AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
How did Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy" change the way we view hell? How was hell viewed before its publication?	956
What sorts of foods did sultans like Suleiman the Magnificent enjoy in the Ottoman Empire? Did the diet of the Sultan change as the empire expanded and contracted at various times throughout the empire's history? Were the food of conquered lands incorporated into the diet?	805
Why was Venice able to win the Morean War (Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War from 1684-1699) when they had lost the 5 previous wars before it? What changed to allow the Republic of Venice to stand up to the giant Ottoman Empire?	318
Were racial and cultural outsiders ever placed in positions of military power in late 16th century Venice like it is portrayed in the play "Othello"?	226
How was Laurence Olivier's use of black face in the 1965 movie "Othello" viewed by the African American Civil Rights Movement that was going on at the time?	74
Why did Greece decide to rebel from the Ottoman Empire after being a part of it for almost 400 years?	59
When did spaying/neutering pets begin? How big of a problem were feral cat/dog populations before hand?	47
Was The Ottoman Empire eager to join WWI against Britain as retribution for the Treaty of Balta Liman in 1838, or were they more weary and only did so at the bequest of their ally Germany?	30
Is Google's statistics for the prevalence of the word "fun" throughout the years accurate? If so, why did its usage suddenly drop off in the early 1800s?	29
Were violations of Ecclesiastical law (Canon law) in favor of politically motivated convictions, like the trial of Joan of Arc in 1431, common or was Joan's persecution somewhat unique for the time?	18

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