askhistorians

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Watching the new Aladdin (which according to the Disney wiki is set during the Islamic Golden Age), there are scenes where the princess says she wants to rule the kingdom. I know we are not talking historical realism here but what would have been the reaction if a woman said such during the era?	2992
Rasputin held sway over the Romanov family for his reputed ability to heal the haemophiliac Alexei. Taking a sceptical position (ie. that Rasputin did not have faith healing abilities), how did he achieve this apparent medical miracle?	118
The film The Favourite depicts Queen Anne engaged in lesbian relations with both Sarah Churchill and Abigail Hill. Does this have any basis in history or is it just a fanciful creation of the scriptwriter?	87
American and British films and literature of the Cold War era is filled with fears of Communist spies. Did Soviet films and tv of the same era have a corresponding fear of infiltration by American and British spies?	69
In World War II, when prisoners-of-war would receive letters from their loved ones back home, what exactly was the process whereby the mail service was able to transfer letters and parcels across enemy lines?	54
Presumably nobody involved in the First World War actually called it World War I. But at what point did people decide that the 1939-45 conflict was World War II and start referring to the two events as such?	42
When Richard Burton the explorer published his version of Arabian Nights, it attracted obscenity charges. These days the tales of Aladdin, Ali Baba et al are regarded as children's stories. What was in Burton's version (or the original text) that accrued such an outraged response? NSFW	37
Is there any record of how The Beatles reacted to Charles Manson appropriating the term Helter Skelter to describe his race war and finding hidden symbolism inside their lyrics?	29
I have been selected as a human sacrifice by the Aztecs. Who am I and what is known about my life prior to this? Is this something I regard as a great honour or with fear?	22
During the early days when the discipline of archaeology was being formed, were there any methodologies employed that irreparably damaged evidence for later historians?	17

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