Problem: The fortifications of Mdina are a series of defensive walls which surround the former capital city of Mdina, Malta. The city was founded as Maleth by the Phoenicians in around the 8th century BC, and it later became part of the Roman Empire under the name Melite. The ancient city was surrounded by walls, but very few remains of these have survived. The city walls were rebuilt a number of times, including by the Byzantine Empire in around the 8th century AD, the Arabs in around the 11th century, and the Kingdom of Sicily in the medieval period until the 15th century. Most of the extant fortifications were built by the Order of Saint John between the 16th and 18th centuries. The city has withstood a number of sieges, and it was defeated twice - first by the Aghlabids in 870 and then by Maltese rebels in 1798. Today, the city walls are still intact except for some outworks, and they are among the best preserved fortifications in Malta. Mdina has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998.

What was the original name of Mdina?
Answer: Maleth

Problem: King John in June 1215 was forced to put his seal to "The Articles of the Barons" by a group of powerful barons who could no longer stand John's failed leadership and despotic rule. The king's Great Seal was attached to it on 15 June 1215. In return, the barons renewed their oaths of fealty to King John on 19 July 1215. A formal document to record the agreement was created by the royal chancery on 15 July: this was the original Magna Carta. "The law of the land" is one of the great watchwords of Magna Carta, standing in opposition to the king's mere will. The Magna Carta of 1215 contained clauses which in theory noticeably reduced the power of the king, such as clause 61, the "security clause". This clause allowed a group of 25 barons to override the king at any time by way of force, a medieval legal process called distraint that was normal in feudal relationships but had never been applied to a king. After a few months of half-hearted attempts to negotiate in the summer of 1215, open warfare broke out between the rebel barons and the king and his supporters.

How many months passed between the sealing of The Articles of the Barons and the barons' renewal of their oaths?
Answer: 1

Problem: In November 1656, De Bitter was made Vice-Commandeur, under Commandeur Adriaan Roothaas, of a fleet sent to blockade the Portuguese ports on the coast of Malabar. In the spring of 1657 he returned to Batavia; in August that year he again served under Roothaas on a flotilla blockading Goa. De Bitter's flagship Terschelling captured the Santa Cruz loaded with spices. De Bitter embezzled some of the cargo, for which he would later be lightly punished. The flotilla having been joined by the main force of Colonel Rijcklof van Goens in November, it was decided to split off a large part of the fleet to attack the remaining Portuguese possessions on Ceylon. De Bitter was also used for this expedition, now commanding a larger ship, the Salamander. This ship and the Naarden had the mission to mislead the Portuguese by first sailing to the north and only afterwards rejoin the main force leaving for Ceylon. This ruse failed, however, because adverse winds drove the vessels towards the Maldives. De Bitter only reached Colombo on 17 February 1658, too late to contribute to the capture of Manaar. However he participated in the fall of Jaffnapatnam on 21 June. Again he was used as a messenger to the Council. On 19July 1659, De Bitter, still serving under Roothaas, departed on a fleet of thirteen headed for Goa, on the yacht Tholen. Blockading the port De Bitter confiscated an English vessel, the Constantinople Merchant, on accusations of carrying contraband.

How many days after the fall of Jaffnapatnam did De Bitter depart for Goa?
Answer: 28

Problem: On 25 June, Iraq launched the second Tawakal ala Allah operation against the Iranians on Majnoon Island. Iraqi commandos used amphibious craft to block the Iranian rear, then used hundreds of tanks with massed conventional and chemical artillery barrages to recapture the island after 8 hours of combat. Saddam appeared live on Iraqi television to "lead" the charge against the Iranians. The majority of the Iranian defenders were killed during the quick assault. The final two Tawakal ala Allah operations took place near al-Amarah and Khaneqan. By 12 July, the Iraqis had captured the city of Dehloran, inside Iran, along with 2,500 troops and much armour and material, which took four days to transport to Iraq. These losses included more than 570 of the 1,000 remaining Iranian tanks, over 430 armored vehicles, 45 self-propelled artillery, 300 towed artillery pieces, and 320 antiaircraft guns. These figures only included what Iraq could actually put to use; total amount of captured materiel was higher. Since March, the Iraqis claimed to captured 1,298 tanks, 155 infantry fighting vehicles, 512 heavy artillery pieces, 6,196 mortars, 5,550 recoilless rifles and light guns, 8,050 man-portable rocket launchers, 60,694 rifles, 322 pistols, 454 trucks, and 1,600 light vehicles. The Iraqis withdrew from Dehloran soon after, claiming that they had "no desire to conquer Iranian territory." History professor Kaveh Farrokh considered this to be Irans greatest military disaster during the war. Stephen Pelletier, a Journalist, Middle East expert, and Author, noted that "Tawakal ala Allah resulted in the absolute destruction of Irans military machine."

What types of vehicles did the Iraqis claim to have captured?
Answer:
tanks