askhistorians

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Throughout Chinese history, few emperors were toppled by rebellious generals and senior functionaries, a sharp contrast with the Roman and Byzantine Empires, which were constantly wracked by civil wars. What was the Chinese secret for keeping underlings in their places?	1
England's Commonwealth of Nations, made up of its former colonial possessions, represents a huge chunk of world GDP. Did England originally consider forgoing the European Union and organizing its own free trade agreement with the commonwealth?	1
Hollywood depicts poisoned blowgun darts and arrows as acting almost instantaneously on humans, either killing someone or knocking them unconscious without fail. How realistic are these depictions, and what plants and animals were the poisons gathered from?	1
Is there any evidence that Caesar wanted to reform the republic and return power to the Senate, as Sulla had done before stepping down following the earlier civil war?	1
How does modern financial inequality in developed countries compare to that of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries? How atypical is our inequality?	1
Ancient (Macedonian) Greeks conquered Egypt in 332 B.C. and held it for 275 years. But Greeks began settling in Egypt in the 6th century B.C. Were they just a minority serving as mercenaries during this period, or already in control of the levers of power, serving as advisors and nobles?	1
I'm a citizen of a Greek city-state under siege and our aqueduct has just been cut. Time to open up the cistern. How badly is our drinking water contaminated by human and animal fecal matter and other undesirables carried in with the rainwater?	1
Did the British empire improve the lives of the Africans they ruled over by clamping down on human sacrifice, cannibalism, and "juju" practices?	1
Trajan's Column shows legionaries. doing hard manual labor in full armor. Should we see this as an unrealistic artistic take, or did regulations demand that they always work in a way that left them prepared to fight?	1
The Argonauts sailed the Danube and Rhône Rivers to get between the Black Aea and the Mediterranean. Historically, was this a route used for trade/transport, or just a fictional route that wouldn't be practical?	1

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