AskHistorians

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Medieval Muslim scholars preserved many classical Greek source works, but apparently not many classical Persian ones. Did they have a Greek bias, or was there a lack of Persian sources to begin with?	1629
Why did most of the Turkic tribes migrating southward out of Central Asia end up in Anatolia?	620
In medieval chivalric romances, Christian and Muslim knights often encounter each other while wandering about on horseback. Is this a recollection of the pre-Carolingian era, when the Umayyad Caliphate extended into southern Gaul?	142
When reading Soviet historians, I’ve seen the works of Engels cited more often than Marx. Was there a political reason for this, or did Engels contribute independent historical theories that have been overshadowed in the west by his association with Marx?	131
Were the ancient Chinese (i.e., Han era) aware that the Caspian Sea was landlocked, or did they think its eastern shore was the end of the continent?	115
In his “Indica”, describing India in the time of Alexander, Arrian makes continual references to the conquest of India by Dionysus—as if it were a real event the Indians themselves used as an historical epoch. Is this “Dionysus” a Greek interpretation of a local Indian mythical figure?	104
What were relations like between Sassanid Persia and Gupta India?	80
In classical sources, states seem to be defined less in terms of geographical boundaries and more in terms of lists of settlements. Is this just because surveying and cartography weren’t exact enough yet, or was the ancient conception of states based more on populations than territories?	73
In his account of King Guntram’s entry into Orleans in 585, Gregory of Tours describes the crowd of citizens who greeted him as made up of Gallo-Romans, Syrians, and Jews. He also says that bishop Eusebius of Paris was a Syrian immigrant. How significant were Syrians in early medieval France?	70
What was France’s vision for Algeria’s future, before it became independent? Did they expect Algerians to assimilate to French culture? Or become a service caste and source of cheap labor? Or remain as they were, while France just used their land and resources?	64

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