If the ultimate goal of the southern advance on the late fase of the soviet-nazi conflict was to get to Baku and capture the oil fields to stiffle russian economy, why did Germany march the long way through land and didn't complement it from a naval invasion from Georgia/Odessa/Sevstopol when the siege was won? Thanks

I'm curious about this in terms of seeing not only why they felt the Post Office as such should exist, but why?

If for example, the reason for the post office is "the federal government should ensure the timely delivery of letters" then why did they feel the timely delivery of letters was important?

How does ground level physically get raised over time?

The only reply I seem to get is that 'cities get built on top of each other' or 'another layer gets added on top.'

But how does this actually happen physically?

How can you physically build a layer on top of another layer...?

Or does the ground sink, all at the same time...?

Or are some layers underground while others are out in the open...?

Hi /r/askhistorians!

I'm on an Indiana Jones binge watch at the moment, and I was curious if there's any historical accuracy at all to the various tomb booby traps?

Things like pressure plates that fire arrows when you step on the wrong part of the floor, spinning blades and of course the very iconic rolling boulder scene.

With Roman legions taking slaves from defeated enemies (Caesar alone taking half a million in Gaul). How did people trust the slaves when they bought them?

Say that I bought a Gallic woman as a slave to cook and clean in my household. She is from a warrior tradition and in a house filled with knives and other cooking implements. I know I have the power of life and death over them but what if they didn't care? What if they were willing to die whilst getting revenge?

How do they trust their slaves? It seems an impossible risk to take.

A lot of the recent brouhaha in the news about this seems to hinge on a single clause in the amendment.

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

My understanding is that there is contention over what "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" means.

So...how was that clause understood in 1868 when the Amendment was drafted? Was there confusion about it at the time? Was there contention over the phrasing because lawmakers at the time had concerns over how it could be interpreted?

Also, were there any public controversies centering around the interpretation of that clause in either the remainder of the 19th century, or the early decades of the 20th? Up to the end of the 1920s, let's say. (The Gilded Age/Progressive Era of 1880-1920 is my favorite period of U.S. history, so I'll arbitrarily go with the end of that era for the purpose of the question).

I see a lot of people drooling on them, but I cannot seem to find any relevant information about them, nor information not backed by spiritual websites: i.e. the wikipedia page about it seems to be making very vague arguments(cant even understand if they mean 650 BC or AD) and only few are backed by sources, of which most are crystal/spiritual websites.

I’ve been fascinated by more modern history (I’d say 1800-present) since I was in second grade and, I’m sorry if this sounds cringy to some of you guys but, I like digesting history through videos more so than books. I don’t know, it’s just a personal preference. But I’d like to ask anyone if there’s any YouTube channels that you recommend? As of now I’m a regular watcher of:

The Great War and subsequently WW2 along with other channels relating it to The Armchair Historian Feature History and History Buffs

Is there anyone I shouldn’t watch and why? But if not are there anymore channels that I might be interested in?

The Veneti as described in Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars had large seafaring ships that were described as taller than typical Roman ships, with high gunwales, which sounds to me almost like the ships of the late Medieval period. Do we have any hard evidence about the design of these ships, and if they were in fact comparatively advanced, the range of the Veneti's travels?

Do we know if the Veneti's shipbuilding technology or maritime culture survived the brutal invasion by Caesar, and if their seafaring continued afterwards? If so, did they influence later antiquity?

What factors were used to determine if a person got comissioned? How would their experience differ? Why dont Sergeant Pilots exist anymore?

I know it was important but how important was it?