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

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The pagan Norse of the early Middle Ages were renowned traders as well as feared raiders. How were people able to tell if a longship was filled with goods and merchants to trade with them or with warriors to steal their stuff?

87 upvotes

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A quick glance at Chinese history shows very few great Han conquerors, and a great deal of failed military exploits. Why were the famously well-organized Chinese armies so seemingly miserably ineffective at operations outside securing their borders?

86 upvotes

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How did India, of all places, develop such a massive movie industry?

86 upvotes

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In today's society, it is heavily frowned upon for adults to go longer than a couple days without bathing. In Medieval Western Europe, what standard of hygiene was considered the bare minimum?

85 upvotes

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We're taught a wide variety of Ancient Greek mythological stories growing up, but these stories don't seem like much of a strong foundation for a real religion. Can someone please explain what exactly Hellenic religion was?

84 upvotes

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Despite their appearance of hardline Islam, the Taliban don't exactly have a strong scholarly figure to center their theology around, unlike contemporary Sharia states like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Was this relatively weak scholarly backing ever a problem for the Taliban?

83 upvotes

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In the Iran-Iraq war, what factors, aside from Iraqi incompetence, allowed the Iranian military (Artesh and Sepah) to perform well enough to push the materially superior Iraqis out of their territory and back into Iraq despite being in the midst of a chaotic revolution?

82 upvotes

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When did people start being "Spanish" and not Moorish or Visigothic or Latin?"

80 upvotes

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Despite being from predominantly Ashkenazi ancestry, most reform Jews I've met (including me) use sephardic pronunciation in Hebrew. Why did the reform community adopt sephardic pronunciation while the orthodox community largely retained an Ashkenazi pronunciation?

79 upvotes

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Did pre-Islamic Arabs eat pork? Did they practice circumcision? What was the reaction to Muhammad's rules on these practices?

77 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
The pagan Norse of the early Middle Ages were renowned traders as well as feared raiders. How were people able to tell if a longship was filled with goods and merchants to trade with them or with warriors to steal their stuff?	87
A quick glance at Chinese history shows very few great Han conquerors, and a great deal of failed military exploits. Why were the famously well-organized Chinese armies so seemingly miserably ineffective at operations outside securing their borders?	86
How did India, of all places, develop such a massive movie industry?	86
In today's society, it is heavily frowned upon for adults to go longer than a couple days without bathing. In Medieval Western Europe, what standard of hygiene was considered the bare minimum?	85
We're taught a wide variety of Ancient Greek mythological stories growing up, but these stories don't seem like much of a strong foundation for a real religion. Can someone please explain what exactly Hellenic religion was?	84
Despite their appearance of hardline Islam, the Taliban don't exactly have a strong scholarly figure to center their theology around, unlike contemporary Sharia states like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Was this relatively weak scholarly backing ever a problem for the Taliban?	83
In the Iran-Iraq war, what factors, aside from Iraqi incompetence, allowed the Iranian military (Artesh and Sepah) to perform well enough to push the materially superior Iraqis out of their territory and back into Iraq despite being in the midst of a chaotic revolution?	82
When did people start being "Spanish" and not Moorish or Visigothic or Latin?"	80
Despite being from predominantly Ashkenazi ancestry, most reform Jews I've met (including me) use sephardic pronunciation in Hebrew. Why did the reform community adopt sephardic pronunciation while the orthodox community largely retained an Ashkenazi pronunciation?	79
Did pre-Islamic Arabs eat pork? Did they practice circumcision? What was the reaction to Muhammad's rules on these practices?	77