1. These pictures point out to one person. Who? (10p) 2 extra points for each connection to a picture.
Archimedes of Syracusae (287-212BC). The first picture refers to the test Hiero of Syracusae put him to when he gave him 2 similar crowns, one of gold, another of an alloy similar in colour. He was to found out which was for real and he supposedly did so by sinking them in water and measuring the differences in volume and mass. The second is a pulley, since it is well known that Archimedes was the greatest inventor in matter of pulleys and levers (that were the peak of mechanics of his time). The third is a mirror. Legend says that he used huge mirrors to set ablaze the Roman besieging Syracusae. Finally "Archimedes Half Moons" is a geometry problem that states that the area of the halfmoons is equal to the area of the triangle.
2. What is this? (10p) When was it in fashion and who first made one? (10p)
The first seismometer. Chinese inventor Chang Heng first used it in 132 AD. It was called Houfeng Didong Yi (lit. instrument for measuring the seasonal winds and the movements of the Earth) and functioned by dropping a small metal ball from the mouth of the dragon inside the frog's, showing the direction of the seismic wave.
3. When did the Battle of Colenso took place and between whom? (10p) What was remarkable about it? (10p)
The Battle of Colenso was fought between British and Boer forces at Colenso, South Africa on 15 December 1899 as part of the Second Boer War. The British had 143 killed, 755 wounded, 240 captured (including 10 cannons) whereas only 6 Boers died and 21 were wounded. Of course I didn't need the exact numbers but the Boers won an extraordinary victory although beeing outnumbered by almost 5 to 1.
4. Who is this guy? (10p) Where did he live? (6p)
Massinissa (c. 238 BC - c. 148 BC) was the first King of Numidia, an ancient North African nation of Berber peoples, and is most famous for his role as a Roman ally in the Battle of Zama. Initially an enemy of Rome, he aided them in the battle with Hannibal and, with Roman backing he established his own kingdom of Numidia, west of Carthage, with Cirta (present day Constantine) as its capital city.
All through his life Masinissa extended his territory, and he was cooperating with Rome when towards the end of his life he provoked Carthage to go to war against him. Based on descriptions from Livy, the Numidians began raiding around seventy towns in the southern and western sections of Carthage's remaining territory. Outraged with their conduct, Carthage went to war against them, in defiance of a Roman treaty forbidding them to make war on anyone, precipitating the 3rd and last Punic War. Ancient accounts suggest Masinissa lived beyond the age of 90 and was apparently still personally leading the armies of his kingdom when he died. After his death, Numidia was divided into several smaller kingdoms ruled by his sons.
5. These are three sets of quotations from three countrymen. Who? (12p each correct author and title)
a. George Gordon Byron (Lord Byron) - "The Destruction of Sennacherib"
b. William Shakespeare - "MacBeth"
c. Geoffrey Chaucer - "Canterbury Tales"
6. Please link the following Romanian personalities to a picture, life period and ocupation (e.g. 1-a-A-I). 6p for each correct line, 3p for one mistake and 1p for 2 mistakes. One does not belong with the others. Who and why (what did the other four have in common) (5p)?
1-e-C-I
2-c-A-IV
3-d-B-II
4-a-E-V
5-b-D-III
Well it's obvious that King Mihai I hasn't died yet. And he is the only crowned head among them. All of the others have died in Paris. What they all had in common is that they spent most of their life abroad, arguably because of the communist regime back home. I accepted any other logical argumentations.
7. What is this? (10p) What does it stand for? (10p)
The Khamsa. According to wikipedia: "an alternative Islamic name for this charm is the Hand of Fatima or Eye of Fatima, in reference to Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Mohammed. An alternative Jewish name for it is the Hand of Miriam, in reference to the sister of Moses and Aaron as well as the Hamesh Hand. It serves as an ancient talismanic way of averting and getting protection from the evil eye, or more generally of providing a "protecting hand" or "Hand of God". It appears, often in stylised form, as a hand with three fingers raised, and sometimes with two thumbs arranged symmetrically. The symbol is used in amulets, charms, jewelry, door entrances, cars, and other places to ward the evil eye." According to some sources, the five fingers point out to the five pillars of Islam.
8. This one is a bit harder so I've split it into 2 separate parts. Both are optional so if you solve either one you get the maximum points. They are however connected.
a. I'm looking for a special person. For his folk he was a deity. Here's 2 pictures: (16p)
b. Name this event. The guy impaled in the spikes is obviously dead. He didn't feel much sorrow about dying, though, on the contrary. Why? The other one is... well you will have to tell me. What's the relation to the second picture? (16p)
The "special person" is Zamolxis, main god of the Dacian people. Herodotus mentioned him beeing a human, once a pupil of Pythagoras, who was a reformer and king of the Dacians once he returned to them from abroad. He was deified after disapearing in a cave and all Dacians believed they will go to Zamolxis if they died in battle, similar to the Norse myth of Valhalla. The first picture is believed to depict him, the second is of his great sanctuary at Sarmizegetusa, the Dacian mountain capital.
The event is called the "calushar" and has kept it's name unchanged even today in Romanian folklore, although nobody hurls people into spears anymore. The first image tells of a habit of the Dacians that happened once every four years when the high priest chose the one most pure in heart among the people. He would then tell him the message he was supposed to deliver to Zamolxis and he was sworn to secrecy. He would then be hurled over 4 spears hold by 4 soldiers (in this picture he was droped upon the spears from a height). If he died then the god favoured him. If he didn't he was scorned for not beeing pure enough. The second picture shows the traditional dance of the "calushar" which derives from this older sacrifice habit and is popular even today. One of the dancers called a "mute" is sworn to secrecy and all throughout the dance which may last several days he is not allowed to uther a single word. "Calushar" may be related to the Romanian word for horse (cal) and/or for gag (calus). I was surprised to see a similar folk dance in Britain.
The people are obviously the Dacians. Herodotus said about them that they are the "bravest and most righteous of the Thracians", fearless of death as they hoped to go to Zamolxis, but also unruly.
9. Name these people, please, 5p for each:
Walter Gropius (1883-1969), founder and first director of the Bauhaus
Charles-Edouard Jeanneret also known as Le Corbusier (1887-1965)
Kenzo Tange (1913-2005)
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
They were all major contemporary architects that revolutionized this art in their countries.
10. He was the son of the one they called "conquerer of the world". He fought his father and was then forgiven for his disobedience by him. He followed him to rule and strenthened his empire to it's largest extend. He is however best remebered for his inclination to arts. He built one of the most impresive monuments of his time. All this only for him to be deposed, in turn by his own power hungry son as he went ill. His last days were spent gazing at his greatest creation and this was to be his last comfort.
Who was he ?(20p)
Shahbuddin Mohammed Shah Jahan, ruler of the Mughal Empire in India from 1628 until 1658. He was son of Jahangir which literally means "Conqueror of the World", or "Dominant over the World" in Persian. His most important monument was the Taj Mahal and he died in captivity overlooking his greatest architectural creation after beeing imprisoned by his son.
11. I've seen a few of these in Budapest. What culture created this? (10p)
The Urartu culture. The ex prime minister of Hungary, Victor Orban, donated quite a few Urartu artefacts to the military museum in Budapest.
12. Whose banner was this? (16p)
The Byzantine Empire. It is comprised of St. George's cross and the Paleologus red and gold banner.
13. Since I liked Ram's quiz about compared mithology I included one of my own: I've chosen five gods from each of 8 pantheons, the supreme god, the sun god, the god of lightning/air, the god of war, and the god of hunting. All of these have (at least) one corespondent in all the eight pantheons: Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Indian, Gallic, Dacian, Aztec and Mayan.
Note that a single god may fulfill sometimes two (or more) functions (e.g. supreme god Odin was also god of war and of hunting). (8x5x1,5=60p)
The Supreme God is: Roman Jupiter, Greek Zeus, Egyptian Amon-Ra/Osiris/Ptah/Horus depending on region, Indian Brahma (the trinity Brahma, Vishnu Shiva), Gallic Lugus(for Lugdunum) or Esus, Dacian Zamolxis, Aztec Huitzilopochtli, Mayan Kukulcan (although I accepted Hunab Ku too)
The Sun God is: Roman Sol, Greek Helios, Egyptian Ra/Amon-Ra, Indian Ravi/Surya, Gallic Belenus, Dacian Zamolxis, Aztec Huitzilopochtli, Mayan Ahaw Kin
The God of Lightning/Air is: Roman Jupiter, Greek Zeus, Egyptian Amon/Nut/Horus, Indian Indra, Gallic Taranis, Dacian Gebeleizis, Aztec Quetzalcoatl(air)/Tlaloc(thunder), Mayan Ah Peku(thunder)/Kukulcan(air)
The God of War is: Roman Mars, Greek Ares, Egyptians had many (including Mentu, Sekhmet, Seth, Ankt, Maahes, Menhit, Mont, Neith), Indian Indra, Gallic Teutates (although I accepted Camulus and Smertios too), Dacian Heros - the Thracian Rider, Aztec Mextli, Camaxtli, even Huitzilopochtli again and Mayan Nacon, Ah Cun Can or Ah Chuy Kak
The God of Hunting is: Roman Diana, Greek Artemis, Egyptian Wepwawet/Horus, Indian Banka-Mundi, Gallic Abnoba, Dacian Bendis, Aztec Camaxtli, Mayan Ah Can Cum/Ah Tabai.
14. What is a "nakhara"?(12p)
A nakhara (or naqara) was an especially large drum that was used by the Mongol in battle. The drum itself was so large it was necessary to have it carried into battle by a beast of burden, traditionally a camel. Its main use was as a signaling device, to let warriors know when an attack, especially a surprise atack, begin.
15. What theory has found a possible answer in Isla de la Juventud, near Cuba? (16p)
Recent underwater discoveries off the west coast of Cuba have led some to speculate on a connection with the lost island of Atlantis. Even before these discoveries were announced, author Andrew Collins had explored the Cuba connection in a book titled "Gateway to Atlantis." Collins supports his hypothesis with a great deal of indirect but compelling historical and geographical evidence. He finally suggests present-day Isle of Youth and the shallow sea bottom that surrounds it as a possible location for Atlantis.
16. Finally let's have some destructive fun. What are the names of each of these? (5p each).
The Vickers Medium Mark I, employed by the British in WWI.
The French Schneider CA1, same war.
German Sturmgeschutz StuG IIIG, antitank, WWII.
Soviet BM-13N missile truck, also known as Katyusha, same war.
The "Maus" prototype tank, end of WWII, Germany.
Well that's it. Hope you enjoyed it. Let's give it for Aion!!! Time for him to take the stage...
Incidentally I was doing research on a completely different matter (for wikipedia) when I suddenly bumped into the picture of one of the persons. So I have a bad, bad problem with my conscience right now 
Especially as it was exactly these 5 points I gained for identifying the person that put me in front of Rambuchan!
).
Plus Ciceronian and sydhe breathing in my neck, too... Damn, I think now I know what those poor rabbits must feel like when they are being pursued by bloodhounds.
Whoever wins, I think an exciting new quiz awaits, although I can't wait to see the answers to this one.
I also note with some worry the tendency to inflate the competitors' scores by increasing the number of points per question, is that so to boast our egos??? 
. Maibe a rule that makes no new submissions in the last 24 hours of the quiz. But then I'm sure most would submit just one question prior to that limit...
with 154.5p
A big thank you for the_Monarch for a truly royal quiz 
I almost think I should have let you win... But only almost 
. Also, it turned out that Walter Gropius (whom I first thought to be Alvar Aalto...) attended the same school as I. That's how I incidentally found out the quiz answer: Someone had added the info to the Wikipedia article about my school and I tried to verify it... And as soon as I had typed 'Walter Gropius' into google there popped up that very same image as in the quiz 
