askhistorians

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When Constantinople was finally conquered by the Ottomans in 1453, did Constantine XI and his soldiers consider that they were the end of a civilization that was 2,206 years old, and the magnitude that that carried? Or did they consider the Byzantine Empire to be separate from the Roman Empire?	234
Was there ever any Roman interest in exploring the Atlantic Ocean to the West? If not, why not?	81
During the Battle of Britain where was the Royal Family? Was Buckingham Palace targeted by German bombers to try and hurt British morale?	39
How was homosexuality viewed in the USSR and other Communist nations?	36
In the times of ancient Rome, would great powers have embassies ine eachother's capitals? For instance would Rome have an ambassador in the Parthian capital 24/7?	35
What did American corporations with facilities in the north and south do during the Civil War? Were they forced to pick a side?	30
English has changed a lot over the last 1000 years. How much different was the Latin spoken by Justinian in the 500s vs. in the early Republic in say 500 or 400 BCE?	12
Why did many of the nations in the former British settled empire adopt federal governments (Canada, US, Australia), while the UK itself was/is unitary?	10
American students typically learn extensively about the Black Death and its response in Europe. Were there any major pandemics in Ming or Qing China? How did the Imperial Dynasty respond?	9
The alternate history of the Romans discovering gun powder and using it on invading barbarians is a common one, however when Constantinople fell in 1453, gunpowder was already used in cannon and very early muskets. Do we have any record of Byzantines using gunpowder based weapons?	9

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