askhistorians

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Would a Roman from the 1st-2nd century AD recognize anything in the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) in the 11th-12th century as "Roman"?	3102
The first short story of the Witcher series was published in 1986 during the last years of Communist Poland. What was the status of the fantasy genre during that time? Was it popular? Were certain topics censored?	2785
King Charles XII of Sweden was only 18 years old when he led his army at the decisive Battle of Narva. How much control over the troops and tactics did he actually have?	2731
The US Secret Service was originally founded to combat counterfeiting. Why were they tasked with the protection of the President, and why do they still assume two different roles as Presidential security and financial investigations?	1860
Languages in Italy is highly diverse, where person in Venice who only speaks the Venetian language cannot communicate with a Sicilian who only speaks the Sicilian language. Before Italian unification in 1871, would a Venetian and a Sicilian feel like they had anything in common with each other?	1756
The Roman Empire during the Crisis of the 3rd Century experienced 26 claimants to the title of the emperor within a span of 50 years, fragmentation into 3 separate states, and foreign invasions. How would an average citizen living in Rome (or other cities) have experienced this period?	1486
After the Union victory in the Siege of Vicksburg, it gained control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy into two. How was the western-half of the Confederacy governed and were the two sides ever able to communicate in a meaningful way?	1258
The wife of the first President of South Korea Syngman Rhee was Franziska Donner, an Austrian woman. How did Korean society react to having a white person as their First Lady?	926
During the reign of Justinian I, population of Constantinople was 500,000, supported by Egyptian grain supplies. When Egypt was lost to the Islamic conquest, the population of the city plummeted to 50,000. Yet, it recovered to 500,000-800,000 in the 9th/10th century. How was the city supplied then?	694
What would have been Muhammad's religion before he founded Islam?	664

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