/u/Frigorifico's posts in /r/AskHistorians

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In the Gallic wars, Julius Caesar mentions that Gauls have very prolific iron mines, and he praises how clever their mining devices are, but he never describes them. Do we know what these devices were?

582 upvotes

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It's 90 BCE in the Roman Empire. What stops me from kidnapping a random traveler and selling that person in the nearest slave market?

511 upvotes

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How was Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a person who was black and a bastard, able to become a general in the french army in the 18th century??

509 upvotes

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Tomas Aquinas wrote that animals do not have emotions, and thus hurting them is not a sin, later Descartes held a very similar position and even dissected his dog alive. Did they arrive at this conclusion independently or has it been a recurring idea in western philosophy?

473 upvotes

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Why does Mexico have such good foreign relations across history?

468 upvotes

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Why did mexican conservatives see european noble families as the only sources of authority?

430 upvotes

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Why did the muslims take so long to adopt the printing press considering how highly they value historical records and their sacred book?

423 upvotes

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When the Swedish parliament was looking for a new king, did they ever consider the Ethiopian royal family?

408 upvotes

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Isaac Asimov argued in his book about the Roman Empire that "the least the power, the more the symbols of power", is his observation accurate?

339 upvotes

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Where does the idea that sanskrit is literally magic comes from?, is it a new development related to hindu nationalism or has it always been there?

336 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
In the Gallic wars, Julius Caesar mentions that Gauls have very prolific iron mines, and he praises how clever their mining devices are, but he never describes them. Do we know what these devices were?	582
It's 90 BCE in the Roman Empire. What stops me from kidnapping a random traveler and selling that person in the nearest slave market?	511
How was Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a person who was black and a bastard, able to become a general in the french army in the 18th century??	509
Tomas Aquinas wrote that animals do not have emotions, and thus hurting them is not a sin, later Descartes held a very similar position and even dissected his dog alive. Did they arrive at this conclusion independently or has it been a recurring idea in western philosophy?	473
Why does Mexico have such good foreign relations across history?	468
Why did mexican conservatives see european noble families as the only sources of authority?	430
Why did the muslims take so long to adopt the printing press considering how highly they value historical records and their sacred book?	423
When the Swedish parliament was looking for a new king, did they ever consider the Ethiopian royal family?	408
Isaac Asimov argued in his book about the Roman Empire that "the least the power, the more the symbols of power", is his observation accurate?	339
Where does the idea that sanskrit is literally magic comes from?, is it a new development related to hindu nationalism or has it always been there?	336