askhistorians

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Conan the Barbarian is also called Conan the Cimmerian. What would an American author in 1932 have known about Cimmerians, correctly or incorrectly?	11
Why was the first flush-toilet design published with the title "The Metamorphosis of Ajax"?	10
"[...] the history of the introduction into India of firearms [...] is yet to be worked out properly" according to a 1981 article in the Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. What does current scholarship have to say about this topic?	9
Did the Mongol Empire take diplomatic immunity extremely seriously on principle, or because an affront/assault on a diplomat was an act of violence against the head of state? What were Imperial standards regarding treatment of foreign diplomats?	9
What led to orcs being drawn with double-horn helmets from the 70s to the 90s, and why was that replaced with a helmetless long-haired design?	7
What were stringed instruments like in the Early Modern Period? Where were they popular, what kinds of music were they used for, and were they played solo or mixed with singing and/or other instruments?	7
Historically, did many armies field infantry that fit the heavy/light distinction, or is this just a result of applying the hoplite/skirmisher tradition to militaries of any given place and time?	6
In many historical narratives, I hear or read about "creditors" to whom seemingly everyone from dirt-poor peasants to some of the most powerful people in human history are indebted. Who are "creditors" in your time and place of expertise? If there are no creditors in that time and place, why not?	6
Did Martial Race Theory influence or outright dictate British policies?	5
What did contemporary rabbis think of the Levantine Crusades? Do we have any recorded thoughts about the Crusades written by people who weren't Christians or Muslims?	5

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