Constantinople - Quiz
Constantinople
  • 1. Who was the first known Urban Prefect of Constantinople?
A) Honoratus
B) Theodosius I
C) Valens
D) Justinian I
  • 2. Which emperor built the Palace of Hebdomon?
A) Arcadius
B) Constantine
C) Valens
D) Zeno
  • 3. Where were emperors crowned and acclaimed prior to Zeno and Basiliscus?
A) Great Palace
B) Hagia Sophia
C) Hebdomon
D) Forum of Taurus
  • 4. Who founded the Church of John the Baptist in Constantinople?
A) Constantius II
B) Arcadius
C) Theodosius I
D) Justinian I
  • 5. Which emperor constructed a new forum on the Mese near the walls of Constantine?
A) Theodosius II
B) Arcadius
C) Valens
D) Justinian I
  • 6. In what year were the triple-wall fortifications of Theodosius II built?
A) 532
B) 541
C) 378
D) 413–414
  • 7. What event prompted the city to look to its defenses in 378?
A) Nika Riots
B) Plague of Justinian
C) Battle of Adrianople
D) Arrival of the Huns
  • 8. What institution did Theodosius II found in 425?
A) A library
B) A hippodrome
C) A university
D) An arsenal
  • 9. From which city did Justinian's expedition to reconquer Africa set sail?
A) Rome
B) Constantinople
C) Jerusalem
D) Carthage
  • 10. Which general commanded the expedition to Africa under Justinian?
A) Honoratus
B) Belisarius
C) Anthemius
D) Isidore
  • 11. What major riot occurred in Constantinople in 532?
A) Nika riots
B) The Vandal uprising
C) The Hebdomon mutiny
D) Adrianople rebellion
  • 12. Which architects did Justinian commission to build the new Hagia Sophia?
A) Belisarius and Procopius
B) Honoratus and Theodosius
C) Constantine and Arcadius
D) Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus
  • 13. What happened to the original Church of the Holy Apostles?
A) Destroyed by an earthquake
B) Converted into a mosque
C) Demolished and replaced by Justinian
D) Burned during the Nika riots
  • 14. Approximately what was the population of Constantinople during Justinian's reign?
A) 250,000
B) 500,000
C) 100,000
D) 1,000,000
  • 15. What disease struck Constantinople between 541 and 542?
A) Plague of Justinian
B) Black Death
C) The Great Fever
D) Smallpox
  • 16. Which two chariot-racing parties were involved in the political and religious disorders?
A) Reds and Yellows
B) Purples and Golds
C) Whites and Blacks
D) Blues and Greens
  • 17. What phrase did Justinian exclaim upon completing the new Hagia Sophia?
A) God is great!
B) O Solomon, I have outdone thee!
C) The city is saved!
D) Let the people rejoice!
  • 18. What was the purpose of the Church of the Holy Apostles until the 11th century?
A) Training ground for the fleet
B) Seat of the Urban Prefect
C) Storage for Temple treasure
D) Burial place of the emperors
  • 19. How many people were killed at the end of the Nika riots according to Procopius?
A) 10,000
B) 50,000
C) 5,000
D) Over 30,000
  • 20. Where is the skull of John the Baptist preserved today?
A) The Great Palace
B) The Forum of Taurus
C) Topkapı Palace
D) Hagia Sophia
  • 21. On what date was Constantinople ceremonially consecrated?
A) 11 May 337
B) 18 May 332
C) 11 May 330
D) 11 May 324
  • 22. How many regions was Constantinople divided into by Constantine?
A) 11
B) 20
C) 14
D) 7
  • 23. What title did senators in Constantinople hold?
A) Clarus
B) Clarissimus
C) Quaestor
D) Proconsul
  • 24. What monument served as the point from which distances were measured in the Eastern Roman Empire?
A) The Milion
B) The Augustaion
C) The Chalke
D) The Golden Gate
  • 25. What was the name of the main great street in Constantinople?
A) The Forum Tauri
B) The Mese
C) The Augustaeum
D) The Xerolophus
  • 26. What figure was the statue of Constantine in the Forum of Constantine modeled after?
A) Helios
B) Mars
C) Apollo
D) Jupiter
  • 27. How long did it take to build Constantinople?
A) Three years
B) Fourteen years
C) Six years
D) Ten years
  • 28. What was the name of the entrance to the Great Palace?
A) The Milion
B) The Praetorium
C) The Chalke
D) The Xerolophus
  • 29. How many distribution points were there for food in Constantinople?
A) 7
B) 14
C) 80
D) 117
  • 30. Byzantium was originally settled by colonists from which city-state?
A) Athens
B) Megara
C) Sparta
D) Corinth
  • 31. In what year was Byzantium first settled by colonists?
A) 324 AD
B) 478 BC
C) 512 BC
D) 657 BC
  • 32. Who was the leader said to have founded Byzantium according to legend?
A) Byzas
B) Septimius Severus
C) Nisos
D) Pausanias
  • 33. Why did Darius I consider the site of Byzantium optimal?
A) To mine gold
B) To control the grain trade
C) To build a grand palace
D) To construct a pontoon bridge
  • 34. Who captured Byzantium from the Persians in 478 BC?
A) Constantine I
B) Pausanias
C) Septimius Severus
D) Cassius Dio
  • 35. In what year did Byzantium make a treaty with Rome?
A) 150 BC
B) 512 BC
C) 411 BC
D) 478 BC
  • 36. What is the name of the excellent harbor located at Byzantium?
A) The Bosphorus Basin
B) The Mediterranean Port
C) The Black Sea Bay
D) The Golden Horn
  • 37. Which emperor razed Byzantium for supporting Pescennius Niger?
A) Pausanias
B) Darius I
C) Septimius Severus
D) Constantine I
  • 38. What was the name of the wall built by Septimius Severus?
A) The Severan Wall
B) The Megaran Wall
C) The Constantinian Wall
D) The Byzantine Wall
  • 39. What was Byzantium briefly renamed by Septimius Severus?
A) New Rome
B) Byzasia
C) Augusta Antonina
D) Constantinople
  • 40. Which historian criticized the destruction of Byzantium by Septimius Severus?
A) Hesychius of Miletus
B) Cassius Dio
C) Byzas
D) Pausanias
  • 41. What was the city known as before Constantine I?
A) New Rome
B) Byzantium
C) Istanbul
D) Kostantiniyye
  • 42. In whose honor was the city named Augusta Antonina?
A) Constantine I
B) Marcus Aurelius Antoninus
C) Septimius Severus
D) Augustus
  • 43. What name did Constantine I initially give the city in 330?
A) Istanbul
B) Megalopolis
C) New Rome
D) Byzantium
  • 44. The Turkish name 'Istanbul' is derived from a Greek phrase meaning what?
A) City of Constantine
B) New Rome
C) In the City
D) Queen of Cities
  • 45. What was the elevated Ottoman name for the city?
A) Islambol
B) Byzantium
C) Megalopolis
D) Kostantiniyye
  • 46. In what century were variants of the name Istanbul first attested in Armenian and Arabic?
A) 10th century
B) 19th century
C) 3rd century
D) 7th century
  • 47. After what year did the Turkish government urge other countries to use the name Istanbul?
A) 1930
B) 1900
C) 1923
D) 1453
  • 48. In what year did the Ottoman Empire take over Constantinople?
A) 1922
B) 1204
C) 1261
D) 1453
  • 49. What was the initial name given to Constantinople when it was founded?
A) Nova Roma
B) Pera
C) Istanbul
D) Byzantium
  • 50. Which cathedral is mentioned as one of the city's architectural masterpieces?
A) The Imperial Palace
B) Saint Peter's
C) Hagia Sophia
D) Notre Dame
  • 51. Who captured the city during the Fourth Crusade in 1204?
A) Ottoman Empire
B) Latin Crusaders
C) Roman Empire
D) Empire of Nicaea
  • 52. In what year was the capital of Turkey moved to Ankara?
A) 1923
B) 1261
C) 1453
D) 1922
  • 53. What was the name of the walls that protected Constantinople?
A) Theodosian walls
B) Ankara walls
C) Roman walls
D) Byzantine walls
  • 54. Which dynasty oversaw a partial recovery of the city after 1261?
A) Constantine dynasty
B) Latin dynasty
C) Palaiologan dynasty
D) Ottoman dynasty
  • 55. What is the modern name of Constantinople?
A) Nova Roma
B) Byzantium
C) Ankara
D) Istanbul
  • 56. What was the population of Istanbul mentioned in the text?
A) More than 20 million
B) More than 5 million
C) More than 10 million
D) More than 16 million
  • 57. Where did Heraclius originally contemplate moving the imperial capital?
A) Carthage
B) Anatolia
C) Kiev
D) Rome
  • 58. What right did the citizens of Constantinople lose in 618?
A) Freedom of speech
B) Free grain
C) Voting rights
D) Tax exemption
  • 59. What allowed the Byzantine navy to destroy the Arab fleets during the sieges?
A) Catapults
B) Greek fire
C) Superior naval training
D) Stronger wooden hulls
  • 60. Which ruler was called the 'Saviour of Europe' for his help in the second Arab siege?
A) Heraclius
B) Leo III
C) Khan Tervel
D) Michael III
  • 61. Who financed the extensive repairs of the Theodosian walls in the 730s?
A) Foreign trade tariffs
B) A special tax on the Empire's subjects
C) The Varangian Guard
D) The Church
  • 62. What was the name of the elite bodyguard formed by Basil II?
A) Varangian Guard
B) Imperial Legion
C) The Eparch Corps
D) The Macedonian Guard
  • 63. Which nationality eventually came to dominate the Varangian Guard in the 11th century?
A) Anglo-Saxons
B) Arabs
C) Persians
D) Bulgars
  • 64. Who supervised the guilds and tradesmen in Constantinople?
A) The Emperor
B) The Eparch
C) The Admiral
D) The Patriarch
  • 65. Which emperor issued a decree against images in 726?
A) Constantine V
B) Alexius I
C) Leo III
D) Leo IV
  • 66. Which Empress restored the veneration of images in 787?
A) Theodora
B) Helena
C) Irene
D) Sophia
  • 67. In what year was the iconoclast controversy finally resolved?
A) 726
B) 843
C) 754
D) 787
  • 68. Who was the Sultan of the Seljuk Turks that defeated Romanus Diogenes?
A) Alp Arslan
B) Michael VII Ducas
C) Theodore Lascaris
D) Alexios I
  • 69. Which group of people annihilated the Pecheneg army in 1090–91?
A) Venetians
B) Seljuk Turks
C) Crusaders
D) Kipchaks
  • 70. Who built the monastery of the Pantocrator?
A) Manuel I
B) Michael VIII
C) Alexius I
D) John II
  • 71. What significant event involving Latin inhabitants occurred in 1182?
A) They were invited to join the government
B) They were massacred
C) They were granted trading rights
D) They were expelled from the city
  • 72. Which crusade was diverted against Constantinople in 1203?
A) Fourth Crusade
B) Third Crusade
C) Second Crusade
D) First Crusade
  • 73. What happened to the statue of Athena Promachos in 1204?
A) It was moved to Hagia Sophia
B) It was melted for coinage
C) It was stolen by the Venetians
D) It was destroyed
  • 74. Who was the last Byzantine emperor before the Latin conquest of 1204?
A) Alexios V Doukas
B) Theodore Lascaris
C) Alexios IV Angelos
D) Isaac II Angelos
  • 75. How long did the Crusaders loot the city in 1204?
A) One month
B) Three days
C) One year
D) One week
  • 76. What did the Latin occupiers do to the monumental sculptures of the Hippodrome?
A) Melted them for coinage
B) Displayed them in the cathedral
C) Buried them for protection
D) Shipped them to the West
  • 77. Who was the Nicaean emperor that sent money to save churches from destruction?
A) Michael VIII Palaiologos
B) John III Vatatzes
C) Alexios Strategopoulos
D) Theodore Lascaris
  • 78. Which leader captured Constantinople from the Latins in 1261?
A) Theodore Lascaris
B) Michael VIII Palaiologos
C) Alexios Strategopoulos
D) John III Vatatzes
  • 79. Which palace became the main Imperial residence during the Palaiologan era?
A) The Great Palace
B) Rumelihisarı
C) Blachernae
D) Galata Palace
  • 80. In what year did the Black Death reach Constantinople?
A) 1453
B) 1347
C) 1403
D) 1435
  • 81. Who visited and wrote about Constantinople in 1403?
A) Tedaldi of Florence
B) George Sphrantzes
C) Ruy González de Clavijo
D) Andrei di Arnaldo
  • 82. Who was the emperor who ordered a census of the city's defenders in 1453?
A) Constantine XI
B) Mehmed II
C) Theodosius
D) Michael VIII
  • 83. According to George Sphrantzes, how many Greek defenders were in the city?
A) 4,773
B) 8,000
C) 200
D) 3,000
  • 84. What was the total length of the perimeter wall that needed to be defended in 1453?
A) Twelve miles
B) Two miles
C) Twenty miles
D) Five miles
  • 85. What was the name of the fortress built by Mehmed II at the narrowest point of the Bosphorus?
A) Galata
B) Diplokionion
C) Blachernae
D) Rumelihisarı
  • 86. Who was the Hungarian gunsmith tasked with building a cannon to destroy the city's walls?
A) Urban
B) Constantine XI
C) Sphrantzes
D) Mehmed II
  • 87. How long did the siege of Constantinople last?
A) One month
B) Two weeks
C) Seven weeks
D) Three months
  • 88. How old was Sultan Mehmed II when he commanded the conquest of Constantinople?
A) 40
B) 30
C) 21
D) 19
  • 89. What term refers to the prisoners of war and deported people sent to the city?
A) Janissaries
B) Viziers
C) Levantines
D) Sürgün
  • 90. Where was the capital of Turkey moved to after the Republic was proclaimed?
A) Edirne
B) Ankara
C) Bursa
D) Izmir
  • 91. Which area became a cosmopolitan zone featuring foreign embassies and banks?
A) Ankara suburb
B) Pera/Beyoğlu
C) The Old City walls
D) Hagia Sophia district
  • 92. How many households did Mehmed II demand to be transferred to the city by September?
A) Ten thousand
B) One thousand
C) Forty-five thousand
D) Five thousand
  • 93. What historical movement did the refugees from Constantinople help stimulate in Italy?
A) The Reformation
B) The Industrial Revolution
C) The Enlightenment
D) The Renaissance
  • 94. What adjective best describes the character of Constantinople according to the text?
A) Primitive
B) Isolated
C) Cosmopolitan
D) Monolingual
  • 95. Which ancient author first mentioned the markets of Byzantion?
A) Theopompus
B) Procopius
C) Ibn Batutta
D) Xenophon
  • 96. In which year did Ibn Batutta visit Constantinople?
A) 1325
B) 1453
C) 1054
D) 425
  • 97. Who did Ibn Batutta note made up the majority of artisans and salespeople in the 'Astanbul' bazaars?
A) Monks
B) Foreigners
C) Slaves
D) Women
  • 98. Byzantine architecture and art influenced which Venetian landmark?
A) St Mark's Basilica
B) The Palace Hall of Magnaura
C) Caernarfon Castle
D) The Pandidacterium
  • 99. What was the name of the Byzantine gold coinage that was prized throughout the Middle Ages?
A) Solidus of Diocletian
B) Denarius
C) Florin
D) Bezant
  • 100. Which castle is cited as an example of an imitation of Constantinople's city walls?
A) Ravenna Basilica
B) The Palace Hall of Magnaura
C) St Mark's Basilica
D) Caernarfon Castle
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