For example, any time before the Common Era up to the end of the middle ages. Major events, wars, trade deals, the rise and fall of empires, etc... How do we know these things happened? I'm not denying the existence of these events, I want to know how we have the knowledge after all these years. Were records kept? Is it just word of mouth? Thanks all!

Hello! So I'm doing an essay on Italy during WW1 and WW2. There is a youtube video called "Mussolini and Fascist Italy" and in that video they say that the Italien soldiers were promised land and votes in 1917, but I couldn't find if that's true anywhere else. Does anyone know if the soldiers were promised anything?

Before the mighty tractor, did anyone, particularly the US government see if the larger buffalo could be put to use in the same way they tried with the camel in the Southwest?

As a disclaimer I am not suggesting ANYTHING about race playing a role, or anything related to social Darwinism. It just seems like these areas saw more technological advances, and I wondered if anyone looked deeper into this. My only thoughts were that competing cultures lead to a rise in innovations, but I’m not sure. I don’t know how to ask this question without appearing racist, so I hope I don’t come off this way.

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I'm curious as to the history of vacuums and rugs. Were fully rugged floors around before vacuums? If so, how would they have been cleaned?

I'm thinking about it, and I feel like old throw rugs were around, someone invented the vacuum, and then people started fully rugging their floors, but I'm not sure. Would anyone be able to give more details on this topic?

I've always known about the rape of women. I'm curious about the rape of men during this time.

I'm pretty sure that all the laws in different countries forbidding sibling marriage are based on genetics - because a child of siblings has a much higher chance of having a genetic defect.

But those findings and genetic research in general are relatively new. So what reasons were there for people in earlier times to see it as a no go?

Same question could apply to Oedipus-style relationships.

Buddha was Indian right? Are there Indian Buddhists or Buddha just went in China?

I have basic understanding of the Franco-Prussian War. It started because Prussia and France were arguing over the selection of Prince Leopold as King of Spain. Bismarck altered a telegram to paint the French as insulting King Wilhelm and so, France declared war on Prussia, which rallied the other German state behind it to create the German Empire.

But, I want to know why Germany, after having decisively crushed France, decided to annex a small slither of land like Alsace-Lorraine. What was the reason behind this annexation?

How was music from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart ect preserved through the centuries, so that we can read and play it today? Also, how can we be certain that music that is hundreds of years old was written by the presumed composer?

For a siege I can understand it, but in cases such as Cannae my understanding is that the Romans had numerical superiority and that the ‘reason’ why Hannibal won was the trick with his center pulling back and his wings advancing to surround the romans. Apparently it is supposed to be obvious that then the battle is lost for the romans.

What I don’t understand is why this was so bad for the romans. Would the results really have been the opposite if the romans has the ‘outer track’ in the circle? Is it solely a case of the surrounded soldiers panicking or is there some more tangible effect? If there is a big hole of empty space in the middle of the surrounded soldiers is there still an effect? If not, could the surrounded part not push outwards, creating such a hole? I have many questions and I feel I’m missing some key points of understanding. I hope you can enlighten me :)

I was just watching Troy and in the beginning the Greeks and the Thessaliens meet at some random place. I mean it’s interesting to know why the thessaliens didn’t just say’fuck you Achilles, we don’t give up our land’ but that’s an other story (maybe you know that too). How did they know where to meet? Did they wrote each other a letter or send a declaration where they did say ‘send location and time) and then agreed that they don’t attack each other until then? Did they wait the whole time until both agreed that they just fight when everyone in the army is there?