| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| To the west of this ancient city is the Third Dynasty complex at Djoser [[JOH-sehr]], while this city's namesake decrees were depicted in the trilingual Rosetta Stone. The Great Colossus of Ramesses II and the Temple of Ptah [[puh-TAH]] are both found within this city along the Nile. The unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt named Menes established his capital at, for the point, what Old Kingdom city which shares its name with a Tennessee city? | Memphis |
| Synesius [[sih-NEE-see-uhs]] of this city was a major 4th century writer who became the bishop of the nearby city of Ptolemais [[toh-lah-MAH-is]]. Battus I is the traditional founder of this city, which was incorporated into Ptolemaic Egypt in 250 BCE. The Jews of this city's region revolted in the Kitos War, and this city's namesake region was joined to Crete in a Roman province. For the point, what is this city in modern Libya whose resident Simon helped Jesus carry the cross? | Cyrene (accept Simon of Cyrene) |
| The Anji Bridge was constructed under this dynasty, during which the Confucian scholar Wang Tong lived. One leader of this dynasty partly ruled during the Kaihuang [[KYE- HWANG]] era, occurring after his construction of a palace away from Chang’an. The ease of making shipments to military outposts was one goal of Emperor Wen in working on the Grand Canal project during this dynasty. For the point, name this Chinese dynasty that preceded the Tang. | Sui [[SWEH]] Dynasty (be lenient on pronunciation; accept Suí Cháo) |
| Karanos and Ceisus were among the children of a king of this city-state named Temenus. The Battle of Pheidon [[FEH-dohn]] was a victory for this city-state, whose hoplites defeated the Spartans at the Battle of Hysiae [[hee-SEE-ay]]. This city-state lent its name to a Macedonian dynasty whose members included Philip II and Alexander the Great. Also lending their name to the Greeks who, in the Iliad were the attackers of Troy, for the point, what is the city-state that lent its name to the Argives? | Argos |
| This kingdom's scribes created the oldest discovered printed material in the world, a copy of the Buddhist sutra "Pagoda That Casts No Shadows." A legendary prince of this non- Japanese kingdom named Amenohiboko [[ah-meh-noh-hee-BOH-koh]] travelled to Yamato- era Japan to become an early emperor. The general Kim Yu-sin served this kingdom in its attempt to push its boundary to the Han River. The kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje [[BAHK- JEH]], and, for the point, what other state comprise the "Three Kingdom" period of Korea? | Kingdom of Silla |
| This period likely gave rise to clans known as oikos, which later evolved into city- states. This period is delineated by the simplification of burial rituals at sites like the Tholos tombs of Thessaly. The settlement of Lefkandi, known for elaborate golden jewelry amongst its bodies in its heroon, has been cited to refute that this period led to widespread economic destitution. The fall of the Mycenaean [[my-seh-NAY-ehn]] civilization and the Doric invasion characterize, for the point, what period of societal collapse in Greece? | Greek Dark Ages (prompt on "Bronze Age Collapse") |
| This battle, which was fought against an enemy sometimes known as the Lukka, was preceded by the Battle of Djahy [[JAH-hee]], with both battles being depicted on the Mortuary Temple of one pharoah. This battle during the wider Bronze Age collapse likely led the Peleset people, who are possibly analogous to the Philistines, to settle the southern Levant in the 1100s BCE. The marauding Sea Peoples were expelled by Ramses III following, for the point, what battle at the northern reaches of the Nile River? | Battle of the Delta |
| A commander in this battle was thought to have chained his ships together in order to counter his troops' seasickness. After faking a surrender, one commander sent a squadron of fire ships toward enemy vessels at this possibly largest naval battle in history. One man was who was forced to flee along the Huarong Road after this battle earlier faced off against Dong Zhuo [[ZHOH]] and was the mastermind behind Emperor Xian’s [[ZHEE-AHNS]] government. Sun Quan [[CHOO-ehn]] and Liu Bei [[LOO BEH]] won, for the point, what 208 CE battle, a defeat for Cao Cao [[TSAO TSAO]] during the Three Kingdoms Period? | Battle of Red Cliffs (accept Battle of Chibi) |
| These conflicts, which were intentionally fought between two armies of equal manpower, began with the burning of a "pyre of paper and incense" at its start. The creator of the Triple Alliance, Tlacaelel [[tlah-kah-EHL-el]], first encouraged the the establishment of this institution, which led to Moctezuma I conducting a war against Tlaxcala [[tlaks-KAH-lah]] and other Nahua [[NAH-hwah]] city-states. For the point, name these less lethal, ritual wars fought by the Aztec in an effort to collect sacrifices. | Flower Wars (or Flowery Wars; accept Xochiyaoyotl) |
| Diplomats of this kingdom met with senators of the Late Roman Republic at Philae to delineate their borders at the city of Aswan. This kingdom enhanced the Temple of Amun following their conquest of what is today Jebel Barkal by their king, Piye. Pharaoh Psamtik [[SAHM-tik]] II's protracted campaign against this kingdom led King Aspelta to move his people south between the fifth and sixth cataract. Meroë [[meh-ROH-eh]] and Napata served as capitals of, for the point, which ancient Nubian Kingdom? | Kingdom of Kush |
| A partially broken steatite found in this city became known as its namesake "Priest- King," and it was found in a hypocaust likely used to power a sauna used by this ancient city. This city contained a relief of a figure of what is potentially a "proto-Shiva" in the Pashupati Seal, and its planning incorporated a "Great Water Tank" used to supply this city on the Indus. The Dancing Girl statue was found in, for the point, which Harappan city-state along the Indus River? | Mohenjo-Daro |
| In 1995, this site became the focus of a unique court case in which the Greek government attempted to pressure the government of this location's country into stopping an archaeological expedition. This place, whose name originally meant "Field of Trees", was the site of a 'fountain of the sun' according to Herodotus. One conqueror supposedly followed birds across the desert to reach this site, which contained a renowned Oracle of Amun. Alexander the Great was given confirmation of his divinity in, for the point, what isolated Egyptian oasis? | Siwa (or Isiwan; accept sht jmw; accept Oasis of Amun Ra before "Amun"; prompt on "Oracle of Amun") |
| This city was briefly renamed "City of God" after a particularly devastating earthquake, which, however, did not prevent the deportation of this city's population to a "better" version in Mesopotamia. The Patriarch John of this city arrived too late to participate in the council of Ephesus. John Chrysostom, a native of this city, was educated by this city's most famous son, Libanius [[lee-BAY-nee-ehs]]. For the point, what is this city in modern-day Turkey, a former Christian bastion that sits on the Orontes? | Antioch on the Orontes |
| The legendary temptress Jezebel was a royal from this city, whose father Ithobaal I [[ee-THOH-bahl the First]] sent her to marry Ahab. A king of this city named Hiram sent the cedars used to build the Solomonic Temple of Jerusalem. Alexander the Great built an artificial causeway to capture the Mediterranean portion of this port city, being defended by Persian client-king Azemilcus [[ah-zeh-"MEAL"-kehs]]. The legendary royal Dido [[DAI-doh]] hailed from, for the point, what Phoenician city-state and rival of Sidon? | Tyre [["sour"]] |
| This general used a style of heavy cavalry known as cataphracts to break the Germanic army of Gelimer at the battle of Ad Decimum. Later this general participated in a long campaign against the Goths in Italy, during which they offered to recognize him as their emperor. Obeying an order from Theodora, this general replaced the sitting pope with one friendlier to Constantinople. According to legend, Emperor Justinian had this general blinded and left a beggar. For the point, name this general who briefly reconquered parts of the Western Roman Empire. | Flavius Belisarius |
| In one story, this king was allegedly inspired to change one military strategy after hearing a mother scold a child for eating from the middle of a cake. At the end of his life, this practitioner of Jainism engaged in Sallekhana, whereby he fasted to death. The greedy conqueror is contrasted with the moral conqueror in a work written by an advisor to this man, the father of Bindusara, who also married a daughter of Seleucus Nicator [[seh-LOO-kus nee-KAY-tohr]]. The grandfather of Ashoka was, for the point, what king of the Maurya? | Chandragupta Maurya (accept Candagutta Moriya; accept Candragupta Maurya) |
| While traveling in Lydia, this politician supposedly said "Count no man happy until he be dead" to King Croesus [[KREE-sus]]. This man advocated for the implementation of the "Seisachtheia" [[seh-sak-THEH-ah]], which aimed to curb excessive punishment like debt slavery. This man, whose relative Peisistratus united Attica while serving as tyrant, undid the harsh law code of the nobleman Draco. For the point, name this lawgiver whose reforms set up Cleisthenes to establish Athenian democracy a generation later. | Solon the Lawgiver |
| Holders of this office are listed in the Fasti Capitolini. Those who held this office at the start of the year were called "ordinary" while others were "suffect", and later holders of this office were given a diptych that depicted themselves. This office likely replaced the Praetor as the head magistrate, which was not meant to be held by one person in consecutive years. Usually given out to two people, this is, for the point, what office, which gave someone the power to command Roman armies, the chief magistrate of the Roman Republic? | Roman Consul (prompt on "Head Magistrate" or "Magistrate" before mentioned) |
| This city's constitution provided for a thirty-member legislature known as the Gerousia [[geh-ROO-see-ah]]. That constitution, developed by Lycurgus, was known as the Great Rhetra and provided for five ephors to check the power of this state's Heraclid Dynasty. The Agiad and Eurypontid [[yoo-ree-POHN-tihd]] lines shared this city-state's double kingship, with heirs such as Leonidas exempted from the grueling agoge [[ah-GOH-geh]] militaristic education regimen. For the point, name this not-so-democratic rival of Athens. | Sparta (accept Lacedaemon) |
| This ethnic group describes its classical kingdoms as the Moovendhar, and it is traditionally believed that its main royal families are descended from the fire, sun, and moon respectively. This people, who developed Sangam literature, escaped Mauryan conquest in part due to migrating to northern Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola ended this ethnicity's era of three kingdoms. For the point, name this Dravidian ethnic group whose Chera and Pandya dynasties inhabited what is now their namesake "Nadu" state. | Tamils (accept Tamilar; accept Tamil Nadu) |
| This society created the sculpture Chimera of Arezzo, which depicts the title beast fighting the hero Bellerophon [[beh-leh-ROH-fawn]]. While dictator, Camillus led a plebiscite [[pleh-"BEE"-"site"]] army that used siege tunnels against these people’s city of Veii [[VAY]]. A league of these people allied with the southern city of Capua to oppose Roman influence. For the point, name these people of North and Central Italy that lend their name to the region of Tuscany. | Etruscan People (or Etrusci; or Tusci; accept Rasenna; or Rasna; accept Tyrrhenians; or Tyrrhenoi) |
| A series of states known as the "Neo" form of this empire were ruled by Country- Lords, and prominent examples of those cities include Melid and Carchemish. A text produced by the scribes of this empire, the Tawagalawa letter, has been interpreted by Homeric historians as revealing the war between the Achaeans [[ah-KAY-ehns]] and Troy, known as Wilusa in the letter. This empire's ruler, Hattusili III, signed the first known peace treaty with Egypt. For the point, name this Anatolian empire centered on Hattusa which collapsed following the "Bronze Age Collapse." | Hittite Empire (accept Neo-Hittite State; accept Hattusa before mentioned; Editor's Note: the Hittite's name for themselves was "Ha-at-tu-sa") |
| The northernmost example of a structure built for this activity can be found at Wupatki [[woo-PAHT-kee]] National Monument, though one is notably absent at Teotihuacan [[teh-o-tee-HWA-can]]. According to the Popul Vuh [[PUH-puhl VUH]], the Hero Twins defeated the lords of Xibalba [[SHI-bal-bah]] by taking part in this activity. The central object in this activity could only be touched by a player’s hips in one ruleset. For the point, name this athletic activity performed with a rubber object in a region of Pre-Columbian America, which might have resulted in the losers being sacrificed. | Mesoamerican Ball Game (accept Pokolpok; or Ōllamaliztli; or Tlachtli) |
| This politician gave the funeral oration at a public burial honoring a consul and commander, Lucius Verginius Rufus, who died while bending over to pick up a book. This man wrote a biography of his father-in-law, where he recounts Gnaeus [[NAY-es]] Julius Agricola's conquest of Britannia and service during the Year of the Four Emperors. The writer of an early ethnography known as Germania was, for the point, which Roman historian, whose Annals cover the reigns of Tiberius to Nero? | Publius Cornelius Tacitus |
| Hyperanthes [["high"-peh-RAHN-thees]] and Abrocomes were among those killed at this battle, before which one side sighted the advance of the other across the Malian Gulf. Swords known as xiphe [[ZHE-feh]] were used after each spear was broken by one side at this battle, which was fought near a mountain pass. After one soldier at this battle complained the other side's arrows were so numerous as to block out the sun, his commander replied, "Won't it be nice, then, if we shall have shade in which to fight them?" For the point, name this 480 BCE battle where Leonidas died leading a small contingent of Spartans and Greek allies against a massive Persian army. | Battle of Thermopylae (accept Máchē tōn Thermopylōn) |
| In a found letter to his colleague, Atticus, Cicero recounts how he aspired to build these specific structures on the grounds of old baths to increase his personal wealth. Trajan lowered the height maximum of these structure first set by Augustus from 68 feet to 57 feet. In one anecdote, a private fire department owned by Crassus would not put out fires in these places until the owners agreed to sell to Crassus. The insula is a style of, for the point, what type of high-density housing common in Rome? | Apartments (accept Tenements; accept Insulae before mentioned; prompt on "house (s)" or "home (s)") |
| According to legend, scholars of this faith named Ka'ab and Asad healed the king Abu- Kariba and convinced the Himyarite nobles to abandon polytheism for this faith. A tax on this faith was levied to raise funds for the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, while Hadrian renamed a province to "Syria Palaestina" to weaken this faith's historical ties to one region. Zealots of this faith rebelled against Roman dominance, culminating in the siege of Masada. For the point, name this state faith of the Kingdom of Israel. | Judaism (accept the Jewish Faith) |
| Howard Carter discovered objects used in this specific activity, whose individual pieces resemble the heads of dogs and jackals Some historians have speculated that form of this activity to be a "social lubricant between men of the Near East and Egyptians." The royal wife of Ramses, Nefertari, is seen seated doing this specific activity, known in Egyptian as senet, and that example translates to "Passing the Afternoon." For the point, name these games like Mehen, which is played on a snake-like disc made of stone. | Board Games (accept specific board games like Mehen or Senet before "Mehen"; prompt on "Hounds and Jackals"; do not accept Card Games) |
| Maguey syrup was increased the consistency of a food made from this crop, Ātōle, which was used to feed the poor. The matured, ripened form of this crop was personified by the god Chicomecoatl [[chee-koh-meh-KWAH-teel]], who is often shown kneeling to the virginal goddess Xilonen [[zhee-LOH-nehn]]. The Aztec used a process of "nixtamalization," which soaked the flour of this crop in alkaline limewater to increase its nutritional value. For the point, name this primary staple grain of Mesoamerica. | Corn (accept Maize) |
| This structure was built to commemorate the survival of one city-state during a lengthy siege by Demetrius I Poliorcetes [[poh-lee-oh-SEE-tees]], king of Macedon. Despite receiving financial backing from Ptolemy III, this structure was never rebuilt following a 226 BCE earthquake due to a foreboding prediction by the Oracle of Delphi. Caliph Mu'awiyah I had the remains of this bronze statue melted following a successful siege of the island it was located in. A depiction of Helios carrying a torch comprises, for the point, which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World once found in Rhodes? | Great Colossus of Rhodes |
| An attempted replacement of this structure was abandoned after eight years despite the victor of the Battle of Lugdunum's campaigning near it. Gildas the Wise described this structure in his most noted sermon. The Vindolanda tablets document life in this structure, and the Great Conspiracy started with a revolt at this structure. A ten foot ditch called the vallum runs along this structure, which divided the region of Caledonia from the rest of a certain island. For the point, what is this imperially-named large structure which divided Roman Britain from modern Scotland? | Hadrian's Wall |