Or if there's no clear origin, was there any clear source of propagation of that mistaken idea?

It seems related to modern reactionary movements and their fixation on "food purity" that entails eating unseasoned raw meats, but it also seems related to proto-racist ideas about flavorful foods and warm climates igniting "bestial passions and natures" or the like (and the persistent fear that occupying colonial forces had of eating local foods lest they be "corrupted" by them), but is there any known source for the idea that spices were only valued by historical European empires because of their fabled ability to conceal the taste of rotting meat (and, I think it should go without saying, spices obviously cannot overpower or conceal the taste of spoiled meat so the idea is absurd from the very beginning)?

I am currently listening to the History of Rome podcast by Mike Duncan (which has been great so far). I’m currently in the era of Nero and he had a run in with the Parthians in Armenia. This got me thinking. Rome has had a couple run ins so far with Parthia and all attempts at invasion by the like of Crassus and Marc Antony were ended quickly. Rome seems to be content with letting this other powerful empire co exist and despite a few brief run ins they are largely ignored. So what exactly is going on over there and what are some good sources to learn more? Also to keep this question more direct, what is your favorite story, event, or person in the history of Parthia to help spark some interest to learn more about them?

Basically the title. While we all know American racism generally followed a “One Drop” rule but what about Nazis ideology towards Jewish ancestry? Was the official line of the Nazis government that a single Jewish ancestor, no matter how far back, meant someone was Jewish? Or was it more complicated than that?

Depending on the answer, I could see this being more appropriate for short-answers-to-simple-questions, but I think it could get complicated pretty quickly.

And how does this play into the disputed lands being previous domains of the Roman Empire, which was Christian?

As far as I understand it beer was invented in ancient egypt (though being very different from modern beer, warm and more porridge like (?)).

By the time of Caesar visit to Egypt, would beer have still been popular with Egyptians and would it's ruling class have drunk it ?

I assume that the Ptolemaics being Macedonians probably further complicates this.

I would be interested in descriptions that mention them, but particularly I would be interested in whether we know anything about their style of archery, the kind of equipment they were using (all the way from materials used and how it was made to the kind of decoration on them, etc.), perhaps some of their achievements and so forth.

By extension this can also include a discussion of the wider context where these archers emerged from, since if we get an idea of Mediterranean archery at the time, as well the religious and cultural beliefs of the Cretans at the time (or rather, over that time period), we can somewhat get an approximate idea of what could have been popular among these archers (both in terms of equipment, fighting style, beliefs, philosophy, etc).

A specific question could be: were they influenced by Egyptian, Assyrian or Persian archery, and if so, how and to what degree? Being mercenaries, who did they serve? I gather that they were present with Alexander and later also served the Romans.

Do we have any information about views and philosophy, ritual related to their archery, similar to how we have these in other cultures where archery is an important element (see the Turks, Mongols, Japanese, Chinese and others)?

It’s a broad question, but my understanding is that eunuchs existed across large swaths of the world and for a very long time, and I’m not even sure where one would start researching them.

I apologize for the general question, but I genuinely was not sure how else to word it without typing a paragraph for the title. As someone who really enjoys the older side history (pre-1000 A.D), I was not really given the opportunity to be able to learn anything about the clashings of the Norse and English. My question sparks from me recently picking back up the story mode of Assassins Creed: Valhalla (I know I’m late). I decided that I’d try and actually finish the campaign I already started and I ended up having so many questions regarding the actual events. Some of the story contains interactions with the last king of Mercia (I think?) Who is called Ceolbert. I tried to do some research on the guy and I found very limited amount of information on him. All I know is that he seems to have been around roughly in the late 9th century. I am unsure how true this is but it seems that he might have also been called Ceowulf II. Does anyone have any information him? I’d love to know any and everything from his known ancestors to his reign and death. I also wouldn’t be upset to learn something new about the interactions of the Norse and English. Thanks!

To go more in detail, my professor stated that Germany wanted oil in Mesopotamia, and the Ottoman's had the best avenue for that control. So a proposed railroad was the way for Germany (plus Austria-Hungary) to get the oil. However, Serbia did not wish for Austria-Hungary to gain even more influence over them and fought against the railroad being built. To suppress Serbia, Franz Ferdinand would be sent there (unbeknownst to him) and killed, sparking a "regional war" where Serbia would lose and the railroad could be built.

How factual is this claim? I always saw it as a complex web of nationalistic attitudes rather a resource grab. Am I wrong?

I’m specifically thinking of cramped tenement style living spaces that were popular throughout Europe and New York pre-WWII.

I’m sure several homes had coal furnaces, radiators, etc. but I’m having a hard time determining whether or not these would have been accessible to the lower class at that point.

What were the most popular ways of keeping warm?

As 2022 came around, it had become more and more obvious the world as we know it is in utter informational chaos—an average person, though presented with all the knowledge one could ever desire, cannot tell his left cheek from his knee.

I wish to correct my own lack of understanding of the world, bit by bit. A book at a time. And my first target: history. An often neglected subject, is the basis of modern man's frame of reference when reasoning anything political.

For this reason, I am turning to this Reddit forum for help: what history books would you, the peoples of Reddit, recommend for a simple bumpkin such as myself, who has a tenuous knowledge of any academic subject and is not even legally qualified to vote. Specifically, I wish to read about the Bronze Age in ancient Mesopotamia, Canaan and North Africa, and later graduate to reading about Classical Greece and Rome. Though a taste of Persia would be welcome in open eyes and a firm grip.

I’m aware of the history of interpolation through the serpent in Genesis, to the accusing angel in Job, the references in Isaiah and Ezekiel to the fall of the morning star and an ambition to replace God. So that we eventually arrive at the contemporary character most people are familiar with.

In the course of that, I would like to know if we have a good idea where the idea of Satan being the greatest angel first appeared. John Milton centers the fall on “sense of injured merit”. Shakespeare alludes that “the brightest fell” in Macbeth. So this idea of giving the Devil a noble place in the precorrupt universe seems to have been around at least that long in Europe? Did it begin in the Middle Ages or can we trace the idea further back? What about theologians? Was this a significant idea among Biblical scholars or is there more evidence to suggest this trend beginning among laymen?

The more I look at history the more common theme I see is when something is going wrong, people blame Jews. Why is that? Was it just, he did it once so do it again or is there a deep rooted belief against it?

The Mongols have a long history of raiding China. Given how rich and powerful China was, why did they not simply conquer Mongolia?