/r/AskHistorians

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In modern chess, knocking down your own king is a universal sign of surrender, often done by young or beginner players. Has this always been a common practice, done mostly by lower level players?

136 upvotes • kmbl654

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Did Stalin actually kill 60 million people and Genghis Khan actually kill 40 million people? I have noticed that neo-Nazis usually bring this up to minimize Hitler's atrocities.

136 upvotes • Regular-Instruction9

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How did so many Jews end up in Eastern Europe, especially Russia? When did they arrive and where did they come from? Were they migrants or local converts?

136 upvotes • Jackissocool

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If hard drugs were commonly available as medicine back in the day, why wasn't drug addiction more of an issue?

136 upvotes • zouss

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How many pitched battles/campaigns/sieges would an average soldier see in their career in different time periods?

136 upvotes • arcane_in_a_box

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What was the sewage and waste removal system like 2000 years ago in cities like Pompeii? Is it true that the reason they had foot-high sidewalks and elevated crosswalk stones was because the streets ran deep with everyone’s shit? NSFW

136 upvotes • Hard_Taco_Tuesday

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In 2005 HBO Rome series character called Newsreader used a strange set of moves and gestures to announced news. Is this accurate in any form?

136 upvotes • Chipione

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Was ahmad ibn fadlan's accounting of that viking behavior and funeral believed to be accurate and are there any thoughts on why was that was normal behavior for them?

136 upvotes • MwahMwahKitteh

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Were there any prominent "abolitionists" among the middle and upper classes during the height of the Roman Empire, who wanted to see the institution of Roman slavery eliminated?

136 upvotes • ExiledToTerminus

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Is the current obsession with "spoilers" really a recent phenomenon? Or were people already wary of spoilers in, say, the XIX century, when a lot of novels were published in a serial form in many countries?

136 upvotes • ParaGuardarCosas

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
In modern chess, knocking down your own king is a universal sign of surrender, often done by young or beginner players. Has this always been a common practice, done mostly by lower level players?	136	kmbl654
Did Stalin actually kill 60 million people and Genghis Khan actually kill 40 million people? I have noticed that neo-Nazis usually bring this up to minimize Hitler's atrocities.	136	Regular-Instruction9
How did so many Jews end up in Eastern Europe, especially Russia? When did they arrive and where did they come from? Were they migrants or local converts?	136	Jackissocool
If hard drugs were commonly available as medicine back in the day, why wasn't drug addiction more of an issue?	136	zouss
How many pitched battles/campaigns/sieges would an average soldier see in their career in different time periods?	136	arcane_in_a_box
What was the sewage and waste removal system like 2000 years ago in cities like Pompeii? Is it true that the reason they had foot-high sidewalks and elevated crosswalk stones was because the streets ran deep with everyone’s shit? NSFW	136	Hard_Taco_Tuesday
In 2005 HBO Rome series character called Newsreader used a strange set of moves and gestures to announced news. Is this accurate in any form?	136	Chipione
Was ahmad ibn fadlan's accounting of that viking behavior and funeral believed to be accurate and are there any thoughts on why was that was normal behavior for them?	136	MwahMwahKitteh
Were there any prominent "abolitionists" among the middle and upper classes during the height of the Roman Empire, who wanted to see the institution of Roman slavery eliminated?	136	ExiledToTerminus
Is the current obsession with "spoilers" really a recent phenomenon? Or were people already wary of spoilers in, say, the XIX century, when a lot of novels were published in a serial form in many countries?	136	ParaGuardarCosas