/u/MithrandirTheIstari's posts in /r/askhistorians

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Were the first civilizations (Eridu, Ur, Uruk) aware that they were the first?

1367 upvotes

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In HBO's Rome, the Jewish guards of Herod are shown wielding what is essentially large, wheel-like stones fixed on sticks. Did any militaries actually use weapons as primitive as that in the 1st century BC?

1095 upvotes

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Why is Basque an isolated language even though it's surrounded by Romance languages? Why didn't the Indo-Europeans assimilate them like they did everyone else?

565 upvotes

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In the Soviet Union, how were previous Tsars (other than Nicholas II) portrayed? Did their achievements (as in the case of Peter) get downplayed, or were they depicted relatively objectively?

187 upvotes

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How many people in pre-modern nomadic societies, especially the Mongols, knew how to throatsing? Was it a specialized skill like an instrument, or did everyone know how to do it to some extent?

170 upvotes

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In the era of black and white cameras, has anyone ever attempted to colour the pictures with paint, pencils, etc.? Do we have any examples?

80 upvotes

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Have any Medieval/Renaissance rulers taken their own lives? If so, what did the public think of it? What were the repercussions upon their family?

74 upvotes

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Did Romans use hand gestures as much as modern Italians do?

60 upvotes

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Did Genghis Khan know of Attila the Hun? What did he think of him, if so?

56 upvotes

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Why were slings phased out by the High-Late Medieval ages?

40 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Were the first civilizations (Eridu, Ur, Uruk) aware that they were the first?	1367
In HBO's Rome, the Jewish guards of Herod are shown wielding what is essentially large, wheel-like stones fixed on sticks. Did any militaries actually use weapons as primitive as that in the 1st century BC?	1095
Why is Basque an isolated language even though it's surrounded by Romance languages? Why didn't the Indo-Europeans assimilate them like they did everyone else?	565
In the Soviet Union, how were previous Tsars (other than Nicholas II) portrayed? Did their achievements (as in the case of Peter) get downplayed, or were they depicted relatively objectively?	187
How many people in pre-modern nomadic societies, especially the Mongols, knew how to throatsing? Was it a specialized skill like an instrument, or did everyone know how to do it to some extent?	170
In the era of black and white cameras, has anyone ever attempted to colour the pictures with paint, pencils, etc.? Do we have any examples?	80
Have any Medieval/Renaissance rulers taken their own lives? If so, what did the public think of it? What were the repercussions upon their family?	74
Did Romans use hand gestures as much as modern Italians do?	60
Did Genghis Khan know of Attila the Hun? What did he think of him, if so?	56
Why were slings phased out by the High-Late Medieval ages?	40