On paper it seems like the Mamluk Sultanate should have been well matched against the Ottomans, it was big, rich and had a significant population. They had already fought the Turks to a stalemate just a few decades before, so why do they seem to flop over so quickly in the war from 1516-17? Its not like the Turks were ever able to waltz into Iran in the same kind of way.

Did the adoption of gunpowder among the Turkish forces help much?

Do we have any early records of litter boxes or similar areas where cats would be trained / conditioned to relieve themselves?

[deleted]

I am watching a lecture right now and the professor says that China MAY have received the concept of writing from the Indo-European migrations. He goes on to say that it is very controversial, but the Chinese do not have the evolution of pictographs to writing like the Sumerians did. He says there isn't enough evidence to point one way or another, but it is plausible that the Indo Europeans brought writing to the Chinese.

Just curious as to whether this is true and if so what evidence is there?

I'm curious when these nations fought if they represented their own nations or changed their banner, repainted their shields or did anything to show they were fighting as Christians rather than their own countries. Thanks in advance!

In other words - is the Venus supposed to represent a real, living ideal - or is it a stylized portrait?

In other other words - would an early human have sympathised with the "I like big butts and I cannot lie" school of beauty?

Doing a paper about the Holocaust in American life. The main book I am using is, you guessed it, The Holocaust in American Life. But I need some primary sources, preferably survivors who traveled to the US after the war. Any recommendations?

Hello everyone,

From a few clicks around Wikipedia, I have some questions about why Edward VIII never had any children and why his brother George VI had two girls and no more.

Edward VIII was around 42 years old when he became king. As the heir to the throne since the age of 16, is there any particular reason(s) why he did not marry and have children before the death of his father in 1936? Surely there was a lot of pressure for the heir to create heirs of his own?

When George VI became king at the end of 1936 his youngest child was only around 6 years old and he had no male heirs. Was it considered at all important to have a male heir in 1936, or after the long reign of queen Victoria did that sort of thing just not matter anymore?

Also, two children seems like a very low number for the 1930s. Was this normal among the aristocracy at the time? Were the public/media expecting that George would have more children and perhaps a son that would become king?

China seems like a massive region with a massive population. It seems like it like it would split into many different countries. Yet despite sometimes falling apart, the Empire seems to have been rebuilt over and over, unlike, for example the Roman empire.

Playing Crusader Kings and am thinking of adding a mod that let's regents take control one problem is that it seems if the player or AI is not careful during said regency the Realm will disintegrate after a couple years into various independent Dukes, Counts and petty kings. Did this happen in history or would this be rare?

Our perceptions of what Ancient Roman society and daily life were like tend to focus on the towns and cities, since that's where we have the best evidence from (most Classical Roman authors were from the urban elites, we have unparalleled archaeological evidence from Pompeii and Herculaneum etc). Yet like in all pre-industrial states, the majority of the Roman Empire's inhabitants would have been rural dwellers and, to my rather limited knowledge of ancient history (I'm more of a medievalist), the slave latifundia system of agriculture only predominated in Italy, Sicily, Greece and the West Coast of Asia Minor. Thus most of the Roman Empire's inhabitants from lowland Britain to Egypt must have been peasants of some sort. What was their material culture and standards of living like? What were their family structures like? What relationship did they have with senatorial aristocratic landowners? What sort of settlements did they live in?

I realise the US "won" the space race by landing on the moon first, but this doesn't strike me as a big enough reason to no pursue a moon landing at all. So why did the Soviets never go to the moon? Was it a strategic or technological decision?

I'm currently studying history and we've gone over a lot of topics during my study thus far. However we've not gone over 'ancient' Egypt as much as I'd like. Do you know any historically correct books about Egypt's history in the time range +/- 4.000 BC all the the way through 600/700 A.D? Specifically I'm looking for books about broader topics like Egyptian mythology, culture, military etc. Books that cover a single person/event are of less importance, and I haven't been able to find any book that looks promising that fits my 'demands'. Please, any suggestion would be welcome!

Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. are all British offshoots and still part of the Commonwealth. They have parliaments, not congresses, and many drive on the left, but their currencies are called dollars. Why?

Like did they not include any possible pimples or were the paintings tweaked to make the person look the best?

My grandma remarried to a man named “Bob.” When Bob passed away we discovered a box of kkk memorabilia that had belonged to his father. Not much, a few enamel pins, what I believe are the ropes/ties from a robe, and then notes/lists of attendees from their meetings. I believe all of this stuff dates back to the 30’s or 40’s. Bob had no surviving children of his own, and I am the oldest “grandchild” so my parents offered me this box.

I have no attachment to these items or what they represent, or even to Bob’s family. What can I do with this stuff?

I'm currently looking into the domestic laws of several medieval powers. Knowing whether Venice continued to use these law codes later in the medieval period would be very beneficial. Thanks in advance!

I’ve always wanted to know the answer to this but couldn’t find any data. Was it by random? Last name alphabetically? Certain branches go to certain countries?

[deleted]