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1500 questions
35
votes
10 answers
Why were Albanians the only nation in the Balkans who converted to Islam during the Ottoman occupation?
The Ottoman Empire conquered the Balkans and occupied it for half a millennium. They managed to convert most of the Albanians to Islam, however, all the other nations in the area remained Christian.
What are the causes of the Albanians being…
vsz
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Why did modern "Romania" remain the most "Roman" part of the Balkans?
The so-called "Romanians" are the Vlachs who inhabited the territory just north of the Danube in Roman times, and today. Wallachia (home of the Vlachs), represented the outer limit or Roman expansion. The name of their country, Romania, is a…
Tom Au
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35
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11 answers
Why didn't Japanese infantrymen and samurai use shields?
Shields were considered useful in Europe until the development of full plate armor. Despite the fact that they never had anything comparable to plate armor, shield use was apparently abandoned by the Edo period. The freestanding tate was used to…
Twilight Sparkle
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34
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11 answers
How did Moscow become the capital/most important city in Russia?
Early in the past millennium, Kiev was probably the largest, most modern city in the former Soviet Union, at least until the Mongols came. One might have expected it to be the capital of the Soviet Union, with its location on the Dniepr River, and…
Tom Au
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34
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1 answer
Did the Dutch eat their Prime Minister?
According to this article an angry—one might add hungry—Dutch mob feasted on the mutilated remains of their ‘Grand Pensionary’ (i.e. Prime Minister) De Witt and his brother:
There are accounts of some among the mob taking parts of the bodies,
and…
Ptah-hotep
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34
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2 answers
Until when was Marseille Greek-speaking?
Marseille was originally a Greek city. It fell to the Romans in 49 BC, but without suffering very much. Given the widespread use of the Greek language in the Roman Empire, it is not clear to me that the Roman conquest would necessarily have changed…
Arno
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34
votes
4 answers
How much would 300 pounds (money value) weigh in Medieval England?
I remember reading a Robin Hood story as a child where the Sheriff of Nottingham rode though Sherwood forest, as I remember foolishly going alone, and Robin Hood robbed him of 300 pounds. And I thought about the unfortunate horse that had to carry…
MAGolding
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34
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1 answer
Why did life expectancy decline sharply in 16th century England?
I was checking historical life expectancy and found the chart shown below in Roser, Ortiz-Ospina, Ritchie, 2013.
What was the reason for such a dramatic decline in life expectancy in England in the middle of the 16th century?
Is this just a data…
ruslaniv
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34
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2 answers
How long was a sea journey from England to East Africa 1868-1877?
I'm trying to find out how long the sea journey took from England to East Africa in the period 1868-1877. One source I've found suggests something like 3 months earlier in the 1860s. It mentions a departure from Southampton in November 1863 and…
Paul Frecker
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34
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3 answers
How were the cities of Milan and Bruges spared by the Black Death?
On this map* we can see that some cities and areas seem to be spared. How did cities like Milan and Bruges manage to protect themselves from the Black Death ? I'm also interested in how Milan, a city which managed to save itself during the 1300s…
atrefeu
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34
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6 answers
How did people travel to remote islands like Easter Island?
Easter Island is extremely remote, being thousands of kilometers from its nearest neighbor. How did people get there safely, and how did they even know it was there?
Harley Holcombe
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34
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3 answers
When the Portuguese began the exploration of the West African Coast, did they believe the Indian Ocean was an enclosed sea?
The Ptolemy map shows the Indian Ocean as an enclosed sea separated from the Atlantic by land extending from Africa to Malaya. Therefore, it suggests it is impossible to reach the Indian Ocean from Europe by sailing anticlockwise around the African…
user8654
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2 answers
How were horses disembarked from sail ships?
Back in late 18th century, ship of the line embarked soldiers (e.g. royal marines) that can perform land actions. To disembark, they took place into longboats.
If a specific land action was planned, I imagine they also embarked cavalry. Thus, they…
Manu H
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34
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2 answers
How did cities operate in medieval times?
Modern fiction is often filled with fantasy versions of the Middle Ages, from Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones, and everything in between, but how did the reality of this trope operate?
There obviously would have been farmers, creating and…
Django Reinhardt
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34
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1 answer
What would have been the typical drinks for a US farmer in the late 18th/early 19th century?
What would have been the typical drinks for a US farmer in the late 18th/early 19th century?
I have read a lot about cider being a frequent drink, but it is not a common drink now in the United States. Also whiskey is described as something imported…
Censored to protect the guilty
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