askhistorians

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Crossdressing, particularly around children, is a controversial topic in America. But ancient Romans cross-dressed during Saturnalia, Shakespeare featured cross-dressing characters, and Afghans have bacha posh — girls who dress like boys. Are we less comfortable with crossdressing today?	0
The Popes restored/changed the interior of the Pantheon and turned it into a church. Given that it's been so highly altered, would historians still object to the exterior being restored to its original state as well?	0
I'm an open-minded European nobleman in 1,000 A.D. I've seen vikings use their axes to savage effect, as well as my fellow nobles showing off some fine swordplay. I want to have the most effective "sidearm" I can get. What do I choose?	0
At what point did it become obvious to Europeans that the United States would become a major power and a player in world affairs? Did it take a while for the US to gain the respect of older countries?	0
Have historians generally bought the premise, argued recently in "The Closing of the Western Mind," that the rise of Christianity changed the relatively pluralistic, open, and tolerant Greco-Roman world into a culture based on the rule of fixed authority?	0
In 1994, the US banned assault weapons, but mass shooting did not decline significantly. Were shooters relying on illegally-acquired assault weapons or different types of guns during this period?	0
Did the concept of subjective human rights exist before Christianity?	0
The EU today spends just 1.5% of its GDP on defense, while the US spends 3.4 %. Do we have reasonable estimates of how much of GDP the Romans spent on defense?	0
How conflicted were US Civil War soldiers about killing their countrymen on the opposite side of the conflict?	0

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