Hello everyone! Today I come before you to ask for help on a little project: the AskHistorians Showcase!
What is the Showcase you ask? Well I'm so glad you asked! The showcase will be a page of some of Askhistorians greatest answers presented under 10 general categories. The purpose of this showcase is to show our readers, other historians, and interested people what exactly it is that we do here! Furthermore we will be linking it to a greater community page for interested parties to learn even more!
In order to do this however, we need your help in selecting and nominating some of your saved, favorite, or top quality answers from this subreddit!
How will we proceed? Well, I will make 10 separate nomination threads over the coming weeks for you to nominate your favorite answers in the ten categories below. Today's thread is for Ancient World!
So please give us your favorite Ancient World answers past and present!
Future Categories: Europe, North America, Cultural History
Past Categories: Military History, Asia, Africa, Middle and South America, Middle East, Medieval World
/u/ursa-minor-88 answered Did people buy apartments and condos in ancient Rome? What were housing laws like?
This ancient world one got less love than I'd expect.
/u/tiako I am a man of wealth in Han China, would I be able to buy olive oil that came from the Roman Empire, or did olive oil not reach that far down the silk road.; Did the Romans believe in ghosts, and would their idea of a ghost be similar to ours?; many others.
/u/heyheymse What was dating like in ancient Rome?; What were fetishes like in antiquity? What were commoners "into" compared to today?, several others.
/u/daeres Did any significant pre-modern society NOT practice slavery?; Why did Buddhism not spread very far westward during the Classical era?, many others.
/u/brigantus life of Genghis Khan (maybe for a different section, actually); what's wrong with our ideas about prehistorical peoples, many more.
There are of course many more. It's bed time in my timezone, but all the people who've provided good answers on Biblical historicity need love, too, and I didn't get all the classicists or the people who do ANE or PIE or any of that stuff.
For definition, Ancient World runs until around or about 410 CE :)
Oh boy, do I have a bunch! I would like to recommend:
/u/Aerandir in [Did “barbarians” understand military formations?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2xz4an/did_barbarians_understand_military_formations/cp4zuxr)
/u/XenophonTheAthenian in [Was Literary Latin ever used in normal conversation?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2wni1m/was_literary_latin_ever_used_in_normal/)
/u/Astrogator in [Did civilizations conquered by the Romans retain their culture?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2kl7h9/did_civilizations_conquered_by_the_romans_retain/)
Also by /u/Astrogator; [Who considered themselves Roman?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3ahhfy/who_considered_themselves_roman/cscwz8h)
Although it’s his old account, /u/Polybios in [What was the constitution/structure of the Roman Republic like?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2qwy1e/what_was_the_constitutionstructure_of_the_roman/)
Another excellent /u/Polybios post, in [How did people in the Roman Republic understand the concept of imperium?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/3842d5/how_did_the_people_of_the_roman_republic/)
All of /u/Tiako’s responses in [AMA: The Economy of the Ancient Roman Empire] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2hc8rp/ama_the_economy_of_the_ancient_roman_empire/)
/u/Celebreth discussing Roman military medical care in [How likely was a Roman soldier to survive being wounded in battle?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1tn59a/how_likely_was_a_roman_soldier_to_survive_being/) and [You are a Roman soldier marching a long distance. Your leg breaks for whatever reason; what happens?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1ov7s3/you_are_a_roman_solider_marching_a_long_distance/ccw3fiw?context=3)
An additional /u/Celebreth post, in [I have just joined the Roman army. What is my life going to be like from now on?] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/363rhp/i_have_just_joined_the_roman_army_what_is_my_life/)
…perhaps pushing the time limit a bit, but I would also like to add /u/textandtrowel’s response in [Alcohol consumption in the Byzantine Empire] (https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2nkgcd/alcoholic_consumption_in_the_byzantine_empire/)
I liked /u/Celebreth's answer to the question of What are some examples of Roman infantry tactics being countered effectively?