20 multiple-choice (MCQ / objective) questions from this chapter, in every exam-style shape used in the paper. Every question comes with an explanation along with the answer, so you remember why the option is correct, not just which one it is.
1 Direct Questions
Direct Questions
- 1 markWhich two rivers formed the northern boundary of the Roman Empire?
(A) The Rhine and the Danube(B) The Tigris and the Euphrates(C) The Nile and the Guadalquivir(D) The Rhone and the Seine - 1 markIn which year did Augustus establish the regime called the Principate?
(A) 31 BCE(B) 27 BCE(C) 14 CE(D) 509 BCE - 1 markWhich emperor consolidated the shift of power to the provinces by excluding senators from military command?
(A) Diocletian(B) Constantine(C) Gallienus(D) Trajan - 1 markWhich three cities are named in the chapter as the biggest urban centres lining the shores of the Mediterranean?
(A) Rome, Ravenna and Milan(B) Carthage, Alexandria and Antioch(C) Athens, Sparta and Corinth(D) Damascus, Baghdad and Palmyra - 1 markHow many emperors ruled Rome in the 47 years that mark the third-century crisis?
(A) 12(B) 18(C) 25(D) 47 - 1 markConstantine’s most important innovation was monetary. Which new coin did he introduce?
(A) The denarius, a silver coin of 4½ g(B) The solidus, a gold coin of 4½ g(C) The sestertius, a bronze coin(D) The drachma, a silver coin of the eastern provinces
2 Assertion-Reason
Assertion-Reason
- 1 markAssertion (A): The Roman army is described as a professional army.
Reason (R): Roman soldiers were paid by the state and enlisted for a minimum of 25 years’ service.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true - 1 markAssertion (A): Slaves performed the bulk of the labour in every province of the Roman Empire.
Reason (R): Free labour was used extensively on public works at Rome because slaves had to be fed and maintained all year round.
(A) A and R are both true, and R correctly explains A(B) A and R are both true, but R does not explain A(C) A is true, but R is false(D) A is false, but R is true
3 Match the Following
Match the Following
- 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) Augustus (ii) Diocletian (iii) Constantine (iv) Gallienus
List II: (a) Excluded senators from military command (b) Founded the Principate in 27 BCE (c) Reorganised the empire into 100 provinces (d) Introduced the gold solidus and founded Constantinople
(A) i-b, ii-c, iii-d, iv-a(B) i-b, ii-d, iii-c, iv-a(C) i-c, ii-b, iii-a, iv-d(D) i-a, ii-c, iii-d, iv-b - 1 markMatch List I with List II.
List I: (i) On Good and Bad Diet (ii) Natural History (iii) The Roman Near East (iv) The account of the incomes of the great houses of Rome
List II: (a) Pliny the Elder (b) Olympiodorus of Thebes (c) Galen (d) Fergus Millar
(A) i-a, ii-c, iii-d, iv-b(B) i-c, ii-a, iii-b, iv-d(C) i-d, ii-a, iii-c, iv-b(D) i-c, ii-a, iii-d, iv-b
4 Statement-Based Questions
Statement-Based Questions
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: The Roman Republic was overthrown by Octavian, who later took the name Augustus.
Statement II: Under the Republic, real power lay with the Senate, a body dominated by a small group of wealthy families.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true - 1 markConsider the following statements.
Statement I: Slavery came to an end in the Roman Empire once Christianity became the state religion in the fourth century.
Statement II: As warfare grew rarer after the first century, the supply of slaves fell, and owners turned to slave breeding or to cheaper wage labour.
(A) Both statements are true, and Statement II explains Statement I(B) Both statements are true, but Statement II does not explain Statement I(C) Statement I is true, Statement II is false(D) Statement I is false, Statement II is true
5 Chronological Ordering
Chronological Ordering
- 1 markArrange the following events in chronological order.
1. Constantine founds Constantinople
2. The Sasanian dynasty is founded in Iran
3. Augustus founds the Principate
4. Rome is sacked by the Visigoths
(A) 3-2-1-4(B) 3-1-2-4(C) 2-3-1-4(D) 3-2-4-1 - 1 markArrange these emperors in the order in which they ruled.
1. Diocletian
2. Trajan
3. Justinian
4. Gallienus
(A) 2-1-4-3(B) 2-4-1-3(C) 4-2-1-3(D) 2-4-3-1
6 Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the Blanks
- 1 markAugustus kept alive the fiction that he was merely the ______, or ‘leading citizen’, out of respect for the Senate.
(A) Imperator(B) Princeps(C) Consul(D) Dux - 1 markA law of ______ CE ordered workers to be branded, so that runaways could be identified.
(A) 298(B) 398(C) 498(D) 598
7 Odd One Out
Odd One Out
- 1 markWhich of these is NOT one of the three broad kinds of source the chapter uses for Roman history?
(A) Texts(B) Documents(C) Material remains(D) Oral traditions handed down by village elders
8 Passage-Based Questions
Passage-Based Questions
Passage
“The famine prevalent for many successive years in many provinces has clearly displayed for men of any understanding the effect of malnutrition in generating illness. The city-dwellers, as it was their custom to collect and store enough grain for the whole of the next year immediately after the harvest, carried off all the wheat, barley, beans and lentils, and left to the peasants various kinds of pulse… After consuming what was left in the course of the winter, the country people had to resort to unhealthy foods in the spring; they ate twigs and shoots of trees and bushes and bulbs and roots of inedible plants…”
— the physician Galen, On Good and Bad Diet
— the physician Galen, On Good and Bad Diet
- 1 markAccording to the passage, what did the city-dwellers customarily do immediately after the harvest?
(A) Sold their grain to the peasants at low prices(B) Collected and stored enough grain for the whole of the next year(C) Handed their surplus over to the emperor as tax(D) Distributed free wheat at the public baths - 1 markWhat does the passage say the country people were reduced to eating in the spring?
(A) Wheat, barley and lentils(B) Meat and fish brought from the coast(C) Twigs, shoots, bulbs and roots of inedible plants(D) Bread bought in the city markets
9 True / False
True / False
- 1 markConsider the following statements.
(i) Public baths were a striking feature of Roman urban life.
(ii) An Iranian ruler who tried to introduce public baths faced the fury of the clergy there.
(A) Both are true(B) Only (i) is true(C) Only (ii) is true(D) Both are false
Answer Key and Explanations
Direct Questions1. (A): The chapter states that the empire’s boundary in the north was formed by the rivers Rhine and Danube, and in the south by the Sahara desert. · 2. (B): Augustus established the Principate in 27 BCE, keeping alive the fiction that he was only the Senate’s leading citizen. · 3. (C): Gallienus (253-68 CE) barred senators from army commands, keeping control of the army out of senatorial hands. · 4. (B): Carthage, Alexandria and Antioch were the largest of the great Mediterranean urban centres, described as the true bedrock of imperial administration. · 5. (C): Twenty-five emperors in 47 years is the clearest symptom of how badly the empire was strained in this period. · 6. (B): Constantine introduced the solidus, a coin of 4½ grams of pure gold, after the Spanish silver mines were exhausted; it outlasted the Roman Empire itself.
Assertion-Reason1. (A): Both statements are true. Pay and a fixed minimum term of 25 years are exactly what made the Roman army professional, so R gives the reason behind A. Iran’s army, by contrast, was raised by conscription. · 2. (D): A overstates the case: the chapter says that although slavery was deeply rooted, slaves did the bulk of the work only in much of Republican Italy, and never across the whole empire. R is a true statement and is one reason why.
Match the Following1. (A): Augustus founded the Principate, Diocletian created 100 provinces in 297 CE, Constantine issued the solidus and founded Constantinople, and Gallienus shut senators out of army command. · 2. (D): Galen the physician wrote On Good and Bad Diet, Pliny the Elder wrote Natural History, the modern historian Fergus Millar wrote The Roman Near East, and Olympiodorus of Thebes described the incomes of Rome’s great houses.
Statement-Based Questions1. (B): Both statements are correct, but the second describes how the Republic worked rather than why Octavian was able to overthrow it, so it offers no explanation of the first. · 2. (D): The first statement is wrong: the chapter says plainly that the institution was never seriously challenged even after Christianity became the state religion. The second is a correct account of what did change.
Chronological Ordering1. (A): The Principate came first in 27 BCE, the Sasanian dynasty in 224-25 CE, Constantinople in 324 CE, and the sack of Rome in 410 CE. · 2. (B): Trajan ruled 98-117 CE, Gallienus 253-68 CE, Diocletian 284-305 CE and Justinian 527-65 CE.
Fill in the Blanks1. (B): Princeps is Latin for leading citizen, and it gives the regime founded in 27 BCE its name, the Principate. · 2. (B): The branding law of 398 CE is one of the chapter’s sharpest illustrations of how far employers went to hold on to their workforce.
Odd One Out1. (D): The chapter’s three-way classification is texts, documents and material remains; oral tradition is no part of it.
Passage-Based Questions1. (B): Galen says it was the city-dwellers’ custom to store a full year’s grain straight after the harvest, which is why the shortage fell on the countryside. · 2. (C): Having eaten what was left through the winter, the peasants turned in spring to twigs, shoots, bulbs and roots of inedible plants.
True / False1. (A): Both are drawn straight from the chapter: bathing in public was ordinary in Roman cities, while in Iran water was a sacred element and public bathing looked like a desecration.
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