I read this book a number of years ago and recently began re-reading it, the book seems to me at least a complete overturning of the mainstream understanding of the events that led up to the rise of islam, when i first read it i heard nothing but acclaims for it, and since have found no debunking or any real criticisms of the book as a whole or any of its parts, so im wondering if anyone here is aware of any works that either attempt to debunk her timeline of the conquest of iran, and the political machinations that surrounded it, or that expand upon her thesis in any way.
Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
https://www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall-Sasanian-Empire-Sasanian-Parthian/dp/1784537470
if you have not read the book or heard her speak on the subject please do not jump to conclusions about what i am implying islam and its history, professor pourshariati's point in the book is to point to people and events(with the Sassanian Armenians and Byzantines) that we can firmly date and points to the inconsistency with the current conquest narrative. so like i said im only looking for scholarly works rebuking or confirming her thesis.
1 Answers 2019-04-12
Hi!
I'm a chemistry student, but I'm interested in taking archaeology later. For now, I would like to start studying history on my own. Where should I start?
Advice and suggestions are welcome.
Thank you!
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“Extraordinary music”, being quote subjective, judged here on artistic and creative quality, as well as universal resonance and international popularity.
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Did he burn it down? Did he kill everyone? Did he leaft it alone? Did he suported it? I was thinking about it and became curious
1 Answers 2019-04-12
DISCLAIMER: I’m not sure if this is the appropriate sub, but I suspect there are plenty of people here that know a lot about this.
The events are well documented. Is this akin to Holocaust denial? Why is Turkey so adamant about these events being called a genocide? What do they call it?
1 Answers 2019-04-12
I have basic knowledge around the sharing of tech between the two, but how much of that contributed to the initial might of Imperial Japan in WW2?
1 Answers 2019-04-12
This last semester I had written a research essay about ancient Greek culture, and in that research I read a little about their institution of pederasty. That’s the example I’m going to use to explain my question a little more, but I’m not trying to start a discussion on the subject of pederasty, so much as on how historians handle subject matter that makes them uncomfortable.
I was reading a few different history books about the 1200-700BC sort of range, I was interested in the start of democracy. I found that most authors were very uncomfortable with the subject of pederasty, almost to the point not covering it at all, or making single line references. But this wasn’t immediately apparent to me, it wasn’t until I stumbled upon a source that dealt with the subject in depth that I even realized how tangentially most of the other authors I had read touched the subject. It was pretty interesting when I made the inference that these other authors just didn’t want to talk about it.
What I was reading about when I looked into the subject specifically was mind blowing, we’re not just talking about a society where child molestation wasn’t explicitly illegal or where there wasn’t any sort of law enforcement to curb the weirdos, we’re considering a culture where these sorts of behaviors existed in a formalized, public way. I had no idea.
Not wanting to talk about a culture that institutionalized the practice of sex with children is entirely reasonable, of course. There’s not really any greater taboo. But from a Historian’s perspective, isn’t it wrong to let modern morals influence our interpretations of the past? Greeks also practiced slavery and genocide, right? But we have no issue discussing those facts, despite considering slavery and genocide as ‘big E’ evil. Examining the cultural forces that allow genocide is not the same as endorsing those cultural forces.
Are there other examples of cultural practices that just swept under the rug because talking about them makes us uncomfortable?
4 Answers 2019-04-12
Ever since I was a kid, my Grandfather has spoken about his time in Malaysia with the UK army — he spent about four years there (18 — 22) and talks about all these crazy experiences that include regular train hijackings, jungle warfare, and working with Gurkha’s. As a kid, for many years, I thought this was a major war, that it was like our Vietnam War and never really bothered to look into it, thinking they’d teach me about it in secondary school sometime... but they never did.
I’ve done some further reading and found that this was called the “Malayan Emergency” but I still can’t really find much info on how it started - Wikipedia tells me it has something to do with Malaya becoming an independent state but then also goes onto say that the British offered them that opportunity and they rejected it (?), so, what were they fighting for? It also goes on to talk about about how this was apart of the Cold War so, was this like the UK’s version of the Korean or Vietnam wars? and, if so, why isn’t there as much outrage about this invasion as their is about the US’s involvement in those two other countries? I mean, it was a 12-year-long war, thousands died, why is it [according to The Independent] considered a “lost war” source. They try and talk about blaming things like cinema and media coverage for the erasing of this war from history but that doesn’t make sense to me, surely it should be taught in history class regardless of these things? This was 12 years, many of our Grandad’s fought in this thing, why do we pretend like it never happened?
EDIT: uhm... why is everything hidden?
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Today:
You know the drill: this is the thread for all your history-related outpourings that are not necessarily questions. Minor questions that you feel don't need or merit their own threads are welcome too. Discovered a great new book, documentary, article or blog? Has your Ph.D. application been successful? Have you made an archaeological discovery in your back yard? Did you find an anecdote about the Doge of Venice telling a joke to Michel Foucault? Tell us all about it.
As usual, moderation in this thread will be relatively non-existent -- jokes, anecdotes and light-hearted banter are welcome.
8 Answers 2019-04-12
I just (literally just) read that Napoleon admired Mohammed in an Amazon book description for the newly translated version of Napoleon’s history of Caesar’s wars. Is this true? If so, what about Mohammed did Napoleon admire?
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I was reading Maus and the characters are always trading and exchanging eggs and meat with each other. I can't imagine prisoners having a place to cook in Auschwitz. Would they eat them raw, were there open fires burning around the camps, did they have to bring them to the camp kitchen and exchange for them to be cooked?
1 Answers 2019-04-12
I know Epictetus was a former slave, but he had the unusual situation of being given access to Stoic lectures by his master, and was educated to a very unusual degree
I'm curious to know if we have much evidence beyond him for lower class people of average means and education embracing any of the major philosophical systems that were so popular with the elites at this time.
2 Answers 2019-04-12
Hi there, I just finished watching "The Witch", a horror film that purports to be historically accurate in its presentation of life in 1630s New England...(I'll leave y'all to discern whether that's true). I enjoyed the film and it got me wondering if there is a good book out there that could take me into the lifestyle and beliefs of puritans at this time. I am curious about their habits, day to day responsibilities, philosophies on life. I am also interested in their superstitions and folklore, however I do not necessary want a book about "witches".
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witch_(2015_film)
Is there a good book out there?
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When and why did it become a thing to censor a nations history to remove the unwanted and create a nationalist view for the youth to learn? Why not give the whole account good and bad?
1 Answers 2019-04-12
I am reading Jared Diamonds book Guns, Germs and Steel, and while the book does a great job of explaining the geographical and biological prerequisites that allowed agriculture to develop in Eurasia, it has been heavily critiqued for ignoring all cultural and/or social reasons. While I have read many people stating this, they rarely mention any concrete examples. So what were the major social differences that allowed Eurasia to adapt to agriculture faster than America?
1 Answers 2019-04-12
Humans became farmers around the same time in several parts of the world (independently). Why did this happen in such a short time frame? Did anything change biologically in humans since the cognitive revolution? Did the climate change? Or is there another reason for this sudden transition?
2 Answers 2019-04-12