/u/Xxxn00bpwnR69xxX's posts in /r/AskHistorians

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I've heard that it's a common issue in some parts of academia for PhD students to write their dissertations only to find out that someone in the USSR already wrote about this topic decades ago. What were the implications of this in the early 1990s when the Soviet archives were released to the west?

6677 upvotes

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Korean food is notoriously spicy, which is a bit out of place considering its cold climate and the fact that its neighbors in (northern) China and Japan don't eat nearly as much spicy food. Why and how did Korean cuisine specifically get so spicy?

5463 upvotes

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Did the Spanish see the Aztecs as racially inferior or merely religiously and culturally inferior?

5279 upvotes

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Was George Washington actually a good general?

3111 upvotes

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Manichaeism is the only major world religion I could think of to be completely destroyed across multiple national boundaries as the result of severe persecution. What about Manichaeism was so terrifying to every single polity in late antiquity that caused such persecution?

2943 upvotes

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In WW2, German infantry doctrine revolved around the LMG, and the entire squad was meant to support it. American infantry doctrine revolved around the riflemen and integrated support elements. Soviet infantry doctrine revolved around SMG's. What was British and Japanese infantry doctrine like?

2227 upvotes

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The Gallic armies that Caesar faced are frequently depicted as an impetuous, shirtless mass of warriors whose immense individual fighting prowess was dragged down by their poor discipline, light armor, and poor military theory. How accurate is this image? How was a Gallic warhost organized?

1163 upvotes

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Did the Native Americans living in the southernmost tip of South America know about the existence of Antarctica?

810 upvotes

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How did Ethiopia, a powerful, Christian nation that had long kept ties to the west on relatively equal footing, become "fair game" for Italian colonization?

722 upvotes

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There's this popular tendency, especially among right wing ideologues, to suggest that "moral degeneracy" or "decadence" leads to the collapse of empires. Is there any legitimacy to this claim and if not, why is this viewpoint so popular?

611 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
I've heard that it's a common issue in some parts of academia for PhD students to write their dissertations only to find out that someone in the USSR already wrote about this topic decades ago. What were the implications of this in the early 1990s when the Soviet archives were released to the west?	6677
Korean food is notoriously spicy, which is a bit out of place considering its cold climate and the fact that its neighbors in (northern) China and Japan don't eat nearly as much spicy food. Why and how did Korean cuisine specifically get so spicy?	5463
Did the Spanish see the Aztecs as racially inferior or merely religiously and culturally inferior?	5279
Was George Washington actually a good general?	3111
Manichaeism is the only major world religion I could think of to be completely destroyed across multiple national boundaries as the result of severe persecution. What about Manichaeism was so terrifying to every single polity in late antiquity that caused such persecution?	2943
In WW2, German infantry doctrine revolved around the LMG, and the entire squad was meant to support it. American infantry doctrine revolved around the riflemen and integrated support elements. Soviet infantry doctrine revolved around SMG's. What was British and Japanese infantry doctrine like?	2227
The Gallic armies that Caesar faced are frequently depicted as an impetuous, shirtless mass of warriors whose immense individual fighting prowess was dragged down by their poor discipline, light armor, and poor military theory. How accurate is this image? How was a Gallic warhost organized?	1163
Did the Native Americans living in the southernmost tip of South America know about the existence of Antarctica?	810
How did Ethiopia, a powerful, Christian nation that had long kept ties to the west on relatively equal footing, become "fair game" for Italian colonization?	722
There's this popular tendency, especially among right wing ideologues, to suggest that "moral degeneracy" or "decadence" leads to the collapse of empires. Is there any legitimacy to this claim and if not, why is this viewpoint so popular?	611