Hi, I am getting a tattoo soon of the Ancient Greek mosaic uncovered in Turkey’s Hatay Province of a reclining skeleton, with the text saying ”ΕΥΦΡΟΣΥΝΟΣ” which numerous sources translate as “Be cheerful, enjoy your life” But I wanted to ask to double check the translation with anyone who can read Ancient Greek is possible? Thank you in advance!

As examples look at Latin America and US and Australia.

It was very common for the Spanish to create families with the indigenous populations, to the point many people in Latin America consider themselves descendants of both Europeans and ancient civilization (like Aztecs or Mayans) but that didn’t really happen in British colonies like Australia or the US. To this day the majority of their population is “European descent”. Why was that? Why was mixing between Europeans and Native Americans so uncommon in places not colonized by Spain?

Not complaining or anything, just legit curiosity about the differences between colonial powers

I ask this since it was common to decorate planes with writings and drawings, and there would be no point in doing this if you used the plane for only one mission and then great on a new one. And also what did "Enola gay" mean, and why was it on the bomber carri g the atomic bomb?

My grandmother (who was a history teacher) told me a story where after signing the Turkish - German friendship treaty, Hitler intended to secure the straits or Thrace before launching Barbarossa, however in the nick of time İnönü blew up a bridge and the Germans launched their invasion of the USSR without the straits secured.

However I can only find information saying that a bridge was blown up between that 3 day time period of the signing of the friendship treaty and Barbarossa, and can't find information of an imminent occupation force. If this story is true, did the Germans technically cross the border into Turkey and turn back at the sight of the river?

This is not exactly the sort of question I normally see on r/AskHistorians, but I think people here are the ones who can answer it best. What is a good way to find good material (specifically books) to learn about a historical topic? Is there a better way than googling "books crusades" and starting from the top? How does one decide what book is worth reading first?

And does anyone have advice on good books for an interested non-historian, that cover the crusades from an economical/social point of view? I'm not (or better, not only) interested in what crusaders did while crusading, but in how and why crusades were started, funded, and "advertised".

As a more typical question: What was the public opinion (among rural and city people, not nobles or clergy) about the crusades? Were they seen as a holy and noble endeavour, or just as another type of warfare and reason for more taxes, with the only possible added bonus that at least a lot of it was done away from their fields? Did this opinion change substantially between countries, or between the different crusades?

I have often heard people say that nations did not really exist in their current form before approximately the 19th century, and that the modern conception that nations have basically always existed is a lie. I don’t understand what that means and I was hoping to get perspective on what that really means for institutions such as the English & French Monarchies or the Roman & Ottoman Empires. How were these different from the current conception of a nation and why are they not considered to be one by many teachers/ casual history lovers?

Europe seems to be filled with ancient rock structures like Stonehenge, passage tombs, stone circles, megaliths, dolmens, etc. Besides dirt structures like Cahokia and the other mound building cultures, why don't we see that in North America?

What criteria needs to be fulfilled before someone decides a work is 'lost'?

I was wondering what they did. The south has tornados and droughts, the north blizzards, the East hurricanes, the west earthquakes. I know these people had extensive histories and protocols. I’m not taught anything about the natives before colonization in school so there’s no way of me learning about this other than asking specifically.

I got the idea watching Vikings which IK not the most historically accurate but some of it I believe gives a decent look at events and culture after looking into it.

Anyways in the beginning they discover a land west (England) after poor raiding to the East for a while due to their neighbors being pretty poor. However England is a much richer land and they come back very successful with lots of gold. It got me to thinking how does a small poor village handle an increase in wealth like that? The raid has not really created much of any positive economic activity (no goods or services produced) but has brought a lot of currency. Did this result in inflation? Were the raids beneficial to Vikings?

Also feel free to answer with the affect on any people that raided and brought back gold to their area as IK Vikings written history is very scarce. Mostly want to know how stealing things like gold or silver on a large scale would help/affect an economy when nothing with real value (practical use) came out of raiding other people.

My father is a retired mathematician who loves to immerse himself in history documentaries, particularly around wartime or famous figures. He loves historical gossip - i.e. things most people don't realise about past events and people. Start with someone nearly everyone's heard of, and add something interesting about them that most people wouldn't know. Then write it in a whimsical style, and he's happy as Larry.

Any recommendations, please?

I’m about to read the author Tom Holland’s ‘Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind‘ and it has good reviews but I’ve noticed that his older books, especially the one on early Islam, get a bad rap around here. Should I be concerned about bad history in Dominion? Are there better works on the role of Christianity in the west that are also readable?

It boggles my mind that the Mekong delta used to be majority Cambodian since it's such a Vietnamese place. Did private farming families move in or was it a government program or a combination of both?

Edit: To clarify some things. Let's take Italy as an example. Regions might include Venice, Florence, Milan or Rome

I am looking for an old machine which was used to teach children the piano. It looks awful and it's meant to control every little finger. The children were put in there and the machine controlled their arms and fingers.

Looks more like a torture machine, but I heard Clara Schuhmann was raised with one. I am looking for a picture of it, since I want to show it to a friend who doesn't believe me. It was build by one man in the 18th or 19th century.

I try to search the web, but all I find are "Best apps to learn the piano" and stuff.

Anybody here knows what I am talking about?

I'm doing a diorama in my spare time and want to make as much research as possible. Did Austrian Granadier regiments carry a flag (1805 - 1812)? Was it a yellow Ordinarstandarte or white Leibstandarte?