Did polytheism really precedeed monotheism? And not the other way around? I mean in ancient times almost every city or tribe had its own SINGULAR patron - a deity it worshipped, e.g. Nippur had Enlil, Eridu had Enki, Athens had Athena, Thebes had Amun.

Could it be that before uniting these cities - ancient civilisations were primarly monotheistic, but really fragmented in this regard, i.e. the religious influence of each monotheistic god wasn't greater than one tribe or city. And it wasn't until later when these cities were united into nations that their deities were also united into pantheons due to greater cultural exchange and desire for greater inner stability of early states?

In The Last Kingdom, Anglo Saxons seem to be taking a page out of the Roman playbook by creating shield walls that resemble the Roman Testudo (tortoise) formation. Was this strategy actually employed in battle?

Bonus question: what's the history of wheelchairs?

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Alternatively:what was the ettiquite for flying a confederate flag at this time? Would it be below the american flag?

I ask because I read the following statement on a site: Aurangzeb had the khutbah (Friday sermon) proclaimed in his own name, not in that of the Ottoman caliph. Piqued my curiosity.

With the recent release of the newest edition of the Battlefield franchise returning to World War II, and the never ending questions we receive for any historical AAA title as to its accuracy it seems only appropriate. Although timed to the release of the game, by no means is this AMA intended to specifically be limited to questions about items or occurrences therein, but rather our panel is willing and eager to tackle discussion that speaks to the broader themes present, such as those of gender and race in war, and the meta-themes as well, such as what authenticity means in the context of modern media.

With a game that covers a range of themes including Norway, North Africa, Special Operations, and French Tirailleurs, we have a large and diverse group from our panel of flairs standing by today, although of course I would remind users that, being a global group, many may only be active for limited segments of the day:

• /u/bigglesworth_
• /u/Bernardito
• /u/coinsinmyrocket
• /u/Georgy_K_Zhukov
• /u/lordhighbrewer
• /u/tankarchives
• /u/the_chieftain_wg
• /u/the_howling_cow
• /u/thefourthmaninaboat

^^^AskHistorians ^^^has ^^^no ^^^association ^^^with ^^^DICE ^^^or ^^^Battlefield ^^^V ^^^in ^^^any ^^^way ^^^and ^^^is ^^^not ^^^endorsing ^^^the ^^^game ^^^at ^^^all, ^^^as ^^^will ^^^probably ^^^be ^^^clear ^^^enough ^^^when ^^^we ^^^rip ^^^into ^^^its ^^^historical ^^^accuracy.

Why is so much required reading in American schools still the same ‘controversial’ probably-banned-at-one-point books from the 40s through 80s) 1984, to Kill a Mockingbird, the Giver, etc)? Also heavy on the utopian/dystopian stuff from what I remember. Not that I’m complaining and still super relevant but still.

Also does anyone have a timeline if banned books and resulting sales? Not sure if they are still bothering to ban books but seems like a surefire way to sell a ton of copies quickly (+publicity)

Also the reason I'm asking is because usually whenever this discussion comes up there is always some sort of bias from both sides.

Just as a side note I am palestinian however I was wondering what was life like in the land of Isreal/Palestine before both countries were established. I'm neither against or with Isreal instead I believe in a two state solution

...or, conversely, what warts did they see in him that we disregard today?

*and even conservatives like Reagan wanted to be associated with him by 1980*

I can understand the record label mutating Jefferson Airplane into Jefferson Starship to keep the band members recording music after the departure of bassist Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen. But with so many subsequent personnel changes forcing a change in name to "Starship," what could possibly justify lyrics like those in the evergreen hit "We Built This City" professing anti-corporatism and mistrust of record labels (the band was fundamentally fabricated by the label itself!).

What was the climate like in the recording industry that made these bizarre moves possible?

I sometimes hear people (ok, YouTubers) use details in period art as a source for a number of purposes. Least among these is to supposedly correct misconceptions or make authoritative statements about medieval combat. But how accurate were these sorts of details? Aren't they just as likely to have the same sort of misconceptions that Hollywood perpetuates, if not more so? How likely was a tapestry maker to know the gritty details of arms and combat?

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Is there any historical fact backed up by archaeological or archival evidence that does not jive with period art?

In Europe, trains are ubiquitous. It is possible to travel between virtually any cities by rail. Furthermore, railroads are used to transport cargo extensively. The United States has almost no national railroad infrastructure for long-distance passenger travel, and relies extensively on road trucks to transport cargo. What is the reason behind this discrepancy? I would assume that massive railroad infrastructure networks are much more efficient and convenient once developed.

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Sorry, this is a re-post. Original had some errors in the title that I just needed to fix because it was killing me. Apologies to any who may have been writing. Here’s the original post:

As in, when it says something along the lines of “the gates of hell will never against the Church prevail,” doesn’t it actually mean “the gates of death” or “the Church shall never truly die.”? I’m almost certain that the Bible never mentions an eternal fiery torment for “sinful” humans. I DO know, however, that there is one mentioned for the Devil, and that it mentions an eternal death for people who don’t repent.

So where did this idea of a red dude with horns and a pitchfork poking a bunch of screaming souls in a flaming hole come from, at least in Christianity/Catholicism? Couldn’t have been from the Bible, right?

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I'm finding conflicting information online. At the time of Pearl Harbor, what was the youngest age you could enlist, both with and without parents permission? If it changed during the war, when did it change? Thank you.