AskHistorians

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How did the Jewish community (newly dispersed outside Judea) in the Roman Empire react to the state quickly changing from a pagan civilization to one that ostensibly worshiped the same God and held the Tanakh Holy?	81
Why are communes often so unsuccessful, while monasteries are not? Are there major differences in structure?	74
In the Gospels, Jesus tells Peter and Andrew, two fishermen, that he will make them "fishers of men". Did this wordplay exist in the original Greek and Aramaic, or is a product of translation?	69
It seems like many innovations/ideas were going to be made in that time by somebody if they weren't made by the person that did historically (i.e. Calculus, Evolution, Atomic Bombs). Is there a thing we can say with reasonable confidence that, had it not been made then, it would have been awhile?	67
How apocalyptic would a full scale (if such a scale was a reasonable expectation) nuclear exchange actually have been during the Cold War? Did the militaries of the powers assess the probable result accurately?	67
Why did the Lorica Segmentata become the foremost armor both before and after the use of chain mail? What was special about the period that favored it? Why did plate not gain prominence again for a thousand years?	58
Have any historians entertained the prospect that two extremely long reigns of female monarchs may have had an effect on the British public's attitude toward monarchy, compared to other nations?	57
Is there a reason why celestial bodies, specifically the sun and moon, do not play any noteworthy roles in Abrahamic religions?	57
How did the Spacing Guild develop such a stranglehold on the Padishah Emperor?	54
Count Von Schleiffen's plan purportedly delegated a 900-950 hour window to deal with the French Republic. How reasonable an estimate was this, both with 20/20 hindsight and with the information the German command was privy to?	54

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