AskHistorians

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The Byzantines John II Komnenos and his son Manuel were remarkably successful at war after a long period of Byzantine losses. Their troops were competent, they recaptured cities, and they regularly beat the mounted Turks who'd often bested their predecessors. What was their secret?	92
Today, France (ancient Gaul) is agriculturally productive, with several large river valleys. But in Roman times, Rome had to import crops from Egypt and North Africa. Why wasn't Gaul Rome's breadbasket?	90
Singapore was very corrupt as recently as 1959, but is now among the least corrupt governments on earth according to the Corruption Perceptions Index and other measures. How did they manage this turnaround and avoid what snares other reformist politicians?	90
In "The Last Kingdom" TV series, Winchester appears to have many old Roman buildings still standing. Were Roman buildings still in use in the 9th century?	89
Did the mass popularization of the bicycle during the 1890s kick off a transportation and commuting revolution similar to what happened to after the popularization of the car in 1914? How did bikes affect how cities were designed and how people spent their time?	88
Through the 1600s, educated Europeans learned to speak, read, and write Latin. By the 1700s, it seems like the US founding fathers could often read and write it, but only a few, like Jefferson, could speak fluently. Had speaking Latin fallen out of fashion?	88
Why did oatmeal become a breakfast food?	87
Moby Dick has many scenes that are either funny, or seem like they're trying to be funny or playful. Was this what Melville was going for? Did early readers think it was a funny book? Is Ishmael supposed to have a good sense of humor?	87
Did the Ottoman Empire really lose 13% of its population during WWI? Did Persia lose 19%? That's much greater than France (4.3%), or Germany (3.4%). So was this all from famine and genocide? How did those countries recover from losing so much of their population?	86
Do historical accounts of Roman gladiators or art depicting them suggest they were fat?	85

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