I’d like to read more about Shaka and his Zulus in pre-colonial South Africa. I’ve read Walton Golightly but have discovered he’s not very reliable though he did pique my interest. Which authors/books should I be looking for?

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recent tensions between american and iran have made me curious about the revolution that led to the current state of affairs in the first place

im also curious about what the actors in the revolution themselves had to say about the fact that the ayatollah ended up winning, either in the run up to the revolution, during, or after. how do they explain (or if they're speaking before the revolution, anticipate) khomenei's rise?

Was there less native american population the further you went to the north or perhaps they didn't have as much contact with the natives as their portuguese and spanish counterparts did?

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Back story time. My grand father served in the Swedish Ski Troops (title I was told) during the second world war. Before he passed, he told a few stories of him being stationed in the artic circle guarding the boarder between Sweden and Norway. The twist to this story is that he said he never fought the Germans. Instead he and others would actually meet up with the occupying patrols and swap food rations because the weather conditions were so harsh. The only other details he would add to the story was that the German units were comprised of old men and young kids. Apparently that was the post for weaker populations of the Army.

I've tried finding information on this story but haven't found anything. Any information is appreciated. Thank you

Hi guys, I'm interested in learning more about Time. I need some books or papers that explain the subject from the point of view of History as a science.

Thanks.

He lived most of his life as a pagan in a largely pagan soceity that regularly persecuted Christians. Of all of the religions floating around why would Christianity become the official religion of the empire? Was it fear of backlash if he chose something else, was it to promote tolerance and abate conflict, or is strictly utilitarian and Christianity is one the better religions for uniting people under a common rule?

Obviously this will vary based on time period and style of warfare. I'm asking primarily about the European middle ages (post-phalanx, pre-gunpowder) though I'd love to hear about other cultures too. Did infantry armies really charge headlong into one another as seen in every movie ever, or were pitched battles usually fought by an explicit attacker and defender?

From what I understand so far, defences mostly consisted of trenches protected with barbed wire, machine guns and later in the war anti-tank ditches.

But we’re landmines not used at all?

I know the British used “mines” offensively by detonating explosives under German trenches.

But what about your more traditional anti-personal mines?

Like the title suggests any book that deals with the political climate during that period, specifically in the years leading upto Nobunaga's ascendancy. Would prefer if the book was mainly focused on the reasons daimyo had for fighting each other, political climate, alliances etc. Also wouldn't mind some primary sources like The Pillow Book or Lady Murasaki's diary!

In The Shawshank Redemption, one of the characters jokingly refers to the use of convicts for outside construction projects as "slave labor" - and while that movie was set in the north and with a mixed race group of prisoners, in reality was it implicitly or explicitly understood as a continution of slavery in the south? What kind of industries would lease convict labor?

How were the "rules" to dueling passed down? Having your seconds meet to try to smooth the waters, deciding the place where the duel will take place, etc. Was there a sort of "rulebook"? Duelling has interested me for awhile but I have been trying to find more information on the act itself and cant find anything regarding where the "rules" originated.

I know a bit about Vatican II (less latin, Priest facing the congregation) but surely there have been many other changes, developments, reinterpretations, etc over such a long time, even before Vatican II.

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I know they were enemies, but what did he think of them outside of that? As fellow Aryans, or as Untermenschen or something similar? What about the French government? Did he think of them as cowards, or honorable opponents?

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