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History Hard

History Quiz — Hard 40

Only serious history buffs need apply! 40 hard history questions covering empires, wars and turning points across the centuries. Can you pass?

10 Questions
35s Per Question
320+ Plays
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1. Which battle in 480 BC saw 300 Spartans defend against the Persian army?

  • A. Battle of Marathon
  • B. Battle of Salamis
  • C. Battle of Plataea
  • D. Battle of Thermopylae ✓

💡 At Thermopylae King Leonidas I led 300 Spartans against the Persian army of Xerxes I estimated at 100000+ men.

2. What was the famous code of laws created by the Babylonian king around 1754 BC?

  • A. Code of Ur-Nammu
  • B. Twelve Tables
  • C. Mosaic Law
  • D. Code of Hammurabi ✓

💡 The Code of Hammurabi contains 282 laws with scaled punishments and introduced the concept of an eye for an eye.

3. Who was the first Mughal Emperor of India?

  • A. Akbar
  • B. Humayun
  • C. Shah Jahan
  • D. Babur ✓

💡 Babur founded the Mughal Empire after defeating Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526.

4. Which Mongol ruler sacked Baghdad in 1258 ending the Islamic Golden Age?

  • A. Genghis Khan
  • B. Timur
  • C. Batu Khan
  • D. Hulagu Khan ✓

💡 Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad in 1258 killing the Abbasid Caliph and destroying the House of Wisdom library.

5. Which Byzantine Emperor codified Roman law into the Corpus Juris Civilis?

  • A. Constantine I
  • B. Theodosius II
  • C. Heraclius
  • D. Justinian I ✓

💡 Emperor Justinian I commissioned the Corpus Juris Civilis between 529 and 534 AD becoming the foundation of European law.

6. Which ancient civilization invented cuneiform — the world's first writing system?

  • A. Egyptian
  • B. Indus Valley
  • C. Chinese
  • D. Sumerian ✓

💡 The Sumerians invented cuneiform around 3400-3200 BC making it the world's oldest known writing system.

7. In which year did the Ottoman Empire capture Constantinople?

  • A. 1389
  • B. 1402
  • C. 1444
  • D. 1453 ✓

💡 On May 29 1453 Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople after a 53 day siege ending the Byzantine Empire.

8. What was the name of the first permanent English settlement in North America?

  • A. Plymouth Colony
  • B. Roanoke Colony
  • C. Massachusetts Bay Colony
  • D. Jamestown ✓

💡 Jamestown Virginia was established on May 14 1607 as the first permanent English settlement in North America.

9. Which secret organization assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand triggering World War I?

  • A. The Okhrana
  • B. Young Bosnia
  • C. Pan-Slavic League
  • D. The Black Hand ✓

💡 The Black Hand was a secret Serbian military society that trained and armed the assassins including Gavrilo Princip.

10. Who was the Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps with elephants to attack Rome?

  • A. Hamilcar Barca
  • B. Hasdrubal
  • C. Mago Barca
  • D. Hannibal Barca ✓

💡 Hannibal crossed the Alps with 40000 soldiers and 37 war elephants in 218 BC winning devastating victories against Rome.

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