So, recently in history class, my teacher said that when a king dies and the person who takes over is not his son or daughter it is considered a dynasty change. He used the example of Frederick William IV of Prussia and his brother William I. Sorry if my english is bad as it is not my first language.

Ley lines are usually seen as an ancient concept, both by believers and non-believers. However, Alfred Watkins made them up in 1921 by drawing random lines on a map of the brirish isles, many of which ran through towns which ended in the syllable "ley".

How did ley lines end up as being seen as a ancient idea, instead of Watkins invention?

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And is Hansa league also an acceptable name?

FDR was elected 4 times, but died early into his final one, was he just gonna keep trying to be President until death or did he have a set amount in mind?

I was listening to a speculative podcast today that discusses the possibility of a second cival war in the United States and it got me thinking: how did the average Southerner react to the politics of the day in the decade or two prior to the Cival War? I learned about Northern abolishionists, the Underground Railroad, and the like while in school, but outside of Southern politicians in Congress, I don’t recall learning about the average Southerner’s feelings about slavery and secession. Very few Southeners were slave owners. Did they care deeply about states’ rights? Slavery? How did they react to Southern and Northern political rhetoric?

To my understanding Egypt was the bread basket of the empire and after it's fall, the Byzantines had issues with food production. How bad did it get? And how did they manage to feed there population and fight off foreign incursions ? especially after the fall of Constantinople to the 4th crusade and before it fell in 1453. Was Anatolia really that fertile? Or did they import food from other sources?

I started fencing recently and I am constantly amazed at the level of skill needed to do well. This led me to the question as I wondered if there were ever professional duelists. I.e. a man who trained for many years in swordplay and was available for hire to nobles as a type of assassin who would insult a rival of the Noble who hired him, get challenged to a duel, and kill the rival in the duel. Also, tangentially related, how easy was it to for a person to force a duel on another.

More specifically in the mid to late medieval age

Hi, i want to educate myself a bit about inuits, but when i looked for some info about tribe war history, i couldnt find almost anything. Are thay so peaceful or im just idiot who cant google? Also what got my atention is that inuits dont have tattoos for battle events, which is oposite to almost any other tribe on world. Thanks for some info and enjoy your day.

In 1936, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng kidnapped Chaing Kai-Shek in order to coerce him into forming a United Front with the CCP. After agreeing, Chiang returned to his post while Xueliang and Hucheng were punished for their actions.

If Chiang was unpopular enough for this plan to be successful, why couldn't the two seize power and declare a United Front themselves?

What it says on the title. I mean the Ming and Qing Courts had Jesuits scurrying around in palaces while the last Ming Empress was a Catholic even.

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Note that I am well aware of the Chinese Rites Controversy but that happened way later and it still remains that the Qing was more tolerant of the religion that the Tokugawa was.

Im trying to understand the ways in which the certain Italic peoples adopted their writing systems, and some history/culture of these peoples circa and before the founding of Rome.

For the most part, even just directing me towards some literature that would give me a greater understanding of Italic life around this time would be amazing. And please feel free to correct any mistakes Ive made or flaws in my view of the area in this period!

*Is this correct? From what I understand, the Etruscans adopted the Euboean Greek alphabet as late as the 8th century BCE and were the first of the Italic peoples to learn how to write. From there, the Latins adapted and used the majority of the alphabet. Adaptations of Etruscan alphabet continued to spread through the peninsula.

When the Romans eventually conquered the Etruscans in the 3rd centure BCE, Latin became the dominant language, and the Etruscan writing system declined and changed until the 1st century CE when it was totally lost.

*Are there any depictions or reconstructions of what any Italic village or town would look like anywhere from 1200 BCE to the founding of Rome? What would a metallurgists place of work look like, how much did styles of housing differ between Italic societies?Any information about anything at all in this context would be appreciated.

*What would a major city/settlement have looked like? What would Rome have looked like when it was founded, and is there any information detailing its growth? Again, any information at all in this context would be appreciated.

As far as I understand it, Muhammad's earliest instructions regarding wine, and the first such verse to be codified in the Quran, advised believers not to take part in prayer while intoxicated. It seems like quite a stretch to interpret th at as a complete ban on the consumption of alcohol.

Not only that, but many of the most renowned poets and intellectuals in the history of the Islamic world, such as Hafez, seem to have regularly indulged in wine. Even some Sufi mystics, typically known for asceticism, apparently drank wine.

Yet these days alcohol is hard to come by in most Middle Eastern countries, even those that are secular, due in part to a cultural lack of demand. How and why did this interpretation become so prevalent?

I understand that one's motivation for joining the Stasi can be very different from the next person, but I have always made the assumption that the one thing they all had in common is a fervent desire to see communism in Germany continue on.

What did these people do after the fall of East Germany?

Did any of them display any regret in joining said organization after the fall of East Germany?

Am I wrong in assuming everyone who worked for/with the Stasi wished for the communist government of East Germany to continue to stay in power?

I was recently looking at images famous and powerful men from the 19th century and many of the big name men all had pretty well constructed facial hair. Was there a cultural reason for facial hair ? Or was it just easier to have it so they didn't have to worry about cutting themselves shaving ?

I was looking at the facial hair of people like

Lincolns beard, Lenins and Trotsky' mustache soul patch combo, Jospeh stalins mustache, teddy Roosevelts mustache , Nietzsche mustache, Otto Von Bismarks walrus stache, Haile Selassies wild beard , Charles de Gaulle's Pencil mustache, Custard iconic mustache , Alexander III Russian beard

It just feels like i cant find any.

Was ransoming of captives during the middle ages purely the realm of the nobility or could the commoners get in on the action? Also during a battle were all ransoms collected under the "general" or was it more loose and a matter for individuals?

Like say a group of pike-man downed a knight mid battle, could they ransom them or would it go to their liege lord or above?

We all know about the first europeans in americas but there arent much info on the first american arrived to europe Who were they? Who did they came with? We're they brought? What was their first reaction?

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