AskHistorians

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Romans regarded Julius Caesar as the first emperor , as I understand it, whereas modern historians usually give that title to Augustus. Why the change?	44
In 1848, Zachary Taylor won the Presidency as a Whig; by 1856, the party was no longer competitive on a national scale. What happened? Was there ever a subsequent point where the US was close to having anything other than a two-party system?	44
Were the artists depicting children as miniature adults in the middle ages simply unfamiliar with prior, more representational depictions? Was it a conscious attempt to reflect their worldview? How did this tradition evolve?	44
Did Marc Antony underestimate Octavian, or blow it? How did a 19-year old neophyte with a reputation for cowardice wind up emerging from the second triumvirate as emperor, beating out Caesar's second-in-command?	43
Did the motif of a "devil's bargain" exist in literature prior to Marlowe? What's known about the historical Johann Faust?	43
What about Amsterdam has made it such a popular refuge for radical, creative thinkers, and how did they contribute to the Dutch golden age of the late 16th and 17th century?	43
u/mattpiv posted this question in r/history, but I'm interested in the askhistorians perspective: How was the assassination of Lincoln perceived in Europe?	43
Over time, Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall have come to symbolize the excesses of the Gilded Age and of machine politics at its most corrupt. What are the good things they accomplished?	43
Shakespeare portrayed Richard III as physically deformed, as a reflection of his treacherous nature (as depicted). Did this, in fact, reflect a common cultural bias against the disabled in Elizabethan England?	43
We know flappers inspired future women's liberation and counterculture movements. Who were their heroes/from where did they draw their inspiration?	42

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