AskHistorians

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Was the Roman destruction of Carthage genocide? Was the destruction as comprehensive as is widely understood? Did the Romans present a united front or did any argue for leniency? Were there lasting ramifications on the Roman conscience, or how Roman foreign policy unfolded?	244
Filippo Brunelleschi seems to have been an almost impossibly gifted genius, single-handedly jumpstarting the Renaissance in both architecture and painting. What do we know of his educational background and personal life, and how did he establish a relationship with his Medici patrons?	239
Was Shakespeare's depiction of Shylock typical for its day? Would Shakespeare have encountered any Jews in day-to-day life? Would the forced conversion at the end of 'The Merchant of Venice' be viewed as a 'happy ending' in its time, or would its negative characteristics be understood?	239
In today's gospel, Jesus told a parable which struck me as anachronistic. It was about a husband and his ten newly married brides. In the first century CE, did the Jewish community practice polygamy? Would the idea be regarded as socially acceptable?	230
Are "groupies" a product of Rock & Roll, or did earlier popular musicians/artists have similar followers/devotees? Have they existed from the beginning of rock, or was there a time/place where the phenomenon became noticeable/commented upon, and, if so, what had changed?	229
In the 1960s, tv shows depicting a contrast between rural and urban America were astonishingly popular (The Beverly Hillbillies was the #1 show twice and Andy Griffith once in the decade). Were these shows reflecting an underlying tension, a kind of nostalgia, or something else? What was going on?	228
Possibly the defining characteristic of Julius Caesar's legendary status as a general was the speed with which his army was able to operate- what accounted for this? What was he doing that other Roman generals weren't? Do we know how he was able to pull this off?	223
Why did the Amish stop adopting new technology? Was there s point at which they were essentially 'modern'?	221
Would Scarlett O'Hara have been accepted in antebellum Georgian aristocratic society as an Irish Catholic (were she not fictional)? Was this portrayal in any way a reflection of the changes in society from the era the book was set to when it was written (~1936))?	217
According to the 'The American Experience' on him, US Grant was the most revered public figure in American life in the 19th century, significantly more popular than Lincoln, and yet he has regularly been evaluated as an awful President in CSPAN's survey of historians. Is this a disconnect? Why?	217

« < > »