askhistorians

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How did in the past Ukraine and Belarus become known as "Little Russia" and "White Russia", and why did those terms fall out of use?	50
During the Nuremburg Trials, when Kriegsmarine Adm. Karl Donitz was tried for unrestricted submarine warfare, U.S. Adm. Chester Nimitz wrote an affidavit where he stated the U.S. had also engaged in the same activity against Japan. What compelled Nimitz to write the affidavit for Donitz?	48
Today, alternate history is a well established genre with a thriving online community. Did classical or Medieval era writers ever come up with similar "What if...?" historical scenarios like "What if the Greeks lost at Marathon?" or "What if Julius Caesar wasn't assassinated?"?	47
Who was Mary Whitehouse, and why did Roger Waters of Pink Floyd attack her in the lyrics to the 1977 song "Pigs (Three Different Ones)" on the album "Animals"?	38
How did the term "Little Russia" come to refer to modern day Ukraine, and why do Ukrainians find the term offensive?	32
Why were Chinese dynasties able to last for such long periods of time while those of Continental European empires (e.g. Judeo-Claudian, Carolingian, etc.,) only lasted a few decades?	29
Aztec sources claim Montezuma II wa killed by the Spanish, while the Spanish claim the Aztec Emperor was killed by his own people. What does modern scholarship have to say on the matter?	29
What prevented the rise of a nation-state in Siberia that could have hampered or even prevented the Russian conquest? (x post AskHistory and AskScience)	29
During the Cold War (and into contemporary times), did/does the Roman Catholic Church have a contingency plan for preservation of the apostolic succession?	28
In Yemen in antiquity, there was an extensive irrigation system that collapsed some time before Mohammed. This collapse in turn caused migration north, making Arabia more populated. 2 questions: Where can I find more on the Yemeni irrigation collapse? and How did this migration effect early Islam?	20

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