1 Answers 2020-04-12
The goths controlled Italy and Spain for a while post-Roman Empire. The angles, saxons, and danes completely transformed the Britonnic Isles. Celts basically disappeared from the mainland and were replaced by Gallic peoples.
Was there just such a large power vacuum left by the Romans/Greeks that any civilization with the most basic organization could replace them? Am I underestimating just how organized the German tribes were?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
1 Answers 2020-04-12
The United States has had 2 mayor internal wars, and yet after they ended they indeed achieved peace and stability once more, why?, how were they able to achieve this when most countries continue struggling even after the internal war was over?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
1 Answers 2020-04-12
1 Answers 2020-04-12
Crossbows and normal bows coexisted during the Medieval Ages, yet not everyone switched to the more modern crossbow. Why? In fact, what even are the differences between a crossbow and a normal bow? What advantages and disadvantages exist? Is a crossbow clearly superior to a normal bow and the reason why not everyone used it was due to higher production costs or training time?
Also, wasn't the crossbow invented very early in China? Did they use it more? Did it give them an advantage?
I am asking this because in the Civilization games crossbowmen are usually a straight upgrade of archers and in the Mount and Blade games crossbows are more accurate and do more damage but have a slower rate of fire and I wanted to verify if this is historically accurate as well as find out why those weapons coexisted. I know firearms and bows coexisted for some time due to the high production cost of early firearms and their inaccuracy.
1 Answers 2020-04-12
Further, which countries provided better/worse care for the lower classes and which countries had the most equitable care, regardless of the wealth of the patient?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
The figures and statues of Ancient Greece depict incredibly ripped men. How accurate is the anatomy of those statues with a bodybuilder of our times? And, in the absence of steroids, what was the fitness regime that Greek athletes followed? Were they aware of the nutritional values of various foods?
Thanks
1 Answers 2020-04-12
Finally, what happened to them when the Crusader States we’re finally conquered? Did any move to Europe?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
I'm trying to find more information about this emirate but all i can find is the short description of wikipedia and a lot of ck2 related posts. I'm really interested in the muslim impact in italian (and european in general) history but other than the Emirate of Sicily i cant find much.
1 Answers 2020-04-12
I'm currently reading Intelligence in War by John Keegan. In it, he describes how Admiral Von Spee "proceeded to Bora Bora in the French Society Islands, where the inhabitants had not as yet heard of the war. They supplied him with fresh food while the ships coaled."
Bora Bora even today has a population of perhaps ~10,000. In my mind, this raises multiple questions about this specific event, but also the broader concept of naval resupply in far-flung places. How would a squadron of warships resupply without completely depleting an island's food (and coal) stocks? How would a quartermaster even go about buying an entire island's food supply, both logistically and monetarily? Would payment be made in bullion of some sort, the warships' national currency, other items of value? Could the islanders reasonably deny the commercial offer, at risk of military expropriation? Thank you in advance for any insights.
1 Answers 2020-04-12
MARK Tanks were used in WW1(and probaly other wars) they were so innovative for the time,but after some time their stile of transmition was abondon,but why??????Weren't they good???/They were so mobile,had good firepower and everything was ''perfect'',and we are not talking if they had proper engine for mass(around 30 tons) they will be "like" planes
1 Answers 2020-04-12
What were the communist attitudes towards premarital sex? What health and welfare options would I have had? How would it differ by decade?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
I've been wondering what the historical reasoning might be for the Quran describing hunting dogs as good (aka domesticated dogs), but feral dogs as bad. Also, dogs were described with negative connotations in Ancient Egyptian language, which is very uncharacteristically for the language.
For example, it's been hypothesized that the reason for making a religious law banning shellfish and pork has been associated with food poisoning from those sources. I'm curious if there might have been a similar reason with dogs?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
Today:
Welcome to this week's instalment of /r/AskHistorians' Sunday Digest (formerly the Day of Reflection). Nobody can read all the questions and answers that are posted here, so in this thread we invite you to share anything you'd like to highlight from the last week - an interesting discussion, an informative answer, an insightful question that was overlooked, or anything else.
2 Answers 2020-04-12
I was watching the TV series of The Pillars of the Earth and it striked me as a surprise when they show the corpse of Robert of Gloucester and he appears with what I identify as the coat of arms of the county of Urgell in his sword (Episode 7, minute 16). Maybe it is an error, but if it where not or if it where to be something possible, I thought another explanation would be that there was repeated heraldic symbols in the Middle Ages. Maybe this is a dumb question, but this coat of arms in particular is quite simple and nice, and I think I've seen it around a lot in series, movies or medieval recreations.
1 Answers 2020-04-12
Admiral Fisher argued that the role of normal cruisers would be better served by a ship that was larger and more heavily armed, but faster. "Speed is protection" and all.
Was there any circumstances in which the battlecruiser worked as intended? As against modern naval weaponry, speed didn't seem to be protection at all. Perhaps they could have been better used as commerce raiders than in actual battles? Or were they a waste of money and material; which could have been better spent on normal cruisers?
1 Answers 2020-04-12
1 Answers 2020-04-12
Aside from sources, easily one of the most misunderstood rules we have in place on /r/AskHistorians is our rules concerning personal anecdotes, as just what those entail is often subject to great confusion.
To start off, here are a few examples of what the "Personal Anecdotes" rule doesn't prohibit:
These are all examples of allowable primary sources. To be sure, we would expect them to be used judiciously, with an awareness and explication of their strengths and weaknesses, and preferably in conjunction with secondary literature that allows for contextualization within the broader historical picture, but the "Personal Anecdotes" rule is in no way intended to prevent using sources such as these as part of an answer!
The emphasis of the rule is very much on the personal part of things, rather than the anecdote side of things. A a great philosopher once said, "On the internet, no one knows you're a dog", and that underpins the issues here. The rule specifically prohibits recollections of historical events where you are the source, or else its second-hand conduit. A few examples of what the rule prohibits:
Any answer based on information offered in that manner would be immediately removed. There are a number of reasons for this, which we'll now delve into!
Humans, for the most part, aren't that good at remembering things. You can head over to /r/AskScience to really get into the details, but suffice to say, what we think remember is often a partial reconstruction at best, which has been, over time, subjected to every manner of other influences which can shape and change it. Reading news stories, hearing alternative perspectives from other participants, or simply growing older and seeing your values change, can all impact what you think you remember, but you often won't even be aware of it, let alone be the best person to analyze it.
Now, to be fair, many of the examples of allowed sources we just mentioned fall into that trap too. Someone being interviewed has that same fallible memory anyone else does. But historians have tools in their arsenal to mitigate and contextualize those shortcomings. We limit sources to those that can be accessed for just this reason. We need to be able to weigh it against other primary sources, and contextualize it within secondary literature. We aren't offering the primary source as an answer in of itself, but rather seeking to place it as part of the answer. To do this, we need to know as much as we can about the who, the when, the why, the where... This is all information that we can then use to understand not just what the interviewee is saying themselves, but what the interview itself tells us in the more metaphysical sense.
That 'Who' is perhaps the most important piece in our context here. You are the proverbial dog on the internet, and that presents two massive issues. While we realize most people offer their personal recollections in good faith, it doesn't prevent people from making stuff up, whether for fun or to be malicious. And even putting that issue aside, even if everyone posted them in good faith, we simply are not equipped to be able to properly vet posters offering personal anecdotes as sources to the degree that would make them feasible.
It also must be remembered that if you remember it, many other people do too. If you have a story to share about what you remember of the Gulf War, so do literally millions of other people on this site. Not to hurt your feelings... but your recollection just isn't all that special! It doesn't add anything that any other redditor over 35 would probably be able to say too. If people are seeking out those answers, we encourage them to try /r/AskReddit. But this is /r/AskHistorians, and the purpose of the subreddit is right there on the tin. Your personal recollection is almost inherently not the kind of answer an historian has to offer. It doesn't make it bad, but it does make it something to be shared in a different venue than here.
If you are knowledgeable about a topic, and able to write a answer that draws on secondary literature and primary sources that otherwise meet the rules, and you also happen to have a personal anecdote or two, then there is a little wiggle room. They can often provide a little color to an otherwise acceptable answer, but you need to be sure you are obeying the two key rules of thumb. The first is that they should only be illustrating what your sources otherwise say. The second is that they should be non-essential; if you removed them from the answer, its quality shouldn't suffer for it. If you aren't sure, always err on the side of not using it!
3 Answers 2020-04-12
Ok so I was wondering why the hindus in India did not become muslim like the Zoroastrians in Iran. Some cities like delhi where under islamic rule for like 600 years, yet they did not become majority muslim. And to my understanding Zoroastrianism was more organised than Hinduism. Also weren't other religions like Buddhism and Jainism more prevalent in India during the middle ages, meaning it is easier to convert.
So again, why wasn't India islamic like other countries such as Iran?
2 Answers 2020-04-12
1 Answers 2020-04-12
The paper topic is transcendentalist movement, what influenced it and what it influenced and how was art impacted by it. We also have to critique current events of the pandemic with views from that movement. However, I really found it difficult to write about a topic I hardly know and in a language I suck at. I would usually go to my school’s writing center in a case like this but they are unavailable atm. I was wondering if anyone here knows good sources I should use to get more input on the movement. I already “finished it” but I really think it’s awful and I would get a bad grade. And if someone is willing to give me feedback plz dm me and I will send you the paper.
I am not sure if this is the right sub for this kind of post but I don’t use reddit that much and I don’t know what sub this belongs in. If this doesn’t fit the sub I will remove it but please let me know where I can post it.
2 Answers 2020-04-12