So I was doing some reading in Wikipedia on Napolean and what struck me was that Napolean was said to have been fond of Muhammad even to the extent of defending him against Voltaire's play.

Could somebody elaborate on how Napolean might have read about Muhammad and his unorthodox view on Muhammad given that he lived in a time where Catholicism was pretty much opposed to Islam .

A long time ago, I listened to a podcast where an Orthodox priest talked about the theology of divorce in the Orthodox Church. One Cardinal, Cardinal Kasper, made a statement arguing for the admiting of divorced and remarried Catholics to communion, and he appealed to the eastern tradition of allowing divorce to show some historical precedence in the church. The Orthodox priest objected to this, because he the two churches understand marriage and divorce completely differently. The west views it as a contract, that can be annulled when needed and broken(which would be bad). The eastern church says that that Yes, you can fail a marriage and be forgiven of that. And you can have a second one along with that. The ceremony for a second marriage service is a penitential ceremony, wherein the two people basically beg God to forgive them for entering into a second marriage.

Now sorry for the theologizing. I imagine that's rather unpleasant to this secular audience.

How did these two understandings develop? What happened? when did they diverge? Was there always such a division between the east and the west?

I'm looking for literature on Ottoman perspective of the battle of Lepanto and its consequences. I also wonder how Turkish national historiography perceived this event... Anybody knows any literature on this topic? Thanks!

Thinking of fancier clothing, that's a lot of layers! Did women colonizers from northern Iberia adapt their styles of dress (fabric, number of layers, etc) after living in Mexico for some time? Were there appreciable differences in regional fashion within, say, the 19th century U.S. based on dealing with a Texas or Florida summer versus northern California, or a Chicago winter?

I got thinking the other day, with Rome having a professional standing army, could the immediate family such as the wife and young children of Roman soldiers expect any sort of aid from army if their husband/father fell in battle or were they just suddenly left to fend for themselves?

Edit: Ickk... typo in the title it won't let me fix. Should be obvious but I meant "of dead soldiers"

Which Great Khan able to exert the most control over the empire? How was such a vast and diverse territory administrated and kept pacified? How did the Mongols coordinate and supply fighting wars on multiple different frontiers?

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I have a feeling it's influenced by the clan culture in the kingdom of Scotland but I can't find anything on the subject

On the one hand, it is argued that the reforms laid the foundations for Russian modernization, however others say he failed to truly have a de-facto impact on the nation, which would be more accurate?

I know that the Dutch east india company was worth more, but which company had more manpower and military might, and which one had more free license from the government to do as they please?

As far as I know Islamic countries / empires of old where named after their ruling dynasty, so why is this different with the Ottoman Empire?

Considering with the introduction of new technologies like the helicopter and the assault rifle, were there any modifications in military tactics and army formations?

Is there a reason or is it just a coincidence?

It seems pretty sexist to me, why were early feminists like Emmeline Pankhurst supportive of this movement? Even in 1914 when it was considered acceptable. I understand that she also campaigned for the right to work so are these connected?

As late as 1571, in the Battle of Lepanto, both sides relied on ships with oars. But past that point sails-only ships start taking over Mediterranean sea battles. What finally tipped the balance to sails?

The anarcho-syndicalist CNT had more than a million members at a time when Anarchism was losing popularity to soviet style Marxism in the rest of the world. The main explanation I've seen offered is national temperament, but I'm generally reluctant to believe explanations that point solely to things like national culture.