askhistorians

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Greece had Olympic Games, Rome had Gladiators, Byzantium had chariot racing, Middle Ages had jousting tournaments, Edo Japan had Sumo. What spectator games or sports were popular in Imperial China?	593
In the tv series HBO Rome, the children of the senator Vorenus and in the movie Gladiator, the General Maximus were enslaved. It seems anyone be enslaved for any reason. Are there safeguards to prevent Roman citizens or freedmen from being enslaved against their will?	330
In HBO Rome, Cleopatra was shown riding a rather impractical large and ornate palanquin through a desert, requiring at least 22 people to carry it. How realistic was such a vehicle in ancient Egypt?	118
In the Tokugawa Shogunate, the families of Daimyos lived in Edo as hostages. When Choshu and Satsuma rebelled against the Tokugawa Shogunate, what happened to the families?	82
Why did the late Roman Empire need multiple Emperors while the early Roman Empire did fine with a single Emperor?	56
Scipio Africanus introduced the clean shaven look because of being influenced by Greek culture. While Marcus Aurelius introduced the bearded look because of being influence by Greek culture. How could Greek culture introduced both the clean shaven and bearded look?	46
Ancient Rome was portrayed as a city of monuments, marble and Insula (high rise apartments) in various media. What did the other Italian cities looked in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire? Were they also constructed the same way as Rome, at a smaller scale?	28
In the Chinese novel, Water Margin, the outlaws Liangshan were shown to have battles with organised militias from Zhu and Zheng family villages. Were villages in Imperial China allowed to be independently armed?	22
Cassius and Brutus raised 17 legions from of the eastern provinces of Roman Republic. Are these legions ethnically Romans or Italians? Or are these legions ethnically native to the eastern provinces?	22
In HBO Rome, Vorenus was knowledgeable about the history of Rome, mentioning people like Gracchi Brothers, Marius, Sulla and other Roman history etc. In modern time, I get my information from newspapers, wikipedia and youtube. Where can the average Roman Joe expect to receive these information?	22

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