History Quiz

20 questions · 13 eras · Answers explained · Updated 15 October 2026

Tap an answer to start. No sign-up.

1. Ancient Egypt

   1. Why was knowing Coptic so useful to Champollion?

   1. Coptic texts explained what every hieroglyph meant
   2. The Rosetta Stone had a fourth text in Coptic
   3. It was the last form of Egyptian, so it showed him the sounds of the language
   4. Coptic priests could still read hieroglyphs in his day
   Show the answer

   C. It was the last form of Egyptian, so it showed him the sounds of the language. Coptic is Egyptian written in Greek letters. Knowing it let Champollion match hieroglyphic signs to the sounds and words of the language they recorded. Read the full story →

2. Ancient Egypt

   2. What was the actual result of the Battle of Kadesh?

   1. A decisive Egyptian victory and the capture of Kadesh
   2. A stalemate: the Hittites kept control of the region
   3. The Hittite king was captured and executed
   4. Egypt lost all its territory in Canaan
   Show the answer

   B. A stalemate: the Hittites kept control of the region. Ramses survived and claimed victory on his temples, but he did not take Kadesh, and Hittite records show the region stayed under their control. Read the full story →

3. Ancient Greece

   3. What was the main legislative body of Athenian democracy?

   1. The Senate
   2. The Council
   3. The Assembly
   4. The Courts
   Show the answer

   C. The Assembly. The Assembly was where all eligible citizens gathered to vote on laws and policies.

4. Ancient Greece

   4. Which city was the primary target of the Athenian Sicilian Expedition?

   1. Knossos
   2. Syracuse
   3. Tarentum
   4. Ephesus
   Show the answer

   B. Syracuse. Athens aimed to capture Syracuse, the wealthiest city on Sicily and an ally of Sparta.

5. Ancient Rome

   5. Why did the new Republic have two consuls rather than one ruler?

   1. So that one could rule the city and one the countryside
   2. Because the law required one patrician and one plebeian
   3. So that each could block the other and neither held power alone
   4. So that one could lead the army while the other led worship
   Show the answer

   C. So that each could block the other and neither held power alone. Two consuls with equal power, each able to veto the other and serving for a single year, meant no individual could become a king again. Plebeians only won the right to stand for the consulship in 367 BCE. Read the full story →

6. Ancient Rome

   6. Why did Sulla's signet ring enrage Marius?

   1. It bore the royal emblem of Mithridates
   2. It was a gift from the king of the Cimbri
   3. It showed Jugurtha being handed over to Sulla
   4. It showed Sulla wearing a king's diadem
   Show the answer

   C. It showed Jugurtha being handed over to Sulla. The ring claimed credit for ending the war against Jugurtha, which Marius regarded as his own victory. Sulla's son later copied the scene on a coin. Read the full story →

7. Medieval Europe

   7. What did the Paris medical faculty blame for the plague in 1348?

   1. Rats arriving on ships from Genoa
   2. Poisoned wells in Jewish quarters
   3. Fleas carried in bales of imported cloth
   4. A conjunction of three planets in 1345
   Show the answer

   D. A conjunction of three planets in 1345. The physicians blamed a conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars that, they believed, had corrupted the air. Medieval doctors knew nothing of bacteria, and the role of rats and fleas was only discovered in the 1890s. Read the full story →

8. Medieval Europe

   8. Where is the only confirmed Norse site in the Americas?

   1. Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts
   2. Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
   3. Hudson Bay, northern Canada
   4. L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland
   Show the answer

   D. L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Excavations at L'Anse aux Meadows in the 1960s found Norse buildings and objects. In 2021 tree-ring analysis showed that wood there was cut with metal tools in the year 1021. Read the full story →

9. Renaissance

   9. Who summoned Raphael to Rome to decorate the Vatican?

   1. Pope Leo X
   2. Pope Alexander VI
   3. Pope Sixtus IV
   4. Pope Julius II
   Show the answer

   D. Pope Julius II. Pope Julius II summoned Raphael to Rome in 1508 to decorate the papal apartments.

10. Renaissance

    10. Which of these Leonardo works is a portrait?

    1. The Last Supper
    2. Vitruvian Man
    3. The Annunciation
    4. Mona Lisa
    Show the answer

    D. Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa, begun around 1503 and reworked for years afterward, is Leonardo's most famous portrait; the Last Supper is a mural of a group scene and the Vitruvian Man a drawing.

11. Age of Exploration

    11. Who sponsored Columbus's voyage?

    1. King of Portugal
    2. King of England
    3. Queen Isabella of Castile
    4. Doge of Venice
    Show the answer

    C. Queen Isabella of Castile. Queen Isabella of Castile, with Ferdinand of Aragon, sponsored Columbus's voyage to find a western route to Asia.

12. Age of Exploration

    12. Who first sailed around Africa to reach India?

    1. Vasco da Gama
    2. Columbus
    3. Magellan
    4. Cabot
    Show the answer

    A. Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama reached India by sailing around Africa in 1498.

13. American Revolution

    13. According to Pierce Butler, why did the Convention give the president such broad powers?

    1. Delegates wanted to copy the powers of the British king
    2. Delegates expected Washington to be the first president
    3. Delegates feared a new British invasion from Canada
    4. Delegates needed someone to collect the states' debts
    Show the answer

    B. Delegates expected Washington to be the first president. Butler wrote that the powers would not have been so great had not many members “cast their eyes towards General Washington as President”. The office was shaped around trust in one man. Read the full story →

14. American Revolution

    14. Which law did Parliament pass in 1766, on the same day it repealed the Stamp Act?

    1. The Tea Act
    2. The Townshend Acts
    3. The Declaratory Act
    4. The Coercive Acts
    Show the answer

    C. The Declaratory Act. The Declaratory Act asserted that Parliament could make laws for the colonies “in all cases whatsoever”. Britain gave up the tax but not the principle, so the quarrel was postponed rather than settled. Read the full story →

15. French Revolution

    15. Which revolutionary slogan later became France's national motto?

    1. Life, Liberty, Property
    2. Freedom, Justice, Peace
    3. Unity, Strength, Honor
    4. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
    Show the answer

    D. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity' was one of the Revolution's slogans; it became France's official motto in 1848.

16. Industrial Revolution

    16. What new social class emerged from the Industrial Revolution?

    1. Proletariat
    2. Nobility
    3. Clergy
    4. Peasantry
    Show the answer

    A. Proletariat. The industrial working class (proletariat) emerged as a new social class.

17. American Civil War

    17. How many volunteers did Lincoln call for after Fort Sumter?

    1. 50,000
    2. 75,000
    3. 100,000
    4. 125,000
    Show the answer

    B. 75,000. After Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion.

18. World War I

    18. How much ground was gained during the five-month Battle of the Somme?

    1. A few yards
    2. A few miles
    3. Ten miles
    4. Twenty miles
    Show the answer

    B. A few miles. After five months of fighting and over a million casualties, the front moved just a few miles.

19. World War II

    19. What was the code name for the D-Day operation?

    1. Operation Overlord
    2. Operation Torch
    3. Operation Market Garden
    4. Operation Husky
    Show the answer

    A. Operation Overlord. Operation Overlord was the code name for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

20. Cold War

    20. What does 'détente' mean?

    1. Containment
    2. Confrontation
    3. Relaxation
    4. Victory
    Show the answer

    C. Relaxation. Détente is French for 'relaxation,' referring to the easing of tensions between superpowers.

About this quiz

Twenty questions across thirteen eras of history, from Ancient Egypt to the Cold War. Tap an answer to see if you are right; each one is explained. It works as a quick history trivia game for adults, on your own or with friends; when you finish, try the themed quizzes below.

The questions come from the lessons in Aurelius: Learn History, where each one follows a short illustrated story. They are written and checked by the Aurelius editorial team.

More history quizzes

• World War 2 QuizTest yourself with 25 World War II questions, from the rise of Hitler to Hiroshima.
• American History QuizA free US history trivia game: 25 quiz questions on the American Revolution and the Civil War, from the Boston Tea Party to Appomattox, answers explained..
• Ancient Rome QuizHow well do you know Ancient Rome? 20 questions from Romulus and the Republic to the Punic Wars, Caesar, Augustus and the fall of the West, answers explained..
• World History QuizA free world history quiz: 25 questions from Ancient Egypt to the Cold War, in chronological order, with every answer explained.
• 100 History Trivia Questions and Answers100 history trivia questions with answers and explanations, grouped by era from Ancient Egypt to the Cold War.