In this article, we will look into 100 Roman Empire Most Frequently Asked Questions and Answers. Roman Empire was one of the ancient and powerful civilization that proved to be a turning point for world's civilizations and its future development. The World has learned a lot from the events occurred in the Roman civilization which existed for more than 1000 years. Often, there are lot many questions about the Roman History and culture which are frequently asked. We will see some of those frequently asked questions and answers in below section.

100 Roman Empire Most Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Also Read: Architecture and Sculpture from Harappan civilization (2600-1900 BCE)

1. Who was Julius Caesar ?

Ans. Julius Caesar was the powerful roman general and politician who ruled for less than a year after declaring himself the dictator.

2. How did Julius Caesar die ?

Ans. He died by assassination.

3. When did Julius Caesar die ?

Ans. He was assassinated in 44 BC by Roman Senators.

4. Who killed Julius Caesar ?

Ans. 40 Roman Senators assassinated him in 44 BC.

5. Why was Julius Caesar assassinated ?

Ans. The most common reason given for Caesar's assassination was the believe that he tried to become the king of rome by concentrating his powers at an unprecedented rate. This would have been proved a threat to the liberty of Roman aristocracy and hence the tyranny needs to be ended.

6. Who was Marcus Aurelius ?

Ans. Marcus Aurelius was the last of the five good emperors of Rome whose reign lasted from 161 CE to 180 CE.

7. How did Marcus Aurelius die ?

Ans. He was murdered by his own soldiers while travelling to the east to regain control when Avidius Cassius claimed the title of emperor for himself.

8. How long did the Roman Empire last ?

Ans. Roman empire started with the rule of Augustus Caesar in 31 BC and ended with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE.

9. When did the Roman Empire fall ?

Ans. Although the fall of western Rome was completed in 476 AD but the complete fall of Roman empire completed only with the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

10. Why did the Roman Empire fall ?

Ans. While there are many reasons for the fall of Roman empire but the most straightforward reason for Roman Empire collapse was the strings of military losses sustained against outside forces. Rome had tangled with Germanic tribes for centuries, but by the 300s “barbarian” groups like the Goths had encroached beyond the Empire's borders. The fall of western Rome was completed in 476 AD but the eastern rome survived till 1453 AD.

11. Who became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome ?

Ans. Germanic leader Odoacer became the first Barbarian to rule in Rome.

12. When did the Roman Empire start ?

Ans. Roman Empire started in 27 BC with the demise of Roman Republic.

13. Who defeated the Roman Empire ?

Ans. Ottoman Empire defeated the last Roman Emperor Constantine in 1453.

14. Who was the last Roman Emperor ?

Ans. Constantine XI Palaiologos was the last Roman Empire.

15. How did Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire ?

Ans. In 313 CE, the emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which granted legal status to Christianity as well as other religions. This proved to be a turning point for spreading of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

16. When did the Western Roman Empire fall ?

Ans. 4th September 476 AD

17. Who was Cleopatra ?

Ans Cleopatra was the famous Egyptian queen known to be the lover of Julius Caesar and later as wife of Mark Antony.

18. When did Cleopatra die ?

Ans. Cleopatra committed suicide on August 10, 30 B.C

19. How did Cleopatra die ?

Ans. Cleopatra died by suicide on August 12th in 30 B.C.

20. When was Cleopatra born ?

Ans. Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C. into a Royal Dynasty.

21. Where is Cleopatra buried ?

Ans. Till now, the burial place of Cleopatra remains undiscovered.

22. Who did Cleopatra marry ?

Ans. Cleopatra married three times in her lifetime - first time with her brother and co-ruler Ptolemy XIII, who was 10 years old at the time when she was 18. Upon Ptolemy XIII’s death, she married his younger brother Ptolemy XIV who was 12 years old and she was 22 years old at that time. Then the third time, she married Mark Antony in 32 BC.

23. Where was Cleopatra born ?

Ans. Alexandria, Egypt

24. How old was Cleopatra when she died ?

Ans. She was 39 years old.

25. Who defeated the Western Roman Empire ?

Ans. The Germanic leader Odoacer staged a revolt and deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustus in 476 AD.

26. Who was the last Western Roman Emperor ?

Ans. Romulus Augustus

27. What is Hadrian's Wall ?

Ans. It was a former defensive fortification of the Roman region of Britannia that begun in 122 AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.

28. How did Commodus die ?

Ans. Roman Emperor Commodus was assassinated in his bath by a wrestler and a group of conspirators sent by the Senators in 192 AD.

29. Who was Commodus ?

Ans. Commodus was a Roman emperor who ruled from 176 to 192.

30. Who was Tiberius ?

Ans. Tiberius Caesar Augustus was the second Roman emperor whose reign was from 14 AD to 37 AD, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus.

31. How did Tiberius die ?

Ans. Tiberius died of natural causes in March of 37 AD at the age of 77.

32. Who was Hannibal ?

Ans. Hannibal was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. He was known as the greatest military commanders in the history.

33. Did Hannibal sack Rome ?

Ans. In 218 BC, Hannibal attacked Saguntum (modern Sagunto, Spain), an ally of Rome, in Hispania, sparking the Second Punic War.

34. Who were the Visigoths ?

Ans. The Visigoths were one of the early Germanic tribe people who settled down to the west of the Black Sea somewhere in the 3rd Century CE. They played influential role in the decline of Western Roman Empire.

35. When did the Visigoths sack rome ?

Ans. Visigoths sack rome on 24 August 410 AD under the visigothic king Aleric.

36. Who were the goths ?

Ans. Goths were the nomadic German people who played a major role in the downfall of Roman Empire.

37. Who won the Battle of Carthage ?

Ans. After a long conflict of 23 years and humongous loss from both sides the Carthaginians were ultimately defeated by the Romans.

38. Who won the Battle of Adrianople in 378 AD ?

Ans. Emperor Valens lost the Battle of Adrianople from Gothic rebels in A.D. 378. This played a decisive role in the process of fall of Western Roman Empire.

39. Who were the Parthians ?

Ans. The Parthians were a central Asian steppe nomad group, similar to the Saka, Scythians, and later the Huns. They ruled over ancient Persia from 247 BC to 228 AD.

40. Who was Crassus ?

Ans. Marcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome."

41. How did Crassus die ?

Ans. He was defeated and killed at the Battle of Carrhae in southern Anatolia.

42. Who was Diocletian ?

Ans. Diocletian was Roman Emperor from 284 to 305 CE who was known to restore the efficient and effective government after a century of anarchy.

43. When did Diocletian split the empire ?

Ans. Emperor Diocletian split the Roman Empire into an eastern half and a western half in 285 CE

44. How did Diocletian try to improve rome's economy ?

Ans. Emperor Diocletian took number of measures to improve the rome's economy. He set maximum prices for wages and goods to prevent prices from rising. He ordered workers to remain in the same job until they died. Also he made local officials personally responsible for the taxes their communities had to pay.

45. Why did Diocletian decide to split the empire ?

Ans. Diocletian understood quite well that a major problem in ruling a territory of the extent of the Roman Empire was its immense and overwhelming size. It was far too large to be ruled by just one person, so one of the first actions taken by the new emperor was to split the empire into two parts.

46. Who were the Caledonians ?

Ans. The Caledonians or the Caledonian Confederacy were a Brittonic-speaking (Celtic) tribal confederacy in Northern Britain, what is now Scotland, during the Iron Age and Roman eras.

47. Who was Boudica ?

Ans. Boudica was famously known for her revolt against Roman rule in 60 or 61 AD. She was known to be a warrior queen of the Iceni people, who lived in what is now East Anglia, England

48. Who was Mark Antony ?

Ans. Mark Antony or Marcus Antonius was a Roman Politician and general who also known to be the greatest ally of Julius Caesar and the main rival of his successor Octavian.

49. How did Mark Antony die ?

Ans. During the battle with Octavian, Mark Antony thought that his lover Cleopatra is already dead, so he stabbed himself with a sword but was then brought to die in Cleopatra's arms. He died on August 1st, 30 BC. Later on Cleopatra was also captured but somehow she managed to kill herself via a poisonous snakebite hence both of them committing suicide.

50. Who was Octavian ?

Ans. Octavian, also known as Augustus was the first emperor of ancient Rome. Augustus came to power after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. In 27 BCE Augustus “restored” the republic of Rome, though he himself retained all real power as the princeps, or “first citizen,” of Rome.

51. How did Octavian die ?

Ans. Augustus died of natural causes on August 19, 14 CE, at age 75.

52. Who was Ptolemy ?

Ans. Ptolemy was an Egyptian astronomer, mathematician, and geographer of Greek descent who flourished in Alexandria during the 2nd century CE.

53. How does Decius convince Caesar to go to the capitol ?

Ans. He tells Caesar that he interpreted Calpurnia's dream wrong. He also tells him that the senate means to crown him, but may change their mind. Decius also attacks Caesar's honor by telling him the senators will think he is a coward.

54. When was Julius Caesar born ?

Ans. He was born on 12th July 100 BC.

55. How many times was Caesar stabbed ?

Ans. Caesar was collectively stabbed by Roman Senators 23 times.

56. How tall was Julius Caesar ?

Ans. In today's measurement, Julius Caesar was 5 feet 7 inches tall.

57. How old was Caesar when he died ?

Ans. He was 55 years old.

58. How many times was Caesar offered the crown ?

Ans. According to some reports, Mark Antony offered the crown to Caesar three times, but that Caesar rejected it each time and then fell down in an epileptic seizure.

59. When did Julius Caesar rule ?

Ans. Julius Caesar rule was for very short time period i.e from 46 to 44 BC.

60. How did Diocletian and Maximian encourage economic recovery ?

Ans. Diocletian and Maximian planned to support the poorer half of the empire from the wealth of other half of the roman empire. They significantly reformed the tax and other important laws to control the inflation. They also made their army smaller to save the operating costs.

61. How did Caesar win the Battle of Alesia ?

Ans. He besieged Vercingetorix’s Gaul army by building a fortress wall around them. But more Gauls were coming to fight the Romans, so Caesar built a second wall on the other side. That means his army was placed between the two walls and could fight to simultaneously keep Vercingetorix trapped while keeping the other Gauls out. Vercingetorix and his army eventually ran out of food and had to surrender. Alesia is considered Caesar’s greatest victory.

62. Who was Artemidorus ?

Ans. Artemidorus Daldianus or Ephesius was a professional diviner who lived in the 2nd century AD. He is known from an extant five-volume Greek work, the Oneirocritica or Oneirokritikon.

63. Who was Cicero ?

Ans. Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire.

64. How did Cicero die ?

Ans. In 43 B.C., Cicero was murdered at the order of Mark Antony.

65. Who was Brutus ?

Ans. Marcus Junius Brutus, also called Quintus Caepio Brutus was Roman Politician and one of the key leaders in conspiracy that assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 BC.

66. What does Brutus say about killing Mark Antony ?

Ans. In Brutus's opinion, killing Mark Antony would only portray him and the conspirators as bloodthirsty murderers. Brutus argues they have nothing to fear by sparing Antony's life, which could not be further from the truth.

67. How did Brutus die ?

Ans. On October 23, Brutus' army was crushed by Octavian and Antony at a second encounter at Philippi, and Brutus took his own life.

68. Who was the first Christian Roman Emperor ?

Ans. Emperor Constantine was the first to accept the Christianity as a major transition in the Roman empire.

69. When did rome become Christian religion follower ?

Ans. In 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which accepted Christianity and then  10 years later, it had become the official religion of the Roman Empire.

70. When did Rome leave Britain ?

Ans. The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410 CE.

71. Who won the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC ?

Ans. The combined forces of Roman and Egyptian army of Julius Caesar and and Cleopatra VII defeated those of the rival Queen Arsinoe IV and King Ptolemy XIII and secured the throne of Egypt.

72. Who was Spartacus ?

Ans. Spartacus was a Roman slave and gladiator who led a revolt against Rome, which turned into the Third Servile War (73 B.C. to 71 B.C.).

73. How did Spartacus die ?

Ans. Spartacus was believed to have died in the battle at Lucania, about 56 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Naples against the Roman Empire which was led by General Marcus Licinius Crassus in 71 BC.

74. Did the Huns invade Rome ?

Ans. The Huns, especially under their King Attila, made frequent and devastating raids into the Eastern Roman Empire. In 451, the Huns invaded the Western Roman province of Gaul, where they fought a combined army of Romans and Visigoths at the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, and in 452 they invaded Italy. More on wikipedia.

75. Who won the Battle of Cannae ?

Ans. The Battle of Cannae  was the decisive victory of the Carthaginian army over Roman forces at Cannae on 2 August 216 BCE.

76. When was the Battle of Actium took place ?

Ans. The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet led by Octavian and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator in 31 BC.

77. Who won the Battle of Actium ?

Ans. Roman leader Octavian won a decisive victory against the forces of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt in the Battle of Actium.

78. Why was the Battle of Milvian Bridge important ?

Ans. Battle of Milvian Bridge played a decisive role in spreading christianity around the world.

79. Who won the Battle of Philippi civil war in 42 BC ? 

Ans. Battle of Philippi resulted into the defeat of two main conspirators of Julius Caesar assassination - Gaius Cassius and Marcus Brutus. They were defeated by the triumvirate( Mark Antony, Octavian Caesar, and Marcus Lepidus).

80. How many people died in the Battle of Trebia ?

Ans. At least 15,000 Romans died at Trebbia, and possibly another 12,000–15,000 were taken prisoner, the Carthaginians suffered approximately 5,000 casualties.

81. Where was the Battle of Corinth took place in 146 BC ?

Ans. It was fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek city-state of Corinth and its allies in the Achaean League.

82. Who was Arminius ?

Ans. Arminius was a German tribal leader who inflicted a major defeat on Rome by destroying three legions under Publius Quinctilius Varus in the Teutoburg Forest (southeast of modern Bielefeld, Germany), late in the summer of 9 CE.

83. Who fought in the Punic wars ?

Ans. Punic wars were fought between Carthage and Rome to establish control over the strategic islands of Corsica and Sicily.

84. How many Punic wars were there ?

Ans. There were three Punic wars took place between Carthage and Rome over nearly a century.

85. When did the second Punic war started ?

Ans. The second Punic war started in 218 BC.

86. When was the third Punic war started ?

Ans. The third Punic war started in 149 BC.

87. Who won the first Punic war ?

Ans. Rome won the first Punic war against the Carthage in 241 BC.

88. Who won the second Punic war ?

Ans. Second Punic war which lasted from 218 to 201 BC won by Rome's Scipio Africanus against the great Carthaginian general Hannibal after a long battle.

89. Who won the third Punic war ?

Ans. In the Third Punic War, the Romans, led by Scipio the Younger, captured and destroyed the city of Carthage in 146 B.C

90. When did rome defeat the Carthage ?

And. With the destruction of the City of Carthage in the third Punic war in 146 BC, Rome finally completely overpowered the Carthaginians.

91. Who were the Etruscans ?

Ans. Etruscans were the member of an ancient people of Etruria, Italy, between the Tiber and Arno rivers west and south of the Apennines.

92. What were the Etruscans skilled in ?

Ans. The Etruscans were skilled bronze-workers making bronze pots, tools, weapons, and household items. They were also skilled architects.

93. How did the Etruscans influence the development of rome ?

Ans. Etruscan influence on the development of ancient Roman culture was huge and it was from the Etruscans that the Romans inherited many of their own cultural and artistic traditions, from the spectacle of gladiatorial combat, to hydraulic engineering, temple design, and religious ritual, among many other things.

94. How many Civil wars did Rome have ?

Ans. There are around 30 documented and many undocumented civil wars fought within the Roman Empire.

95. Who ended the Roman Civil war ?

Ans. Octavian brought peace to the Roman state that had been plagued by a century of civil wars. Octavian became the most powerful man in the Roman world and the Senate bestowed upon him the honorific of Augustus in 27 BC.

96. Which battle played an important role in advance of Christianity in the World ?

Ans. Battle of Milvian Bridge

97. Which battle played a decisive role in wiping out Huns from Roman and Western Civilization ?

Ans. Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

98. In which battle Rome finally defeated their Carthaginian rivals ?

Ans. Third and final Punic war, also called Third Carthaginian War resulted in the final destruction of Carthage, the enslavement of its population, and Roman hegemony over the western Mediterranean.

99. Which battle was the first major battle between Rome and Carthaginian ?

Ans. Battle Agrigentum in 261 BC.

100. Did Nero Burn Rome ?

Ans. The popular saying that "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" is not true - even in the first century CE, Rome was filled with poorly constructed slums that easily caught fire. On July 18, 64 CE, a fire started in the enormous Circus Maximus stadium in Rome, now the capital of Italy.