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Byzantine History

Can you name these facts about the history of the Byzantine Empire?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: January 6, 2015
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First submittedJanuary 5, 2015
Times taken24,922
Average score60.0%
Rating4.70
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Answer
The Byzantine empire was an offshoot of this empire
Roman Empire
Capital city of the Byzantine Empire
Constantinople
Name of that city before 330 AD
Byzantium
Official state religion (after 380 AD)
Christianity
Primary language of the Byzantine Empire
Greek
Hunnish invader who the Byzantines battled and paid tribute to
Atilla
Ancient trade route between China and the Byzantine Empire
Silk Road
"Great" emperor who reconquered Italy and reformed the legal code
Justinian
Powerful wife of the above, a former actress and prostitute
Theodora
30,000 died in the Nika riots, sparked by dueling fans of this sport
Chariot Races
World's largest cathedral for over 900 years
Hagia Sophia
Free wheat distribution ceased after the Arabs conquered this province
Egypt
This napalm-like substance, a state secret, helped win naval battles
Greek Fire
At times, these religious devotional images were banned
Icons
Name for the split of the Catholic and Orthodox church in 1054
Great Schism
Eastern Orthodox version of the Pope
Ecumenical Patriarch
The Latin Empire was established after this "Holy War", in 1204
Fourth Crusade
Italian city-state who seized many territories from the Byzantines in that conflict
Venice
Empire that finally conquered the Byzantines in 1453
Ottoman Turks
In the English language, the word "Byzantine" refers to something that is overly ...
Complex
62 Comments
+8
Level ∞
Jan 5, 2015
Sorry if this quiz is a little obscure for the front page. I have found the Byzantine Empire to be fascinating ever since I read Belisarius by Robert Graves.
+2
Level 70
Aug 2, 2015
I enjoyed it very much...& if you like the Byzantine Empire & like historical fantasy, you might like Guy Gavriel Kay's The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium & Lord of Emperors).
+1
Level 80
Nov 11, 2015
Agree with anyone who enjoys the writing of Guy Gavriel Kay. The Sarantine Mosaic books are my favourite of all of them.
+26
Level 81
Aug 2, 2015
There should be more quizzes like this on the front page. Why underestimate the people who come to this site? Challenging and obscure quizzes can be fun, too. They don't all have to be mindless and easy. And besides, not everyone's area of knowledge is the same; for example, this quiz, for me, was way easier than trying to name top footballers or baseball record holders. There are four quizzes posted every day. There is plenty of room for this and other quizzes like it.
+2
Level 76
Aug 2, 2015
Absolutely correct. Challenge us, Quizmaster!
+1
Level 35
Aug 2, 2015
Agreed! This time period is my best subject.
+3
Level 24
Aug 3, 2015
16/20, way better than I would have gotten on a sports quiz. Bring on the history trivia, Quizmaster!
+3
Level 73
Dec 15, 2015
Not at all. Enjoyed it very much Quizmaster!
+5
Level 78
Mar 2, 2016
Please, put more quizzes like this in the front page. More tests about useful real knowledge and less trivia about ephemeral pop idols.
+1
Level 78
Mar 2, 2016
BTW, it seems unfair that Justinian and Theodora get the credit, but Belisarius is omitted.
+4
Level ∞
Mar 3, 2016
I put this quiz up because it's an interesting topic to me. And it seems like people like the quiz, which is good. Unfortunately, it has only been taken 3,772 times so far. We'd go out of business pretty quick if that was average for our featured quizzes.
+2
Level 81
Nov 15, 2022
It doesn't have to beat the average to be front-page worthy. Many successful content providers understand this. Take HBO, for example. They have their marquis shows like Game of Thrones that attract millions of eyeballs globally. But then they also produce more niche, odd, or cerebral programming to appeal to different segments of the population and get them to download the HBO+ app, too. Those people who enjoy the niche programming might not be as numerous as the more regular viewers, but they still add up and still count, some of them contribute to the totals for GoT, some don't, but they wouldn't be there at all if the mainstream shows were all that was being offered, and the more mainstream audiences would likely leave, too, if the available content wasn't as diverse and offered them different things to watch when they weren't binging the most popular stuff.
+1
Level 81
Nov 15, 2022
...some mindless but popular quizzes might get a lot of takes but if every quiz was similar that wouldn't mean that all quizzes on the site or that the site itself would be more popular... it would probably actually mean the opposite... the quizzes get too repetitive and boring and eventually they *all* start getting fewer page visits when people lose interest in returning to the site.
+4
Level 89
Aug 3, 2018
History is always good.
+6
Level 80
Apr 9, 2019
This quiz was far less obscure than all the quizzes about American football or basketball.
+1
Level 25
Jul 23, 2021
Nah, it was fine. Although I still didn't know that long version of the patriarch answer.
+1
Level 78
Nov 19, 2022
This quiz was quite complex, labyrinthine even. You could say it was convoluted, knotty, tangled, tortuous, and… some other word I can’t quite put my finger on.
+1
Level 45
Apr 8, 2024
"Chariot race" should be accepted as an answer.
+2
Level 76
Jan 5, 2015
Overly complicated? elaborate?
+1
Level 76
Jan 6, 2015
Wouldn't elaborating just overly complicate things?
+1
Level 56
Mar 17, 2015
*rolls eyes*
+2
Level ∞
Jan 6, 2015
Complicated was supposed to work. It will now.
+2
Level 55
Aug 4, 2015
ornate
+1
Level 67
Nov 15, 2022
Arghhh I tried Ornate and it still didn't work :/
+1
Level 34
Jun 26, 2015
Excellent quiz 15/20
+3
Level 56
Aug 2, 2015
"Can you name these facts about the history of the Byzantine Empire? Probably not, haha." Is that click bait? Half the answers are what everyone should know. I got 18/20. I can't complain about the quiz itself though, adequate questions and all that.
+1
Level 51
Aug 2, 2015
got 9. didnt think to put christianity for the religion, kept trying greek orthodox, roman orthodox, roman catholic (i have no idea if these are accurate though).
+1
Level 86
Aug 2, 2015
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches didn't exist at that time. Around 390, it's logical to just say "christianity", though you could talk of Nicenes and Arians.
+1
Level 81
Aug 2, 2015
Easy!! Only missed "icon."
+1
Level 65
Aug 2, 2015
"Statues" or "Images" for icons?
+1
Level 79
Jul 11, 2018
More to the point, why doesn't the quiz accept 'ikon'?
+4
Level 63
Oct 7, 2020
Because this is an English language quiz, not greek
+1
Level 68
Aug 2, 2015
Nice quiz! I got 18. The Byzantine Empire is fascinating to me.
+5
Level 74
Aug 2, 2015
Good quiz, although I'm smacking my forehead after just typing "crusade" and not even thinking about needing to specify which one.
+6
Level 60
Aug 3, 2015
I literally typed First, Second and Third Crusade and gave up thinking I was on the wrong track.
+2
Level 55
Aug 4, 2015
Exactly what I did too. I was most annoyed to find that word "Fourth" in the answer.
+1
Level 78
Aug 2, 2015
Very good quiz :) 18/20
+2
Level 17
Aug 5, 2015
Pretty sad I forgot Justinian but remembered that his wife Theodora was a prostitute
+5
Level 70
Dec 10, 2016
It's Attila not Atilla.
+1
Level 83
Jan 29, 2017
Attila works though.
+4
Level 72
Sep 4, 2018
It does, but the typo should be removed anyway.
+2
Level 66
Nov 18, 2017
To me they will always be the Eastern Roman Empire!
+1
Level 36
Apr 1, 2021
well, not just to you, that's what they were. I take issue with calling them an offshoot of the Roman Empire. They WERE the Roman Empire.
+1
Level 52
Oct 6, 2019
Haghia Sophia is a standard spelling. Also, the Latin name Sancta Sophia was often used to refer to the building in Western Europe, so you might want to consider using those as answers.
+1
Level 49
Jan 5, 2020
Got a ton of them on guesses. Got 17 but 5 i think were just luck. wow
+2
Level 73
Aug 4, 2020
As others have said, the correct spelling is Attila.
+1
Level 57
Dec 1, 2020
"Eastern Orthodox version of the Pope" - that's fighting talk! Patriarch is an older title than Pope (at least in the way it's used today).

Excellent quiz, thank you. I happened to watch a documentary about the emperor Justinian the other day, but still couldn't remember his wife's name. Duh.

+1
Level 82
Apr 9, 2021
As others have said, this is an interesting and challenging quiz. More please. I have a keen interest in history and in theology, and managed to bluff my way to 16/20.
+2
Level 79
May 27, 2021
Aargghh... I tried 'First Crusade', 'Second Crusade' and 'Third Crusade' and then gave up!!!!
+1
Level 31
Jun 7, 2021
I'm Greek and I got 17/20. I feel ashamed.
+1
Level 56
Nov 11, 2021
Couldn't remember Theodora's name - and she's scrounged so many resources off me in Civ V!
+1
Level 60
Mar 22, 2022
Oh come on. The Patriarch is not the pope. He's the head bishop!
+1
Level 60
Sep 15, 2022
No he's not. He's a very naughty boy.
+2
Level 78
Nov 14, 2022
Is "chariots" a thing that is different than chariot racing? I really hate having to type out chariot racing!
+2
Level 90
Nov 14, 2022
I was thinking the same thing. I thought chariot would be enough but apparently it's not.
+1
Level 67
Nov 14, 2022
easy quiz for a greek at least
+2
Level 85
Nov 14, 2022
I got an undeserved point for Greek for the language when entering Greek Fire for the weapon. Might want to remove one of those questions.
+2
Level 57
Nov 14, 2022
I missed BYZANTIUM on a quiz about the Byzantine Empire... duh! Haha
+1
Level 68
Nov 15, 2022
This quiz is rather byzantine
+1
Level 62
Nov 15, 2022
Try reading the Belisarius novels by David Drake - really good fun and surprisingly educational!
+1
Level 37
Nov 18, 2022
Great quiz! I would have received 19/20 if you accepted " schizm" as a spelling. I see a lot worse misspellings. I have spelled it that way since I heard my teacher refer to it in fourth grade- she had a horri le accent so it sounded like a "z" lol! I also had to explain to a French girl in class, that " lepid" which is how this illiterate pronounced leopard, was in fact leopard. The French girl was shocked but notad much as I was. Esa señora estaba loca!!!
+1
Level 56
Jun 7, 2024
For question 6, isn't it Hunnic, not Hunnish?