| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| This speech “praises the uniqueness of the State’s commitment to democracy.” The speaker of this speech proclaims, “Thus choosing to die resisting, rather than to live submitting, (+) they fled only from dishonour,” when referring to a group of people. This speech was recorded by Thucydides [[thoo-SIH-duh-dees]] in his book History of the Peloponnesian War. (*) For the points, name this speech given by an Athenian politician to honor dead soldiers. | Pericles’ Funeral Oration (accept equivalents; prompt on partial answer) |
| According to one source, this man shoved the gospels into the chest of Nestorius during a theological dispute. This man reformed one institution to require new entrants to prove their spiritual worth, unlike the Pachomian (+) system it replaced. This man instituted those reforms at the White Monastery before founding a series of monasteries in Egypt. (*) For the points, who is this Egyptian monk, often given the title "the Great." | Shenoute the Great (or Shenoute of Atripe; accept Saint Shenoute the Archimandrite) |
| A victory by Marcus Valerius over these people led to then-friendly Carthage sending a gift of twenty-five crowns to the Senate. A type of gladiator named for this people most often wielded a scutum shield and a gladius sword, (+) popularizing the latter armament in arena combat. A commander of this people, Gavius Pontius, made the captured Romans pass under the yoke in shame following the Battle of Caudine Forks. (*) For the points, name these Campanian people who fought Rome alongside the Marsic city-states in the Social War in a bid to gain Roman citizenship. | Samnite (accept Samnite Wars; accept Samnium) |
| Large wooden raised-floor granaries and the "Northern Enclosure" characterize this period's Yoshinogari [[yoh-sheh-noh-GAH-ree]] site in the Sefuri Mountains. The Records of the Three Kingdoms recounts (+) the existence of this period's King Yamataikoku [[yah-mah-tye-KOH-koo]] and Queen Himiko, who ruled a realm called the Kingdom of Wa. (*) For the points, name this period of Neolithic and Bronze Age Japan which followed the Jomon period. | Yayoi Period (accept Late Yayoi Period; accept Yayoi People) |
| Pelusium was one of the main nodes in this system, the beneficiaries of which were given bronze tablets they could turn in daily. This system was called the "tax spine" of the Roman Empire by A.H.M. Jones, as this system (+) subsidized the massive movement of goods from Egypt to Italy. The conquest of Egypt by Augustus led to the permanent establishment of this system. (*) For the points, what is this system that saw free food given out in Rome? | The Annona (or cura annonae; accept descriptive answers such as free grain in Rome or The Grain Dole before "free food") |
| This ruler succeeded Huni to found the Fourth Dynasty, and this man constructed two monuments at Dahshur after the collapse of a step pyramid. This father of Khufu (+) attempted to build a pyramid at too steep an angle before running out of material, creating the Bent Pyramid, whose angle of inclination changes from 55 to 43 degrees. (*) For the points, name this Old Kingdom pharaoh who pioneered the classic pyramid design by constructing the Red Pyramid. | Sneferu (accept Soris) |
| This monarch lends her name to the African-American composer of the 1985 opera Tawawa House. As queen regent following the death of Odaenathus [[oh-DAY- nah-thuss]], this ruler’s armies conquered (+) Egypt, the Levant, and much of Asia Minor before declaring independence from Rome during the "Crisis of the Third Century." (*) For the points, name this last queen of Palmyra [[pahl-MY-rah]] who was ultimately defeated and captured by the emperor Aurelian [[ah-REE-lee-un]] in 272. | Zenobia (or Septimia Zenobia; or Btzbyl Bat Zabbai; accept Zenobia Powell Perry but prompt on "Perry") |
| Before killing this emperor, his assassin hid in a couch that his forces claimed was carrying his wife. The poet Ausonius served as the tutor for this man, who later made Ausonius consul. This emperor was killed at Lugdunum by (+) Andragathius [[ahn-drah-GAY-thee-ehs]]. This emperor, who was one of the three issuers of the Edict of Thessalonica, placed Theodosius on one throne following the death of his uncle Valens at Adrianople. (*) For the points, name this fourth-century emperor of the Western Roman Empire, the son of Valentinian I. | Gratian [[GRAY-shehn]] (accept Flavius Gratianus) |
| During this battle, the left wing of one army was decisively defeated by prodromoi under Aretes. During an escape attempt from this battle, (+) Parthians injured Hephaestion in an attack that killed sixty members of the Companion Cavalry. Bessus was executed after this battle, whose losing commander was given a full burial at Persepolis. (*) Fought in 331 BCE, for the points, what was this battle that marked Darius III of Persia's final loss against Alexander the Great? | Battle of Gaugamela (Battle of Arbela) |
| This monarch's general Priscus crushed the Avars at the battle of Viminacium [[vee-me-NAY-see-uhm]]. This man’s reforms included economizing measures like having his army winter north of the (+) Danube, which sparked a mutiny and the proclamation of Phocas [[FOH-kahs]] as emperor. This emperor's most enduring legacy is a thorough Byzantine war manual known as the Strategikon. (*) For the points, who is this emperor whose murder sparked the final war between Rome and Persia? | Maurice (also accept Mavrikios) |
| This city was founded under the name Epidamnos [[eh-pee-DAHM-nohs]] by Corinth in the 8th century BCE. The Romans annexed this city in the (+) Illyrian wars, and Anastasius I hailed from this city. Julius Caesar lost one battle outside this city to Gnaeus Pompey, while another battle outside this city is often called the start of the Komnenian Restoration. (*) For the points, what is this city in modern Albania that served as a major Roman stronghold on the Adriatic? | Dyrrhachium [[dee-RAH-kee-uhm]] |
| During the first of these wars, Solon the Lawgiver diverted the river Pleistos to starve out the citizens of Kirrha. During the second of these conflicts, Sparta broke the "Five Year Truce" with (+) Athens while en route to expel the Phocians [[FOH-kee- ehns]] from occupying the Oracle of Delphi. The Theban-led Amphictyonic [[ahm-fik- THEE-ah-nik]]] League attempted to curb the power of Phillip II's Macedon during the third of, (*) for the points, what wars, which began following an act of religious sacrilege? | Sacred Wars (accept First Sacred War; accept Second Sacred War; accept Third Sacred War) |
| In a narrative poem by this author, a falling flower garland fatally injures Indumati. This author wrote a poem in which a spirit in the service of King Kubera seeks to communicate with his wife in Alaka. A (+) play by this man features a woman raised by the sage Kanva who reunites with her husband after a fisherman finds a ring. (*) For the points, name this author of Cloud Messenger and The Recognition of Shakuntala, who was an acclaimed Sanskrit writer. | Kalidasa |
| A coin minted at the time of Emperor Probus [[PROH-buhs]] depicts this deity riding a radiant quadriga. The Roman cult established by Aurelian in the 3rd century had its first day of the week named for this deity due to a decree by Constantine I. (+) Emperor Elagabalus's name may be derived from this Syrian deity's alternative name, Helios. (*) For the points, name this Later Roman deity whose name translates to “unconquerable sun.” | Sol Invictus (accept Unconquerable Sun before mentioned; prompt on "Helios"; prompt on "Sol") |
| The Zanja de Alsina was built to protect one country against these people, who destroyed a series of settlements called the Seven Cities in a war in another country. War leaders called (+) tokis [[TOH-kees]] were elected by these people, such as Lautaro [[lao-TAH-roh]], who led these peoples against Spanish colonists in a series of wars. Earlier, these people fought a battle on the Maule [[MOW-leh]] River to stop an Incan advance into their territory. (*) For the points, name these indigenous people of central Chile. | Mapuche |
| During the "Day of Elesius," a Roman elder politician named Gaius Popillius Laenas stopped this ruler from invading a neighbor by drawing a circle in the ground around him and stating that if this king stepped out of the circle, he would be at war with (+) Rome. This ruler's removal of the sacred objects from the Temple of Jerusalem and his forbidding of circumcision directly led to the Maccabean [[mah-kah-BEH-ehn]] revolt. (*) For the points, name Seleucid king who nearly conquered Ptolemaic Egypt during his early 3rd century BCE rule. | Antiochus IV Epiphanes |
| This ruler is described as being "hidden in the cloud of years [and becoming] Odin" in William Wordsworth's poem The Prelude. A poem from the collection A Shropshire Lad by A.E. (+) Housman makes a mention of this man in its final stanza, claiming that he "died old." A play by Jean Racine was inspired by this "Poison King" who ruled over the Anatolian kingdom of Pontus and committed the Asiatic Vespers. (*) For the points, name this Anatolian ruler who fought a series of wars against Rome. | Mithridates VI Eupator (accept Mithridates the Great) |
| Paired with the word autokrator, Phillip II of Macedon adopted this title upon assuming the leadership of the League of Corinth. In the Byzantine bureaucracy, this term was used to refer to the civil (+) commander of regional themes who often simultaneously held the title doux. The naval alternative to this position was the navarch, and the men who led military expeditions abroad were known as the "Hoplite" variety of this position. (*) For the points, name this Ancient Greek title analogous to "General." | Strategoi (accept Strategos) |
| The death of Philotas led to a split within the ranks of this unit. One leader of this unit prevented Spithridates [[spith-ree-DAH-tees]] from killing a certain figure. That man, Cleitus (+) the Black, was a leader of this unit, whose exploits were often written about by Arrian of Nicomedia. Also known as the hetairoi, this unit's members came from regions like Thessaly and fought during the Battle of (*) Issus. For the points, what was this storied cavalry unit that served the Macedonian army? | Companion Cavalry (accept Companions; accept hetairoi before mentioned) |
| A drawing of the Stele of Aristion depicts a symbol named for this town with sixteen instances of one feature. Removal of the usage of that symbol named for this town in one nation was the subject of the Prespa Agreement. (+) A larnax that may have belonged to the victor of the Battle of Chaeronea [[kay-roh-NAY-uh]] depicts a symbol named for this town that was removed from a national flag that had the word "North" appended to it's country's name. (*) Found in northern Greece, for the points, what is this town that names the sun symbol formerly on Macedonia's flag? | Vergina (accept Vergina Sun; accept Aigai) |
| A "Sister" to this specific artwork was found in the town of Galgenberg and is sometimes known as "Fanny," due to its dancing pose being reminiscent to Fanny Elssler. This statue, which was likely created by a type of (+) egg stone known as oolite originating from Lake Garda, is speculated to be a self-portrait by a female artist due to it lacking a distinct face. (*) For the points, name this fertility figure found in a namesake Austrian city, a Paleolithic statue named for a Roman goddess. | Venus of Willendorf |
| Near the modern town of El Tambo, this ruler ordered the building of the observatory of Ingapirca, which is also the site of his "Temple of the Sun." With his appointed successor Ninan Cuyochi, (+) this royal fell prey to a smallpox epidemic while campaigning against the Muisca people of modern Colombia. The civil war between Atahualpa [[ah-tah-WAHL-pah]] and Huascar was sparked by the (*) death of, for the points, which Incan sapa of the early 16th century? | Huayna Capac |
| Hanno the Navigator was commissioned by this non-Carthaginian ruler to travel through the Red Sea to southern Africa in an early attempt to complete the "Cape Route." That (+) Egyptian leader of this name is given credit for building a predecessor to the much later Suez Canal known as the "Canal of Pharaohs" between the Bitter Lakes and the Nile Delta. (*) For the points, give this name of two 26th Dynasty kings sometimes known as Nekau, the second of whom lost control of Syria to Neo-Babylonia. | Necho (accept Necho I or Necho II; accept Nekau before mentioned) |
| This monarch promoted a theological formula that was shot down at the Synod of Cyprus by the Patriarch Sophronius. This emperor would later rework that formula into a position that emphasized Christ's "one will." One of this emperor's sons, (+) Constantine, was put in charge of the capital by this emperor while on campaign and officially defeated the Avar siege of Constantinople. This emperor abandoned Cilicia in order to provide a buffer between him and the Arabs, who had just conquered Syria. (*) For the points, who was this Roman emperor whose reign saw the permanent loss of the Near East? | Heraclius (accept Heraclius I) |
| At a temple dedicated to these historical figures, a Buddhist monk named Cam Thin supposedly performed a miracle by summoning rain following a famine in the reign of Lý Anh Tông. To commemorate his victory against these royals, the so-called "General who calms the (+) Waves," Ma Yuan, had copper columns erected in Jiaozhi [[JOW-ZHEE]]. One of these siblings, Trắc, became the first female monarch in Southeast Asian history. (*) For the points, name these Vietnamese sisters who led a 40 CE rebellion against Han China. | Trưng sisters |
| Following one of these events, the Plataeans managed to escape a Spartan siege during the Peloponnesian War. An aedile [[AY-dile]] named Egnatius Rufus organized his personal slaves into a corps that (+) prevented these events called Vigiles Urbani. The Temple to the Muses, which included the Library of Alexandria, was destroyed by one of these events. Emperor (*) Nero was legendarily accused of fiddling during, for the points, what type of disaster which destroyed much of Rome's buildings? | Fires (accept synonyms like conflageration) |