- 1. Which language was historically important in the military and government before declining in the east?
A) Coptic
B) Greek
C) Latin
D) Syriac
- 2. Which emperor reigned from 527 to 565 and may have tried to arrest the decline of Latin?
A) Constantine
B) Justinian I
C) Palaiologos
D) Komnenos
- 3. Which language replaced indigenous languages in Asia Minor during early Byzantine times?
A) Berber
B) Latin
C) Greek
D) Armenian
- 4. What language was spoken by Coptic speakers?
A) Latin
B) Coptic
C) Syriac
D) Greek
- 5. According to Geoffrey Horrocks, what percentage of the aristocracy spoke Greek by the mid-6th century?
A) 10%
B) 33%
C) 50%
D) 80%
- 6. What caused the Byzantine Empire to lose much of its linguistic diversity in the 7th and 8th centuries?
A) Mass migration
B) Religious reform
C) Lack of education
D) Wars
- 7. What literary style came back into fashion for written works from the 9th century onwards?
A) Latin
B) Attic Greek
C) Syriac
D) Demotic Greek
- 8. What term describes the gap between vernacular spoken Greek and literary registers?
A) Translation
B) Diglossia
C) Bilingualism
D) Hellenization
- 9. What work is cited as an example of Western-inspired vernacular writing?
A) Chronicle of the Morea
B) The Justinian Code
C) The Byzantine Laws
D) The History of the Empire
- 10. Which city was a major economic center with a population exceeding 100,000?
A) Constantinople
B) Carthage
C) Jerusalem
D) Athens
- 11. Which merchant group gained significant control over international trade in the 11th and 12th centuries?
A) Egyptians
B) Armenians
C) Persians
D) Venetians
- 12. What event in 1204 contributed to the fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire?
A) Fourth Crusade
B) Islamic conquest
C) The fall of Asia Minor
D) Plague of Justinian
- 13. What happened to the countryside as major cities remained populous?
A) It was abandoned completely
B) It transitioned into fortified settlements
C) It became exclusively pastoral
D) It turned into massive industrial zones
- 14. What characterized the economy of the Byzantine Empire?
A) Mixed economy
B) Purely feudal economy
C) Laissez-faire market economy
D) Solely agricultural economy
- 15. What happened to written vernacular during the Palaiologan period?
A) It replaced all prose
B) It was written in verse form
C) It was strictly forbidden
D) It was written only in Latin
- 16. Which empire defeated the Latin Empire in 1205?
A) Ottoman Turks
B) Genoese
C) Seljuks of Rum
D) Bulgarians
- 17. What key port did Trebizond lose in 1214?
A) Thessalonica
B) Adrianopolis
C) Constantinople
D) Sinope
- 18. Which dynasty ruled the Empire of Nicaea?
A) Laskarid dynasty
B) Ottoman dynasty
C) Doukas dynasty
D) Palaiologos dynasty
- 19. Who founded the Palaiologos dynasty?
A) Constantine XI
B) Andronikos II
C) Michael VIII
D) John III
- 20. In what year did Michael VIII recapture Constantinople?
A) 1261
B) 1282
C) 1204
D) 1453
- 21. Which successor of Michael VIII repudiated the religious concessions made to the Catholic Church?
A) Manuel II
B) John VIII
C) Andronikos II
D) Andronikos III
- 22. Which mercenary group turned on the Byzantines in the 1300s?
A) Ottoman Turks
B) Bulgarians
C) Catalan Company
D) Seljuks of Rum
- 23. In what year did the Ottoman Turks take Thessalonica?
A) 1369
B) 1363
C) 1354
D) 1387
- 24. Who defeated Sultan Bayezid I in 1402?
A) Manuel II
B) John VIII
C) Timur
D) Mehmed II
- 25. Who was the last Byzantine emperor?
A) John VIII
B) Michael VIII
C) Manuel II
D) Constantine XI
- 26. What term did the inhabitants of the Byzantine Empire use to identify themselves?
A) Europeans
B) Romans
C) Greeks
D) Byzantines
- 27. Why did Western Europe start calling the Byzantines 'Greeks' after 800 AD?
A) The Papacy and German emperors considered themselves the true Romans
B) The empire had moved to Greece
C) The Byzantines requested the name change
D) The Byzantines abandoned Roman culture
- 28. What name did the citizens of the empire use to refer to their own state?
A) The Greek Empire
B) Byzantium
C) The Eastern Empire
D) Rhomanía
- 29. Which scholar's work helped propagate the use of the term 'Byzantine'?
A) Laonikos Chalkokondyles
B) Geoffrey Greatrex
C) Hieronymus Wolf
D) Theodore Metochites
- 30. Which historian argues that it is impossible to precisely date the foundation of the empire?
A) Hieronymus Wolf
B) Theodore Metochites
C) Laonikos Chalkokondyles
D) Geoffrey Greatrex
- 31. What is the traditional start date for the empire according to scholarship linked to Greece or Eastern Orthodoxy?
A) The 19th century
B) The seventh century
C) 800 AD
D) Early 300s
- 32. What period of study has led some historians to suggest a start date in the seventh or eighth centuries?
A) Medieval studies
B) Late antiquity
C) Byzantine history
D) Classical history
- 33. In what year did the Byzantine Empire finally fall?
A) 476
B) 1453
C) 1204
D) 1261
- 34. What disaster began around 541 and strained the empire?
A) A famine
B) A plague
C) An earthquake
D) A volcanic eruption
- 35. Which Caliphate captured Syria and Egypt from the Byzantines in the 630s and 640s?
A) Umayyad Caliphate
B) Abbasid Caliphate
C) Ottoman Empire
D) Rashidun Caliphate
- 36. Which city overtook Constantinople as the largest and wealthiest city in Europe in the 13th century?
A) Venice
B) Paris
C) London
D) Rome
- 37. What culture did the eastern parts of the Roman Empire keep?
A) Hellenistic
B) Persian
C) Germanic
D) Latin
- 38. Which emperor instituted the Tetrarchy to divide the empire?
A) Constantine I
B) Theodosius I
C) Valens
D) Diocletian
- 39. What was the new capital built by Constantine I originally called?
A) Adrianople
B) Byzantium
C) Constantinople
D) New Rome
- 40. What currency did Constantine I institute to provide stability?
A) Gold solidus
B) Bronze follis
C) Gold aureus
D) Silver denarius
- 41. Who died at the Battle of Adrianople in 378?
A) Valens
B) Theodosius I
C) Julian
D) Constantine I
- 42. Which official was responsible for the construction of the Theodosian Walls?
A) Anthemius
B) Leo I
C) Theodoric
D) Odoacer
- 43. Which theological doctrine was debated during the reign of Theodosius II?
A) Monophysitism
B) Arianism
C) Nestorianism
D) Nicene Orthodoxy
- 44. Which barbarian leader ravaged the Balkans during the reign of Theodosius II?
A) Magnus Maximus
B) Attila
C) Theodoric
D) Odoacer
- 45. Which warlord deposed Romulus Augustulus in 476?
A) Attila
B) Anthemius
C) Odoacer
D) Theodoric
- 46. Which emperor convinced Theodoric the Ostrogoth to take control of Italy?
A) Anastasius I
B) Zeno
C) Leo I
D) Theodosius II
- 47. Which tax was abolished by Anastasius I?
A) Solidus tax
B) Tetrarchy tax
C) Theodosian tribute
D) Chrysargyron
- 48. Which religion did Theodosius I establish as the state religion?
A) Nestorianism
B) Paganism
C) Christianity
D) Monophysitism
- 49. What major conflict defined the Constantinian dynasty?
A) Wars against the Goths
B) Wars against the Huns
C) Conflict with Sasanid Persia
D) Conflict with the Western Empire
- 50. What legal compilation is associated with the reign of Theodosius II?
A) The Odoacer Decree
B) The Tetrarchy Code
C) Codex Theodosianus
D) The Julian Laws
- 51. What was the name of the legal code rewritten under Justinian I?
A) Roman Law Statute
B) The Imperial Edict
C) Corpus Juris Civilis
D) Justinian Code
- 52. In which year did the Nika revolt occur?
A) 532
B) 527
C) 540
D) 565
- 53. Which general subjugated the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa in 533?
A) Belisarius
B) Heraclius
C) Maurice
D) Phocas
- 54. Who was the Ostrogothic king during the most difficult period of the war in the 540s?
A) Alaric
B) Theoderic
C) Totila
D) Khosrow I
- 55. When did Justinian I die?
A) 565
B) 540
C) 578
D) 591
- 56. Which people conquered much of northern Italy by 572?
A) The Slavs
B) The Lombards
C) The Avars
D) The Arabs
- 57. Whom did the troops proclaim as emperor after mutinying in 602?
A) Heraclius
B) Maurice
C) Phocas
D) Justinian II
- 58. What administrative system did Constans II introduce to defend provinces?
A) Provincial garrison system
B) Feudal system
C) Theme system
D) Legionary system
- 59. Who repelled the 717–718 siege of Constantinople?
A) Justinian II
B) Constantine IV
C) Leo III
D) Heraclius
- 60. What proportion of revenue did the empire lose due to the Arab conquests of eastern provinces?
A) One-quarter
B) One-half
C) Up to three-quarters
D) Two-thirds
- 61. What religious policy did both Leo III and Constantine V support?
A) Protestantism
B) Iconoclasm
C) Papal supremacy
D) Veneration of icons
- 62. Which city was lost to the Lombards during the reign of Constantine V?
A) Antioch
B) Ravenna
C) Constantinople
D) Bari
- 63. Who was crowned Roman emperor by the papacy in 800?
A) Nikephoros I
B) Charlemagne
C) Leo III
D) Constantine VI
- 64. Which empress permanently restored the veneration of icons?
A) Theodora
B) Theodora (wife of Justinian)
C) Zoe
D) Irene
- 65. What was the final Byzantine outpost in Sicily that was lost during the reign of Leo VI?
A) Taormina
B) Antioch
C) Ravenna
D) Bari
- 66. Which group won a decisive victory against the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071?
A) Normans
B) Seljuk Turks
C) Pechenegs
D) Bulgars
- 67. Which general led successful campaigns in the east under Romanos I?
A) Bardas Phokas
B) Nikephoros II
C) Bardas Skleros
D) John Kourkouas
- 68. What was the fate of Bari in 1071?
A) Reclaimed by the papacy
B) Destroyed by an earthquake
C) Captured by the Normans
D) Captured by the Seljuks
- 69. Which emperor was taken prisoner by the Seljuks after the Battle of Manzikert?
A) Constantine IX
B) Basil II
C) Michael VI
D) Romanos IV Diogenes
- 70. In what year did Alexios I usurp the Byzantine throne?
A) 1081
B) 1143
C) 1095
D) 1118
- 71. Which group did Alexios I decisively defeat in 1091 with Cuman assistance?
A) Seljuks
B) Pechenegs
C) Normans
D) Hungarians
- 72. John II was forced to overcome his sister, who was named:
A) Irene
B) Maria
C) Theodora
D) Anna
- 73. What city did John II intimidate into an alliance in 1138?
A) Constantinople
B) Sicily
C) Myriokephalon
D) Antioch
- 74. What state was founded in 1185 following a revolt against the Byzantines?
A) Kingdom of Hungary
B) Sultanate of Rum
C) Principality of Antioch
D) Bulgarian state
- 75. In what month and year did the Fourth Crusade sack Constantinople?
A) June 1195
B) April 1204
C) December 1203
D) January 1185
- 76. Which European ruler was obstructed by Constantinople during the Third Crusade?
A) Pope Urban II
B) Frederick Barbarossa
C) Robert Guiscard
D) William I
- 77. What was the original intended target of the Fourth Crusade?
A) Antioch
B) Constantinople
C) Anatolia
D) Egypt
- 78. Who replaced the unpopular rulers after the 1203 attack on Constantinople?
A) Andronikos I
B) Isaac II
C) Alexios I
D) Alexios V
- 79. What administrative units replaced the prefectures after the 7th century?
A) Provinces
B) Dioceses
C) Districts
D) Themes
- 80. Who governed the administrative units known as themes?
A) A strategos
B) A civilian prefect
C) The emperor
D) A senator
- 81. Which legal text was intended to replace the Ekloge due to its association with iconoclasm?
A) The Hexabiblos
B) The Basilika
C) The Eisagoge
D) The Farmers' Law
- 82. Which of the following was NOT one of the three branches of the church formed by internal disputes?
A) Gnostic
B) Monophysite
C) Chalcedonian
D) Nestorian
- 83. In what year did the East–West Schism culminate?
A) 597
B) 1054
C) 1453
D) 1204
- 84. What was the name of the professional regiments introduced in the mid-700s?
A) Limitanei
B) Tagmata
C) Comitatenses
D) Themata
- 85. What system provided revenue to individuals in exchange for soldiers after the 1081 reforms?
A) Limitanei subsidies
B) Thematic districts
C) Scholae taxation
D) Pronoia grants
- 86. How many troops defended Constantinople during its final siege in 1453?
A) Less than 8,000
B) 150,000
C) 140,000
D) 30,000
- 87. What group formed the frontier garrisons in the late 6th century?
A) Dromons
B) Limitanei
C) Tagmata
D) Comitatenses
- 88. Which religious group largely fell under Muslim rule in the 7th century along with the Nestorians?
A) Frankish Christians
B) Roman Catholics
C) Chalcedonians
D) Monophysites
- 89. What was a major theological disagreement contributing to the East–West separation?
A) The Filioque clause
B) The location of the capital
C) The worship of icons
D) The translation of the Bible
- 90. What were the mobile field armies in the late 6th century called?
A) Varangian Guard
B) Thematic militias
C) Palaiologan mercenaries
D) Comitatenses
- 91. What was the primary characteristic of Byzantine military strategy?
A) Defensive
B) Offensive
C) Colonial
D) Expansionist
- 92. What term describes the civilized Christian world that the Byzantine Empire sought to protect?
A) Byzantium
B) The Levant
C) The Prefecture
D) Oikoumenē
- 93. What was the peak population of the empire in 540?
A) 18 million
B) 12 million
C) 27 million
D) 50 million
- 94. Which dynasty ended around 1025 when the population was estimated at 18 million?
A) Komnenos
B) Palaiologos
C) Justinian
D) Macedonian
- 95. What condiment used in the Byzantine era was similar to modern fermented fish sauces?
A) Garos
B) Trachanas
C) Malvasia
D) Boutargue
- 96. Which of these fruits was unknown during classical times but added to the Byzantine diet?
A) Aubergine
B) Grapes
C) Figs
D) Olives
- 97. What was the name of the millet beer consumed in the Byzantine Empire?
A) Boza
B) Commandaria
C) Rumney
D) Retsina
- 98. What was the Byzantine version of polo introduced by the Crusaders called?
A) Tzykanion
B) Jousting
C) Pantomime
D) Tavli
- 99. What popular game board was increasingly played in the Byzantine Empire?
A) Cards
B) Tavli
C) Tzykanion
D) Chess
- 100. Which institution remained an influential element in Byzantine diplomacy until 1453?
A) The Roman Senate
B) The Orthodox church
C) The Western Universities
D) The Praetorian Guard
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