askhistorians

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I've heard the Theater of Dionysus in Athens called the world's first theater. Is this a fair claim?	1
Montaigne is considered the inventor of the essay, but wasn't Seneca pretty much doing the same thing a thousand years before?	1
Shakespeare's plays were rewritten along "classical lines" and widely performed during the 18th century. This sounds like blasphemy to me. How were these "improved" plays changed, and how were they received?	1
Can you suggest any books that lay out the value of classicism and how a high regard for classical civilization positively impacts humanity?	1
Augustus instituted the "ius trium liberorum," or the right of three children, granting special benefits to fathers with at least three children. In a time before birth control, why was this seen as necessary? Was fertility and declining populations really a problem? Did the plan work out for Rome?	1
Since the ratification of the US constitution in 1788, how much power have states and municipalities lost to the federal government?	1
Roman armies impressively built a walled camp each night before going to sleep. They abandoned them each morning. What happened to these camps, which must have lasted a long time? Did enemy forces occupy them and use them against the Romans?	1
I want to build a palatial home on the Palatine Hill in Rome in 50 B.C.. There are thousands of itinerant free Roman citizens I can hire. Are they competing with for-rent slave builders? If so, why might I hire free men instead of slaves?	1
Has the US Congress ever elected Speakers of the House or Senate Majority Leaders with significant bipartisan support? Such as moderates from both parties electing a compromise candidate and ignoring the objections of the far left and right of their parties?	1
For an average farmer in your time/place of expertise, how hard was it harvest and store enough food to make it through to the next year's harvest?	1

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