History quiz

[Xipe Totec]

No, not that easy! The person I am after lived some time before Julius Caesar's day.

If any latin scholars are in attendance, can they confirm that Caesar should rightfully be pronounced like 'kaiser'. I was taught in my first Latin class that C is always a hard consonant like our K, and that ae is said like I (although it is like 'ee' in Greek). I find it hard to understand why the entire English speaking world insists on saying 'See-zer' when it is clearly incorrect.

[Prussian to the Iron]

it...doesnt matter, but i think i know why:

1) just about every historian and scholar that goes on TV pronounces it like that. that means most people will go by that.

2) 'Kaiser' is commonly associated with the Third Reich, even though it is simply a German term meaning 'Emperor'. Being associated with Hitler means that most people want to steer clear of it, no matter what. It's like if there was a Roman Emperor named 'Holocaust'. Most people, instead of ponouncing and spellling it the same, would probably pronounce it 'Hah-los-aoost'. It's more of an ethical deal in this case.

3) Caesar sounds cooler :D

[Centurion1]

Tribune of the Plebs, Censor, twice Consul, I celebrated two triumphs after victories in Hispania and Sardinia. At age 45, I married the 18 year-old daughter of a man whose brilliant leadership saved Rome from one of history's greatest generals. Of our 12 children only three survived, of which my two sons made my family name famous for all time, although they both met violent deaths at the hands of a Senatorial mob.

What name do I share with one of my famous sons and a famous uncle who was also twice consul?

No Wikipedia necessary for this easy one!

You included a lot of clues. Clue number one, triumphs after victories in Hispania and Sardinia. This firmly roots it in Punic times these areas were firmly roman, especially Sardinia. Clue two, man whose brilliant leadership etc. Duh, if the battles of this time period were in Sardinia and Hispania, then it must be Hannibal, the man who most threatened Rome in its youth. Final clue, tribune of the plebes. Not that many people are tribune of the plebes.

Give me something worth a challenge. The man you are looking for is obviously Tiberius Gracchus Major also known as Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus.


Oh and i take Latin. The reason it is pronounced Caesar instead of kaser (like laser with a k) is because of differences between pagan Latin (normal spoken latin) and ecclesiastical Latin (that of the church. Ecclesiastical is the type most people learned back in the day because the Catholic church was the big dog and was the only one spreading around Latin.

[Xipe Totec]

Well done Centurion1, you certainly know your plebs from your patricians. Please celebrate a quick ovation and proceed with your next petition to this noble house. Thanks to you and Ferrum Prussiorum for your representations on the subject of Gaius Julius Caesar. I am sure Cicero would concur. Henceforth, I shall withdraw my veto .

Gaius Julius Caesar (pronounced [ˈɡaː.i.us ˈjuːli.us ˈkaɪsar] in Classical Latin; conventionally /ˈɡaɪ.əs ˈdʒuːli.əs ˈsiːzər/ in English), Wikipedia.

[Centurion1]

So my question is an easy one.

What emperor made gains into Armenia and Parthia.

[the tokai]

So my question is an easy one.

What emperor made gains into Armenia and Parthia.

Has to be Marcus Ulpius Trajanus, I don't think any other emperors went as far east as him.

[Xipe Totec]

Yeah got to be Trajan. Although I'd call him Imperator Caesar Divi Nervae Filius Nerva Traianus Optimus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus Parthicus, out of respect for his divinity. Some later emperors had a bash at Parthia, but Armenia was long since under Roman dominion, more thanks to Lucius Licinius 'not enough men for an army, too many for an embassy' Lucullus than that shameless scoundrel Pompey 'steal the glory at the last minute when the enemy is already beaten but can't beat a proper general with a smaller army and no cavalry' Magnus.

[Centurion1]

Yeah got to be Trajan. Although I'd call him Imperator Caesar Divi Nervae Filius Nerva Traianus Optimus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus Parthicus, out of respect for his divinity. Some later emperors had a bash at Parthia, but Armenia was long since under Roman dominion, more thanks to Lucius Licinius 'not enough men for an army, too many for an embassy' Lucullus than that shameless scoundrel Pompey 'steal the glory at the last minute when the enemy is already beaten but can't beat a proper general with a smaller army and no cavalry' Magnus.

Nice answer, very detailed and can't say i argue. However, Tokai has got a faster trigger finger it appears.

Take it away tokai.

[the tokai]

Right. The man I'm looking for is someone from the modern era, who served under a famous general in Africa and went on to be the leader of his Western-European homeland. He also wrote a book about a river and was involved in the development of a war-winning weapon. Who am I looking for?

[Xipe Totec]

Winston Churchill. Served under Kitchener in the Sudan. Wrote a book about it called 'the River War' (The Nile being the river in question). Involved in the development of the tank in WWI. Became British Prime Minister during WWII.

[the tokai]

Winston Churchill. Served under Kitchener in the Sudan. Wrote a book about it called 'the River War' (The Nile being the river in question). Involved in the development of the tank in WWI. Became British Prime Minister during WWII.

Correct, correct, correct, correct and correct. The floor is yours Xipe Totec.

[Xipe Totec]

Many thanks the tokai. Here goes:

Born during the first world war. A descendent of Fernando III of Castile and Jean de Brienne, King of Jerusalem and Emperor of Constantinople. In WWII I was captured by the Nazis and placed in Stalag IXa POW camp, but managed to escape at the third attempt over a year later. Working first for the Vichy regime and then with the resistance I fell out with General De Gaulle who became a rival and opponent for many years. I was eventually elected President of France and served for 14 years before ill-health caused me to retire without seeking re-election. Who am I?

[Prussian to the Iron]

Francois Mitterrand, without a doubt!

P.S: no wikipedia involved; type in Stalag IX-A, nothing comes up.

[Xipe Totec]

Oui monsieur!
Au-dessus de à vous pour la prochaine question, Fer Prussien!

Vorbei zu Ihnen für die folgende Frage, Preussisches Eisen!

次の質問のためのあなたにに、プロイセンの鉄!

Over to you for the next question Prussian Iron!

[Prussian to the Iron]

hmmm......

which Ligurian pope was famous for his encouragement of Humanism and establishing Libraries?

[Centurion1]

Could i be so bold as to say Pope Nicholas the V?

[Prussian to the Iron]

perhaps.....

go centurion.

[Centurion1]

Alright ill give it a twirl.

How long did the 100 years war last and what was the final battle. (please do not answer a hundred)

[Prussian to the Iron]

thats way too easy:

116 years, and the last battle was castillon

[Centurion1]

I know i cringed while i wrote it. i am just not good at writing these questions.

[Prussian to the Iron]

During the dark ages, this Archbishop was accused of heresy by a political enemy. After the council of ephesus, he was exiled to egypt and founded the assyrian church. who was the archbishop, and who was the political enemy who acused him of heresy?

[Xipe Totec]

Then Archbishop of Constantinople, Nestorius objected to calling Mary the 'Mother of God' and preferred the term 'Mother of Christ'. He propounded the view that Mary gave birth to the man Jesus, not to God.

The Pope of Alexandria, Saint Cyril objected to this view that Jesus was a man separate from God, and labelled Nestorius' view as heresy. He pursuaded Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II to convene a council on the matter. Cyril and his supporters concluded the debate before the much delayed Nestorius and his followers could arrive, declaring Nestorius deposed and exiled. Eventually he was forced into exile within Cyril's jurisdiction in Egypt. The issue caused a major schism within the church, but with the Pope taking Cyril's view, seventeen bishops who agreed with Nestorius were quickly removed from office.

The Nestorian church was protected and given succour by the Sassanid Persians in order to annoy their Byzantine rivals. It flourished and spread as far as China and India. Today there are as many as 170,000 adherents in Syria, Iraq, Iran and India.

I think Jesus was a fine man his mother should have been proud of. Not afraid to stand up and say what he believed in, whatever powerful men he might upset in the process.

God is the word good with a letter 'o' taken out. Deities are things for people to believe in who don't have a better alternative: why did the creator make a billion years of fossils all neatly packaged into layers, why the hell were dinosaurs wandering about for 200 million years before God decided to make something in his own image? And for gawds sake why does the galaxy contain 100,000,000,000 stars, and why are there millions of billions of other galaxies spinning around it?

I think whether you go with indivisible oneness or just think Mary 'popped a sprog', you need a very large dose of faith to believe that God created all that just to test yours. If you believe that, then you'll believe anything, and that suits people with very large gardens just fine.

Of course Xipe Totec really does exist ...

[Centurion1]

Ugh i knew that. i just hate writing questions. (12 years of catholic schooling)

[Prussian to the Iron]

xipe, did you copy that from wikipedia, or did you really write that all yourself?

[Xipe Totec]

That's all my own work. Although I would like to give credit where credit is due. Some of the factual information may be similar to what could be found on wikipedia. The ranting is definitely all my own though.

Is the answer right though, you didn't say?

[Prussian to the Iron]

oh yes, it is right.

[Xipe Totec]

Okay.


Three world famous men, all born in the same year in late seventeenth century Europe. All wrote music of such lasting impact that they are still considered today among the greatest composers of the baroque era. All three also feature in my well-preserved record collection.

Who are they, and in which year were they born?

Hint: you have all heard of two of them for sure. The third is not so well known, but is certainly the most celebrated composer of all time for one particular instrument, which was part of most live music performances ... of a certain quality ... during their lifetimes.

[Brandy Blue]

I think Jesus was a fine man his mother should have been proud of. Not afraid to stand up and say what he believed in, whatever powerful men he might upset in the process.

God is the word good with a letter 'o' taken out. Deities are things for people to believe in who don't have a better alternative: why did the creator make a billion years of fossils all neatly packaged into layers, why the hell were dinosaurs wandering about for 200 million years before God decided to make something in his own image? And for gawds sake why does the galaxy contain 100,000,000,000 stars, and why are there millions of billions of other galaxies spinning around it?

I think whether you go with indivisible oneness or just think Mary 'popped a sprog', you need a very large dose of faith to believe that God created all that just to test yours. If you believe that, then you'll believe anything, and that suits people with very large gardens just fine.

Of course Xipe Totec really does exist ...

Play fair, Xipe. There are lots of questions that the agnostics and athiests can't answer either.

For instance, your rant implies that you believe in goodness. If there is no higher or universal good (which we might as well call God) then "goodness" is probably a matter of social convention and personal opinion, and has no existence, as such, at all. In which case, who cares about good? Might as well not bother praising Jesus or anyone else.

Besides, to say that God "created all that just to test" your faith is a pretty heavy distortion of the Christian faith. Its easy to prove a belief "wrong" if you misrepresent it in the first place.

[Prussian to the Iron]

hey hey hey guys, lets not make this a religious thread unless the question is sstrictly about religion. and lets try to steer clear of those unless it does not suggest or attempt to press the askers belief on someone else. like mine was.

[Xipe Totec]

Feel free to make passing comments if you answer the question first! This is a quiz thread as Prussian Iron highlighted. I think if you take the time to research a topic and post a detailed response it is reasonable to put your own view on the subject. I accept that I did express opinions which are not universally held. None are. I can remember the Pope announcing that the RC church finally accepted that the Earth moved around the Sun, rather than the other way round. Instead of burning people they could have looked through a telescope (!). I agree with most of what Jesus said, but I don't want to praise him every day. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I will believe things which check out with what I can see rather than what people said 2000 years ago.

I like much of the music inspired by the Christian faith. Some of the best examples were written by the chaps in the question. Which still remains to be answered.