AskHistorians

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As I understand it, Roman tax collectors would pledge to collect a certain amount of taxation, and could keep whatever they collected above that amount. What sort of consequences would they face if they couldn't deliver the amount they'd pledged?	62
In the 1990s, it became clear that popular sitcoms set in urban settings in America, such as Seinfeld, Friends, or Cheers, were failing conspicuously to reflect the diversity of modern urban America. Was this (the recognition) progress, or had television done a better job at this previously?	61
From 1852 to 1861, Karl Marx paid the bills by filing dispatches to the New York Daily Tribune (noted abolitionist Horace Greeley's paper). What do we know about what the two men knew about each other, or Marx's attitude towards the US in general (or Greeley's toward Marx's work, for that matter)?	61
How did oracles work? How did one become one? Was there only one at a given time and place? Would anyone be able to seek them out or did stature matter? In literature, their prophesies are often portrayed as double-edged; was this their reputation? Was Delphi the only prominent one?	59
I've heard Theodora referred to variously as an 'actress',a 'courtesan',and a 'prostitute'; what exactly was her background? How did she wind up in Justinian's sphere? Was it as uncommon as it sounds for people of their classes to commingle, something only an emperor could get away with?	58
The wikipedia on Heloise suggests that she was already a renowned scholar before she met Peter Abelard; how would a relatively low-born woman go about becoming a prominent scholar in 12th century France?	57
Diamonds are neither particularly rare nor (industrial uses aside) inherently valuable; were they always the 'standard' stone for engagement rings? How did the international diamond market develop?	57
Dante made the assassins of Julius Caesar two of the three occupants of the deepest circle of hell; how familiar with Roman political history would Dante's 14th century contemporaries have been? Was he telling a story the audience would immediately recognize?	57
As fewer and fewer builders were familiar with the formula for Roman concrete and how to make it, were the builders and architects of the day of late antiquity (presuming that's when the knowledge was lost) aware that the knowledge was being lost? Did any of them leave a record of concerns about it?	57
In 1700, France accounted for almost 4% of the world's (and ~20% of Europe's) population, by the year 2000 they accounted for less than 1%; are there any theories in what led to this decline and why it was particular to France?	57

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