AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
There is a common conception within Irish popular history that Ireland's low level of forest cover is primarily due to extractive deforestation and resource exploitation under Norman/English/British rule. How accurate is this statement?	2957
Philip I of France reigned as King of the Franks for an impressive 48 years, and reigned through the Norman Conquests, Investiture Controversy, and First Crusade. Why then do the History books speak little of him? Was he simply a weak King, or does something else play a role?	2212
There was a 23 year period between the Peace of Paris (1783) and Abdication of Francis II (1806) in which the United States of America and Holy Roman Empire co-existed. Did these two entities have any notable political relations or interactions during this period?	986
Pope Pius II reportedly sent a letter to Sultan Mehmed II, which included among a plea to convert to Catholicism, an exhaustive refutation of the teachings of Islam. What exactly did this Pius say, what were his main arguments?	400
The Inca Empire was known as the "Four Provinces", the Aztec Empire the "Triple Alliance", the Iroquois Confederation the "Five Nations"; Why did Native American polities seem to place greater emphasis on their multinational/confederal nature in than their Old World counterparts?	91
In the 1921 Irish Election, Sinn Féin won 124/128 seats in the Southern Ireland Parliament, then abstaining from it, establishing the First Dáil and declaring a Republic. What did the four remaining candidates who won do while this was all happening?	85
I'm a wealthy merchant living in Southern France in the late 6th, early 7th century AD. What signs or remnants of Roman administration would I be likely to encounter?	81
The Communist Manifesto famously began by claiming "A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of communism. All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre". In 1848 how concerned were the European powers about Communism? Was it considered a significant threat?	68
When did Christianity move away from the concept of Monolatry, worshiping only one God as supreme but not denying the existence of others, to strict Monotheism, entirely rejecting the existence of other Gods	53
England, Ireland and the United States are all divided into counties, but why did they all develop different naming conventions? In England, County of [Place] or [Place]shire is used, in Ireland County [Place] is used, and in the USA, [Place] County is used	50

« < > »