As an Orthodox i'm curious to know how much did the Orthodox do in the crusades. I know that they asked for help from Rome against the Seljuk empire but did they do any fighting against the muslims or give other kinds of support to the crusaders?

It seems strange to me that it's the symbol for luck and when we cross it behind our back to hide a lie.

What happened to their equipment?

Why did this group of people decide to worship a s single god while most of their neighbours were polytheists? What was the origin and purpose of Torah with all of its complex rules?

In big formal events such as a wedding, charity dinner party etc, men always wear identical tuxedos or suits of black and white, while women wear dresses of different designs and colors. Why is that? Looking at paintings of 18th century parties, the men, like women, all wears formal clothings of various style and colors. Is there a reason for the dress code to change among men?

Was it just his nature, or was he misled by bad advisers or counter-intelligence?

EDIT: Thanks for the answers and reading recommendations.

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? What did they hope to accomplish? It seems like just about the stupidest tactical decision they could have made. Help me understand.

Bonus Question: How did the Nazis react to news of the attack? Did Hitler know about it in advance?

I have read that Marie Antoinette did not actually say "Let them eat cake." But I wondered what kind of cakes were being cooked in pre-revolution France. I'm looking to make an old-style cake but I don't really know what kind they had. Any ideas?

Specifically, Roman emperors; however, other ancient cultures are applicable. Since the Julian calendar only had ten months, how can we be sure of certain dates that far back? Wasn't our current Gregorian calendar instituted in the Middle Ages? That's about a thousand years of back tracking to figure out how many months were left out. I'm sorry if my question is a bit sloppy and ambiguous.

It just seems silly to have a bunch of men marching, with a drummer to alert the enemies that they are around, and to just stand still while they fire at each other.

I'm guessing there's a good reason for it, and that strategists and tacticians at the time were probably limited technically to any kind of guerrilla or modern war tactics.

I was thinking about the Yalta conference that is an extraordinary journey for the Americans and British to take. I know the Luftwaffe was largely defeated by that time, but it seems like so many things could have gone wrong in transit and two war time leaders could have been killed or captured. Even Mechanical problems, was there opposition to the meeting, and what type of precautions were taken to keep the leaders safe?

"To what extent did American independence bring about a revolution in the United States in its first two decades? In your response, discern between the structures of government, the social order, popular ideology. To highlight the American case, make relevant comparisons and/or contrasts with the revolutions in France and in Haiti."

It's the first sentence that's confusing me a lot. I don't get the revolution after independence part of the question. I thought gaining independence was a revolution?

I was reading through the wiki about no evidence of the exodus out of Egypt by the Israelites. What evidence would be used by historians of proof of the israelites? Writings, goods, campsites?