askhistorians

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The stories of King Arthur are set before the existence of Islam, yet sometimes mention Muslims. Did medieval writers not know that Islam only existed since the 7th century, or did they just feel historical accuracy was less important than a story relevant to their readers?	1710
In a medieval European city, how often would a successful merchant, craftsman or mercenary own his own house? Could he sell it and buy a bigger one if he could afford it? How did this work? And how did this change in the early modern period?	1489
The Romans named the planets after their gods. Did their religion actually consider the planets linked to the Gods?	1325
During the "Viking Age", how common was it for Danes, Swedes and Norwegians to become vikingr? Was this something many people did, or just a small group? What was the social class of the people who went? How did normal farmers in their society see them?	1085
The Maurya Empire conquered almost all the Indian subcontinent. No-one managed this again for nearly 2000 years. Why?	1002
The main thing I know about Andrew Jackson is he was a massive racist who genocided the Cherokee. Why was he considered by many until recently to be a great American politician?	929
I'm a rich 4th century Roman and I've decided to convert to the cool new religion of Christianity, just like the Emperor. Outside of actual religious ceremonies, what changes am I likely to make to my behaviour?	886
I'm a 13th century eldest son of a western European villein farmer. I really hate farming. What other opportunities are available to me, and how feasible are they?	730
By the time Alexander stopped in India, how many Macedonian soldiers did he have left?	677
Do non-Anglosphere western countries have rather different forms of BadHistory tropes?	661

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