/r/askhistorians

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Beer is the most ancient fermented beverage of the Near East, so why is there no mention of it in the Bible?

383 upvotes • lux514

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E. M. Forster once wrote that Dante "places Brutus and Cassius in the lowest circle of Hell because they had chosen to betray their friend Julius Caesar rather than their country Rome". is that at all a reasonable interpretation of Dante’s intent?

383 upvotes • grapp

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The fall of the Roman Empire is typically expressed as a tragedy. Did quality of life actually drop in the areas where Roman rule disappeared?

383 upvotes • nerbovig

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Is it true that Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland is actually a metaphor for pagan genocide? What are the origins of this story?

383 upvotes • AnnalsPornographie

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I know Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism, but there's more than those in Communist ideology. What are they and why are they different?

383 upvotes • eternalkerri

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I'm a Roman guy wearing six yards of toga wrapped around me and I get jumped in a bad neighborhood. As we scrap, do I dump the toga, let it fall off, hang on to it tight for dignitas, or what?

383 upvotes • mutant_suicide_squad

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Did the Pepsi Corporation buy military submarines and ships from the soviet union?

383 upvotes • malta3

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In most video games, magical abilities consume some type of energy, and running out renders the magic user unable to perform until rejuvenated. Is this concept found in any historical depictions of magic?

383 upvotes • habunake92

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Was it easy to cut the aqueducts to an ancient city like Rome or Constantinople during a siege and so force the populace to surrender from thirst? If so, why wasn't this the go-to strategy for forcing a surrender?

383 upvotes • RusticBohemian

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Considering the fact that Austria existed before Germany, that they were for a long time the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the most powerful country in what is today Germany, how is it that German is called German and not Austrian?

383 upvotes • zadsar

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Title	Upvotes	Author	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Beer is the most ancient fermented beverage of the Near East, so why is there no mention of it in the Bible?	383	lux514
E. M. Forster once wrote that Dante "places Brutus and Cassius in the lowest circle of Hell because they had chosen to betray their friend Julius Caesar rather than their country Rome". is that at all a reasonable interpretation of Dante’s intent?	383	grapp
The fall of the Roman Empire is typically expressed as a tragedy. Did quality of life actually drop in the areas where Roman rule disappeared?	383	nerbovig
Is it true that Saint Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland is actually a metaphor for pagan genocide? What are the origins of this story?	383	AnnalsPornographie
I know Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism, but there's more than those in Communist ideology. What are they and why are they different?	383	eternalkerri
I'm a Roman guy wearing six yards of toga wrapped around me and I get jumped in a bad neighborhood. As we scrap, do I dump the toga, let it fall off, hang on to it tight for dignitas, or what?	383	mutant_suicide_squad
Did the Pepsi Corporation buy military submarines and ships from the soviet union?	383	malta3
In most video games, magical abilities consume some type of energy, and running out renders the magic user unable to perform until rejuvenated. Is this concept found in any historical depictions of magic?	383	habunake92
Was it easy to cut the aqueducts to an ancient city like Rome or Constantinople during a siege and so force the populace to surrender from thirst? If so, why wasn't this the go-to strategy for forcing a surrender?	383	RusticBohemian
Considering the fact that Austria existed before Germany, that they were for a long time the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the most powerful country in what is today Germany, how is it that German is called German and not Austrian?	383	zadsar