History · Unit 5
Ancient Rome
Republic, empire and legions
Rome is really two stories with one name. The Republic ran for roughly five centuries on elected magistrates and a senate; the Empire that replaced it kept the vocabulary of the Republic while concentrating power in one man.
The unit covers both, along with the army that made expansion possible and the engineering - roads, aqueducts, concrete - that made holding the territory possible. The religion sits here too, though much of it was Greek with the names changed.
This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 95 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 20
- Questions
- 95
- Difficulty
- 1-3
What this unit covers
- Rome
- Emperors
- The Colosseum
- Roman Soldiers
- Roman Gods
Where this fits
Follows Ancient Greece naturally. The Middle Ages picks up directly from Rome's collapse in the west.
Where people slip
The empire did not fall in 476. The western half fragmented; the eastern half continued from Constantinople for another thousand years.
How the unit is structured
Ancient Rome runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 95 in the unit altogether.
Emperors
- Fact or fibLevel 2
1. Emperor Nero was ruling Rome when a great fire spread through much of the city in 64 AD.
Answer: True
A great fire swept through Rome in 64 AD during the reign of the emperor Nero.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
2. In 49 BC, Julius Caesar started a civil war by crossing the ____ river with his army.
- Rubiconcorrect
- Tiber
- Nile
- Rhine
Bringing an army across the Rubicon into Italy was forbidden, so Caesar's crossing meant war with no turning back. 'Crossing the Rubicon' still means passing a point of no return.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
3. Who was the first Roman emperor?
- Augustuscorrect
- Neptune
- Hannibal
- Romulus
Augustus was the very first emperor of the Roman Empire.
- True or falseLevel 2
4. Julius Caesar was the first emperor of Rome.
Answer: False
False. Caesar was a powerful dictator who was assassinated in 44 BC. His adopted heir Augustus became the first true emperor a few years later.
- Match the pairsLevel 3
5. Match each Roman emperor to what he is remembered for.
Answer: Augustus = Rome's first emperor; Hadrian = Built a wall across northern Britain; Trajan = Empire reached its greatest size; Nero = Ruled during the Great Fire of Rome
Augustus began the empire; Hadrian's Wall guarded Roman Britain; under Trajan the empire spread widest (around 117 AD); Nero ruled when the Great Fire swept Rome in 64 AD.
- Sequence recallLevel 3
6. Put these Roman emperors in order, from earliest to latest.
Answer: Augustus -> Nero -> Trajan -> Constantine
Augustus ruled first, then Nero, then Trajan, and Constantine came much later.
Roman Gods
- Fact or fibLevel 1
7. Mars was the Roman god of war.
Answer: True
True. Mars was the god of war and one of Rome's most important gods. The month March and the planet Mars are both named after him.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
8. Which two of these were Roman gods?
- Jupitercorrect
- Marscorrect
- Augustus
- Julius Caesar
Jupiter and Mars were Roman gods. Augustus and Julius Caesar were real Roman leaders, not gods.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
9. Match each Roman god to what they ruled.
Answer: Jupiter = King of the gods; Neptune = God of the sea; Mars = God of war
Jupiter was king of the gods, Neptune ruled the sea, and Mars was the god of war.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
10. Which Roman god was the king of the gods?
- Jupitercorrect
- Neptune
- Mars
- Augustus
Jupiter was the king of the Roman gods.
- Odd one outLevel 2
11. Which one was NOT a Roman god?
- Jupiter
- Mars
- Neptune
- Augustuscorrect
Jupiter, Mars, and Neptune were gods. Augustus was a real emperor, not a god.
- Picture questionLevel 2
12. 🏛️ This famous domed Roman temple was built to honor all of the gods together. What is its name?
- The Pantheoncorrect
- The Colosseum
- The Circus Maximus
- The Roman Forum
The Pantheon in Rome was a temple built to honor all the Roman gods, and it is famous for its huge dome.
Roman Soldiers
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
13. What were Roman soldiers called?
- Legionariescorrect
- Sailors
- Farmers
- Bakers
Roman soldiers were called legionaries, and they wore armor and helmets.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
14. Which of these did Roman soldiers, called legionaries, actually use in battle? Pick all that are correct.
- A large shieldcorrect
- A short swordcorrect
- Metal armorcorrect
- A machine gun
Roman soldiers fought with shields, short swords, and armor, but guns were not invented until many centuries later.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
15. Roman soldiers were called legionaries.
Answer: True
True. Roman soldiers were called legionaries, and they wore armor and helmets.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
16. Roman soldiers marched far and wore metal ____ to protect their bodies.
- armorcorrect
- silk
- fur
Roman soldiers wore metal armor and helmets to protect themselves in battle.
- Guess the numberLevel 2
17. About how many soldiers made up a full-strength Roman legion?
Answer: 5000 soldiers
A full-strength Roman legion was made up of roughly 5,000 soldiers.
- Build the sentenceLevel 3
18. Build the sentence describing soldiers who were not Roman citizens.
Answer: Non-citizen soldiers in the army were called auxiliaries
Non-citizen soldiers who supported the legions were known as auxiliaries.
Rome
- Fact or fibLevel 1
19. The Romans were famous for building many roads.
Answer: True
True. People say "all roads lead to Rome" because the Romans built so many roads.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
20. Ancient Rome began as a city in ____.
- Italycorrect
- Egypt
- Spain
Rome began as a city in Italy and grew into a huge empire.
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
21. Build the famous saying about Rome.
Answer: All roads lead to Rome
People say "all roads lead to Rome" because the Romans built so many roads across their empire.
- Guess the numberLevel 2
22. The Romans wrote numbers with letters. What number is the Roman numeral X?
Answer: 10
In Roman numerals, the letter X stands for the number 10.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
23. Which of these did Roman engineers actually build or invent? Select all that apply.
- Aqueducts to carry water into citiescorrect
- Long, straight paved stone roads
- Strong concrete for buildingscorrect
- Gunpowder cannons
Romans were master builders: aqueducts moved fresh water for miles, paved roads linked the empire, and their concrete let them raise domes and arches. Gunpowder weapons came far later, in the medieval era.
- Match the pairsLevel 3
24. Match each Roman word to its meaning.
Answer: Legionary = A Roman soldier; Colosseum = A giant arena; Emperor = Ruler of the empire; Aqueduct = A water channel
A legionary was a Roman soldier, the Colosseum was a giant arena, an emperor ruled the empire, and an aqueduct carried water.
The Colosseum
- Fact or fibLevel 1
25. The Colosseum could hold tens of thousands of people.
Answer: True
True. The huge Colosseum could hold tens of thousands of cheering people.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
26. The fighters in the Colosseum were called ____.
- gladiatorscorrect
- knights
- pirates
The fighters who battled in the Colosseum were called gladiators.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
27. What was the Colosseum?
- A giant arena for gamescorrect
- A long river
- A Roman school
- A type of bread
The Colosseum was a giant round arena in Rome where crowds watched games.
- Picture questionLevel 1
28. 🏛️ This giant Roman arena is where gladiators fought while huge crowds watched. What is it called?
- The Colosseumcorrect
- The Pyramids
- The Great Wall
- The Parthenon
The Colosseum was a huge arena in Rome where gladiators fought and thousands of people came to watch.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
29. Pick the two true things about the Colosseum.
- It was a giant round arenacorrect
- Crowds watched games therecorrect
- It was a tiny boat
- It floated on the sea
The Colosseum was a giant round arena where huge crowds watched games and fighters.
- Guess the numberLevel 3
30. About how many spectators could the Colosseum in Rome hold?
Answer: 50000 spectators
The Colosseum was huge and could hold around 50,000 people who came to watch games and shows.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 18 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Flashcard
- Guess the number
- Listen and choose
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sequence recall
- Sort into groups
- Spell it
- Tap the pairs
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Ancient Rome
95 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Ancient Rome
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Was the Colosseum For? Games, Crowds and the Politics of RomeThe Colosseum held 50,000 people for gladiator fights, animal hunts and executions, paid for by the emperor. How it was built, and why it mattered.September 15, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Was the Roman Republic? Government Before the EmperorsLearn how consuls, the Senate, assemblies, citizenship, and political conflict shaped Rome before imperial rule began.August 14, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Was the Byzantine Empire? Rome's Eastern Empire ExplainedLearn how the eastern Roman state centred on Constantinople survived, changed, and influenced Europe and Asia.August 14, 2026 · 6 min read
- How Roman Roads Connected a Vast EmpireRoman roads moved soldiers, messages, traders and officials across long distances. Their careful construction helped turn scattered territories into a more connected empire.July 24, 2026 · 5 min read
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