This is Rotating Quiz 159. Entries must be posted by Sunday,
October 19th, 2014 at 10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time).
Usual rules: no looking anything up, no discussion, etc. The
winner gets to create the next RQ.
Please post your answers to all questions in a single followup
in the newsgroup, quoting the questions and placing your answer
below each one. Only one answer is allowed per question.
All questions in this quiz have just one part, so it is 3 points
or nothing. However, I reserve the right to award 1 or 2 points
for an answer which is sufficiently close to correct (I have no
such cases in mind, but you never know). I would like the common
English name in each case unless otherwise specified, but other
correct answers I can easily check are acceptable.
In case of a tie, the first tiebreaker will be whoever scored
the most points on the hardest questions (defined post-facto
as the ones which the fewest people got any points on). Second
tiebreaker will be posting order.
1. According to medieval legends this city in western Germany was
founded by a wandering Assyrian prince, which would be interesting
if true. According to actual history the Romans founded it around
30 BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in Germany. Under the
Romans it became a (relatively) large and important city; it still
contains a well-preserved Roman city gate (the largest north of the
Alps) and other Roman structures. In medieval times it was less
important, but still of note, as its archbishop was one of the seven
electors of the Holy Roman Empire.
2. This city's name comes from the Latin for "confluence," which
is understandable since it is situated at the confluence of two
large rivers, which is an important site and an impressive sight.
From the 11th to the late 18th century the city was owned by
the archbishop of <answer 1>. The last archbishop lost control
of it by providing support for Louis XVI's relatives; the French
Republic invaded and captured it. (It's now back in Germany.)
3. This city is only the 24th largest in the US (by population), but
the official Metropolitan Statistical Area around it is the 10th
largest in the US, and its Combined Statistical Area (which covers
Metropolitan and Micropolitan SAs that have commuting ties) is the
6th largest. This is in large part due to the fact that it is the
only city in its part of the country with a population over 200K;
people commute to it from up to two states away.
4. This Croatian city was for centuries the center of a maritime
republic. It has a famous set of city walls which are still in
relatively good condition despite bombardment during a siege
following the breakup of Yugoslavia. A number of sections of the
city can be seen in HBO's Game of Thrones series, where it plays
the part of King's Landing among other places. (Note: when it
was a maritime republic it had a different name. I am looking
for the modern name.)
5. This is not the northernmost capital city, in fact it misses
by quite a bit, located as it is at roughly the same latitude as
Orleans. However, it has the dubious distinction of being the
coldest capital city based on average temperatures; the average
minimum daily temperature in January is -26C. This is due to its
high altitude, distance from oceans, and prevailing wind patterns.
Since it spent over 130 years as a mobile tent city, one would
think it would have ended up someplace a bit nicer, but presumably
there were other constraints.
6. While we're on extremes, let's talk about the highest capital
cities. Three or four of the five or six highest capitals are
in South America, unsurprisingly (which numbers are correct depends
on whether you count both La Paz and Sucre). Another is the capital
of Bhutan, which is also not surprising. The fifth or sixth highest
capital city - 2355 meters above sea level - is in Africa. It's a
well-known city which is the home of the African Union.
7. It would hardly be fair to mention <answer 6> without noting
that this other African capital is only 30 meters lower. (Or possibly
slighter higher depending on which source you look at.) It's not
far from <answer 6> and in fact for a while they were in the same
country (this ended in 1993). It's at the edge of a large highland
area; east of the city the land drops sharply to reach the nearby
sea.
8. This city is not the oldest one in India, but it is probably the
oldest that is still inhabited; archaelogy dates it to about the
12th century BCE. It is sometimes called "the religious capital
of India;" it is the holiest of the sacred cities of Hinduism, a
pilgrimage site for Jains, and is near the place where Buddha gave
his first sermon. The city has several names in common usage; I will
accept any of them.
9. This Lebanese city is much older than <answer 8>; in fact based on
current knowledge it appears to the oldest continously inhabited city
in the world, having been first settled before 7000 BCE. Later it was
a major Canaanite settlement. It had close contact with Egypt and an
old Egyptian word for ocean-going vessels apparently translates as
"<answer 9> ship." It has two common modern names; one is the Arabic
name which appears to be of Canaanite origin. The other is Greek and
is closely connected with the fact that the city was where papyrus was
exported to Greece. Either name is acceptable.
10. This Italian city is not hugely important today, but it used to
be the capital of the Western Roman Empire. After that fell it was
the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths, then the capital of
the Byzantine governor of Italy, then the capital of the Kingdom of
the Lombards. Today it is probably best known for its eight UNESCO
World Heritage locations, all of which are early (5th-6th century)
Christian sites. The most famous is probably the Basilica of San
Vitale, which contains mosaics of Justinian, Theodora, and their
officials and attendants.
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_______________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum
to...@panix.com
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just made it up."