askhistorians

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Despite the misconception that the Maya disappeared long ago, Chan Santa Cruz, an independent Maya state, was not conquered by the Mexican government until 1901. But how were 19th-century Mayan states ruled? How much were they based on pre-conquest tradition?	2384
Is it sheer coincidence that so many revolutions, rebellions, and regime changes occurred in the West, the Islamic World, Southeast Asia, China, and Africa at around the same time, from 1750-1860?	1234
Ancient Egyptian/Coptic was spoken by almost all Egyptians for thousands of years, from Khufu and Tutankhamen all the way down to Cleopatra, and even under centuries of Roman rule. Why was the language of the pharaohs so quickly replaced by Arabic within just a few centuries of Islamic rule?	630
In the medieval grand strategy game Crusader Kings, eighth-century Afghanistan features a sun-worshiping religion called Zunism. What was this religion like in real life? What do we know about it?	407
What did Muslims think about the year 1591-1592 (1000 in the Muslim calendar)? Did they worry about an apocalypse? Did they think there would be a new golden age of Islam?	398
Mehmed the Conqueror was planning to conquer Rome itself when he died unexpectedly in 1481. But was it just a pipe dream, or was the Ottoman army/diplomatic situation really strong enough to conquer Rome?	333
In 1800 there were more than 300,000 native Hawaiians but only around 100,000 Maori. So how come in 2016 there are far more Maori than Native Hawaiians?	214
Is it true that the Islamic world underwent a decline in science after the 'Golden Age'? Or were the Ottomans or Safavids just as scientifically innovating as the Abbasids or Samanids?	211
Most Australian Aboriginal languages belong to the Pama-Nyungan family, but the first Pama-Nyungan language was spoken as recently as 5000 years ago. So how did Pama-Nyungan languages spread through almost all of Australia, including most of the barren deserts? Was there some sort of conquest?	179
It's 2017 now, so: How smooth was the transfer of British Hong Kong to China in 1997? Were there protests on the day of the handover?	172

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