askhistorians

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In the Sack of Baghdad by the Mongol Empire, I have heard that the entire populace was brutalized, that only Christians were spared, and that both Christians and Jews were spared. What happened?	22
I've read that Scythians participated in the Siege of Nineveh. What role(s) would people specializing in horse archery have during a siege?	16
The year is 1100. Through the miracle of bilocation, I am a common spearman serving one lord in Japan and another in England. What are the similarities and differences in these lives?	16
In 195 BCE, Cato the Elder complained that "Woman is a violent and uncontrolled animal, and it is useless to let go the reins and then expect her not to kick over the traces." What was he mad about, why was he like this, what laws or traditions did he want, and did other Roman men of status agree?	16
I imagine galleys being used in the ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, but these ships were active well into the "Early Modern Period". How did galleys change over time, were Mediterranean and Indian Ocean galleys alike, what finally drove them out of use?	15
Age of Empires depicts the wheelbarrow as universal and a vital component of peasant productivity? How widespread was the wheelbarrow in the Middle Ages and what was its impact?	14
At the initially underwhelming Siege of Termes (France 1210), a group of defenders screamed "Flee from the sight of the army" while running around the walls in mock terror. Was comedy in the face of an enemy army universal, or notably absent/present in specific cultures and eras?	14
What is the history of longbows used outside of England? Every few years, I stumble across a reference to longbows used by Nubians, the Carduchoi, or Pauravas, but there is never any information beyond the general assertion that this type of weapon was used by these groups of people.	13
How did cataphracts influence the cavalry of Chinese, Indian, and Roman dynasties? (12 other questions about cataphracts in comments)	13
Conan the Barbarian is also called Conan the Cimmerian. What would an American author in 1932 have known about Cimmerians, correctly or incorrectly?	11

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