capacity at 50,000-80,000 spectators, admitted through some 80 numbered entrance arches; the typical crowd is reckoned at around 65,000.
Q 07Which Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility is equated with the Greek Aphrodite?
Venus
Venus was the Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, and fertility, and was considered the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas.
Q 08Which city, originally Byzantium, became the Roman Empire's new capital in AD 330?
Constantinople
Constantine the Great refounded the ancient city of Byzantium as 'New Rome' or Constantinople in 330 AD, making it the new capital of the Roman Empire.
Q 09In the Roman numeral system, which letter represents the number 1000?
M
M is the largest of the seven standard numeral letters. To go higher the Romans used the apostrophus system, writing 1,000 as CIↃ and adding brackets for each power of ten.
Q 10What primary material was extensively used in the construction of the Colosseum's main structure?
Travertine
Travertine forms the outer walls and piers, with volcanic tuff and brick-faced concrete inside; the pale stone weathered to its present honey colour over nineteen centuries.
Q 11According to Roman legend, which twin brothers were the mythical founders of the city of Rome?
Romulus and Remus
The legendary founders of Rome are the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, who were said to have been raised by a she-wolf.
Q 12Which silver coin, introduced around 211 BC, was the standard unit of a legionary's pay?
Denarius
The denarius, a silver coin introduced around 211 BC during the Second Punic War, was the standard unit of Roman pay; a legionary under Augustus earned 225 denarii a year.
Q 13What was the name of the earliest codified Roman law, inscribed on bronze tablets?
The Twelve Tables
Q 21Which Roman naturalist died at Stabiae in AD 79 while trying to rescue eruption victims?
Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder set out from Misenum, where he lived with his sister and nephew; the nephew, Pliny the Younger, wrote the eyewitness account Tacitus later asked him for.
Q 22What was the predominant language spoken in the western part of the Roman Empire?
Latin
Latin was the original language of the Romans and remained the language of imperial administration, legislation, and the military throughout the classical period in the West.
Q 23Which Roman goddess, wife of Jupiter, was queen of the gods?
Juno
Juno, Jupiter's wife and sister, was queen of the Roman gods and the counterpart of the Greek Hera; the month of June is traditionally said to take its name from her.
The Twelve Tables were drawn up around 450 BC by two boards of ten men, the decemviri; the originals probably perished in the Gallic sack of Rome and survive only in later quotations.
Q 14What did Romans call the eagle standard that carried a legion's honor?
Aquila
The aquila, a silver or gold eagle carried by the aquilifer, became the legion's sole standard in 104 BC when, in Pliny's account, Marius retired the wolf, minotaur, horse and boar standards.
Q 15What was the main job of the Roman aqueducts?
To supply cities with fresh water
Public fountains had first claim on the flow, then the baths, and only then fee-paying private households; a free supply could be granted to the very wealthy as a state honour.
Q 16Which powerful North African city-state was Rome's primary opponent in the three Punic Wars?
Carthage
Carthage, a major Phoenician city-state located in modern-day Tunisia, was the formidable rival of Rome during the Punic Wars.
Q 17Which Roman emperor wrote the Stoic notebook 'Meditations' to himself?
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, emperor from AD 161 to 180, wrote the Meditations in Greek as private notes; its original title, Ta eis heauton, means 'things to oneself'.
Q 18Which river flows through the city of Rome?
Tiber
Rome was founded on its eastern bank. It rises on Mount Fumaiolo in the Apennines and runs 406 km to the sea at Ostia, making it Italy's third-longest river.
Q 19What annually elected Republican office, held by two men, carried supreme civil and military power?
Consul
Consuls, two elected each year, held supreme civil and military authority; the pairing ensured neither could rule like the expelled kings, and Romans dated years by the consuls' names.
Q 20In which naval battle of 31 BC did Octavian's fleet under Agrippa crush Antony and Cleopatra?
Actium
Actium, fought on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea off western Greece, left Octavian master of the Roman world; four years later the Senate gave him the name Augustus.
Q 24Which Roman emperor declared Nicene Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire?
Theodosius I
Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica in 380 AD, making Nicene Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
Q 25What was the primary initial purpose of the extensive Roman road network?
Moving troops rapidly
Road-building was a military duty under a consul, and the verb for it, viam munire, was the same one used for fortifying. At its peak 29 great military highways radiated from the capital.
Q 26Which gladiator of ancient Rome fought like a fisherman, with a weighted net and trident?
Retiarius
The retiarius ('net-man') fought with a weighted net, trident and dagger, protected only by an arm guard and shoulder piece; he was usually paired against the heavily armoured secutor.
Q 27Which Roman historian wrote the Annals and the Germania?
Tacitus
Tacitus, the senator-historian, wrote the Germania in AD 98 and later the Histories and the Annals, which cover the emperors from Tiberius to Nero; he was the son-in-law of the general Agricola.
Q 28What was the draped woollen garment worn by male Roman citizens on formal occasions?
Toga
The toga, a heavy semicircle of wool draped over a tunic, was the formal dress of male Roman citizens; boys put on the plain toga virilis in their mid-teens, and election candidates whitened theirs with chalk.
Q 29What is the Colosseum's formal name, after the dynasty of the three emperors who built it?
Flavian Amphitheatre
The Flavian Amphitheatre (Amphitheatrum Flavium) takes its name from the Flavian dynasty of Vespasian, Titus and Domitian; 'Colosseum' comes from a colossal bronze statue that once stood beside it.
Q 30Which Roman goddess was associated with Hecate in her crossroads and underworld aspects?
Diana
Horace called her diva triformis, the three-form goddess: Diana on earth, Luna in the sky and Hecate below. Her sacred lake at Nemi was Virgil's 'lake of Trivia', the goddess of the three ways.