AskHistorians

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Egyptologists often state that while invaders may have conquered Egypt militarily, Egypt conquered them culturally and religiously in turn. What qualities did Egypt possess that allowed it to "conquer" its invaders and remain relatively culturally and religiously unchanged over countless dynasties?	154
The areas controlled by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union composed many different ethnicities aside from Russians. During war, did all ethnicities serve in the same units, or was there segregation? What attempts were made to integrate all these various peoples into a single military force?	129
According to Robert Bartlett in The Normans, England in 1066 was "one of the wealthiest, and most efficiently run states in medieval Europe". What actions/reforms had been undertaken by Anglo-Saxon/Norse rulers before the Norman conquest that had made England so rich and well-administrated?	78
In the Bronze Age Mediterranean, states such as Hattusa, Egypt, Assyria, et alia are described as unified, unitary monarchies. However, I have not seen any in-depth exploration of the government of the Mycenaeans. What sort of state(s) did they possess? What forms of government did they practice?	66
I'm a French peasant living near Orleans in the 11th Century. How far away from my rural village can I go before my own French dialect becomes unintelligible to other French people?	52
Did social mobility exist in any of the various bronze age civilizations of note? Could a lowly peasant grow to be a wealthy landowner in Old Kingdom Egypt? If so, how commonly? What about Xia-era China? Was social mobility present in any Mesopotamian civilizations, or any Hellenistic city-states?	40
How "Necessary" Was The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan?	29
Before the Islamic conquests, what sort of alcohol culture did we see in the region now known as the Middle East? What sort of crops did the people there use to brew beer, wine, liquor, or other intoxicating beverages? Did the Zoroastrian religious authorities have any specific opinions on alcohol?	25
Anatolia was once a center of Mediterranean and Near Eastern civilization, with states such as the Hittites, the Phyrgians, the Lydians, Pontus, and others arising from and having their power base in the region. When and why, then, did Anatolia become less important to geopolitics in the region?	24
During the Meiji and Taisho eras, Japan became an industrialized nation. However, I'm curious as to what degree this extended to rural Japan. On Emperor Showa's ascent, how modernized was the Japanese countryside? Had electricity, trains, and other amenities yet managed to reach the villages?	11

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