History Trivia Questions and Answers

Are you interested in history and have a strong affinity with the past? Or do you simply like to know the backstories of certain historical people’s lives and significant events? If so, this trivia is for you!

Assess what you know with this history trivia questions and answers. Answer these interesting history trivia questions of ancient cultures, notable figures, important historical occurrences, and cultural innovations that have influenced the modern world.

Test your IQ with 100+ questions here.

Are you prepared to find out the enigmas of the past? Let’s get started!

1. When did the Western Roman Empire collapse?

732 AD
476 AD
1095
1453

Answer: 476 AD

2. Who served as the USA’s third president?

George Washington
John Kennedy
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln

Answer: Thomas Jefferson

3. What was the year of the US gaining its independence?

1776
1765
1652
1778

Answer: 1776

4. Which of these French women faced the charge of dressing like a man?

Jeanne Baret
Jeanne D’Arc
Lousie Michel
Coco Chanel

Answer: Jeanne D’Arc

5. How old was Alexander the Great when he inherited the throne of Macedon?

Answer: 20

6. Which English queen ruled for the shortest period of time?

Queen Mary
Lady Jane Grey
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Catherine

Answer: Lady Jane Grey

7. Who was Armenia’s greatest ruler?

David I
Tigranes The Great
Tiridates the Great
King Papes

Answer: Tigranes The Great

8. What year was the Soviet Union founded?

1922
1992
1822
1994

Answer: 1922

9. When did Napoleon ascend to the French throne?

1845
1904
1764
1804

Answer: 1804

10. True or False: The Roman Empire had a female ruler.

True
False

Answer: False

11. Which nation was ruled by Alexander the Great?

Egypt
Great Britain
Ancient Macedonia
Greece

Answer: Ancient Macedonia

12. How many nations were part of the Soviet Union?

Answer: 15

13. When was the American Civil War over?

1865
1920
1870
1965

Answer: 1865

14. Which nation occupied Greenland?

The United Kingdom
The Danish Kingdom
United States
France

Answer: The Danish Kingdom

15. Who was the first pope to reside in the city of Vatican?

St Symmachus
St Benedict XVI
St Alexander VI
St Gelasius I

Answer: St Symmachus

16. When Was Venice Originally Built?

1797
450 AD
810
421 AD

Answer: 421 AD

17. Which nations participated in the Battle of Cannae?

The Roman Republic and Carthage
Ottoman dynasty and the Roman Empire
Ottoman dynasty and Russian Empire
None of the above

Answer: The Roman Republic and Carthage

18. In which year did Finland win its freedom from Russia?

1915
1919
1917
1908

Answer: 1917

19. When was France established?

803
405 AD
843 AD
930 AD

Answer: 843 AD

20. Which war was Adolf Hitler involved in?

World War I
The Siege of Orleans
World War II
War of the Third Coalition

Answer: World War II

21. When did Germany become an independent nation?

1871
1971
1922
1866

Answer: 1871

22. Which nation was most governed by the British?

Italy
Greece
Egypt
Iraq

Answer: Iraq

23. What year was the EU established?

1992
1884
1993
1998

Answer: 1993

24. Where was the Battle of the Marathon held?

Spain
Greece
Italy
England

Answer: Greece

25. When and in which nation did Christianity initially acquire acceptance?

313, the Roman Empire
301, Armenia
326, Georgia
225, Russia

Answer: 301, Armenia

26. Who was the author of the Peloponnesian War?

Ambrosiaster
Nemesius
Movses Khorenatsi
Thucydides

Answer: Thucydides

27. When did African nations begin to become independent?

1950s
1920s
1880s
1670s

Answer: 1950s

28. Which nation was not involved in the Entente Powers?

France
Russia
England
Turkey

Answer: Turkey

29. Who prevailed in the Gaugamela Battle?

Alexander
Darius
Porus
Napoleon

Answer: Alexander

30. How long was Julius Caesar in power?

30 years
2 years
20 years
5 years

Answer: 2 years

31. How many nations make up the European Union?

Answer: 27

32. What was the 17th century known as?

Age of the Scientific Revolution
Age of Enlightenment
Age of Discovery
Age of exploration

Answer: Age of the Scientific Revolution

33. Who destroyed Babylon?

Genghis Khan
Cyrus the Great
Napoleon Bonaparte
Augustus

Answer: Cyrus the Great

34. Where did the Great Depression start?

England
United States
Greece
Germany

Answer: United States

35. Who triumphed throughout the 100-year war?

Persia
Spain
England
France

Answer: France

36. Which son took William the Conqueror’s place as king?

Robert
Richard
Henry
Rufus

Answer: Rufus

37. Which century was the Unification of Italy?

17th century
20th century
19th century
18th century

Answer: 19th century

38. True or False: Hundreds of enslaved Africans were aided to liberate themselves by William Still.

True
False

Answer: True

39. What was the origin of Mary, Queen of Scots?

England
Scotland
France
Ireland

Answer: England

40. Who was involved in the Thirty Years’ War?

Roman Catholics
French Protestants
German Catholics
None of the above

Answer: Roman Catholics

41. When did William the Conqueror attack England?

1066
1166
1220
1000

Answer: 1066

42. Who was credited with becoming Rome’s first Emperor?

Marcus Aurelius
Julius Caesar Augustus
Nerva
Antoninus Pius

Answer: Julius Caesar Augustus

43. Which city served as England’s capital prior to London?

Oxford
Tamworth
Colchester
Winchester

Answer: Winchester

44. When did Turkey commit Armenian genocide?

1900
1915
1815
1920

Answer: 1915

45. What caused the Hundred Years’ War?

A disagreement over control of trade routes in the Mediterranean Sea
A dispute regarding the legitimate successor to the French crown
A religious dispute between Catholic and Protestant factions
The discovery of valuable gold mines along the French-English border

Answer: A dispute regarding the legitimate successor to the French crown

46. In England in the 17th century, what major incident occurred?

The Great Fire
Battle of Waterloo
Black Death
Battle of Hastings

Answer: The Great Fire

47. Which war in history took place the longest?

The Napoleonic Wars
The Reconquista
The Cold War
The Hundred Years’ War

Answer: The Reconquista (781 years)

48. What occasion is regarded as the Dutch Golden Age’s start?

The signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713
The Dutch independence declared after the Eighty Years’ War
The conquest of Belgium in the 17th century
The Spanish Armada’s loss in 1588

Answer: The Dutch independence declared after the Eighty Years’ War

49. Which Chinese dynasty is recognized for having constructed the Great Wall’s initial sections?

Tang Dynasty
Han Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
Qin Dynasty

Answer: Qin Dynasty

50. Who ruled England as the first Norman king?

John Lackland
William the Conqueror
Henry I Beauclerc
Richard

Answer: William the Conqueror

51. Which Greek philosopher served as Alexander the Great’s tutor?

Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Pythagoras

Answer: Aristotle

52. Which Trojan prince was killed by Achilles and was considered Troy’s best warrior?

Paris
Hector
Priam
Aeneas

Answer: Hector

53. What river did Julius Caesar cross in 49 BC to start the Civil War?

Rubicon river
Stones river
James river
Potomac river

Answer: Rubicon river

54. What incident is commonly regarded as the outbreak of World War II?

The Pearl Harbor assault
The invasion of Poland by Germany
The Treaty of Versailles’ signing
The Hiroshima bombing

Answer: The invasion of Poland by Germany

55. At the Battle of Hastings, which English monarch lost?

King Alfred the Great
King Edward the Confessor
King Harold II
King Richard the Lionheart

Answer: King Harold II

56. Who was the first Egyptian pharaoh?

Ramses II
Cleopatra VII
Narmer (Menes)
Tutankhamun

Answer: Narmer (Menes)

57. Which sporting event got its start in ancient Greece in 776 BCE?

The Panathenaic Games
The Olympics
The Nemean Games
The Pythian Games

Answer: The Olympics

58. Which Roman general commanded the invasion of Armenia and defeated Tigranes II, the Armenian monarch, at the Battle of Tigranocerta?

Pompey the Great
Julius Caesar
Crassus
Mark Antony

Answer: Pompey the Great

59. What was the American Civil War’s primary cause?

President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated
Conflicts regarding who should rule the Western regions
The abolition of slavery and state sovereignty
The Fort Sumter attack

Answer: The states’ rights and the elimination of slavery

60. What was the main motivation behind building the Grand Canal?

To defend against invaders from the north
To make trade and transportation between China’s north and south easier
To provide farms with irrigation
To hold onto water in times of drought

Answer: To make trade and transportation between China’s north and south easier

Conclusion

Congratulations for finishing the historical trivia test! We hope you had fun learning about interesting subjects related to European history, China, important events in American history and much more. This quiz was created in order to pique your interest and make history interesting, despite whether you learnt something new or confirmed what you already knew.

Remember that there are a lot of untold stories throughout history. Continue your exploration, maintain your curiosity, and prepare for the next historical journey!

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