With differing levels of celebration, we have well documented martial arts in Asia, Europe, and Africa going back hundreds or thousands of years. Did any martial arts traditions that date back before European colonization survive?

See I know that Augustus never formally abolished the republic and simply filled many republican government positions, though he is seen as the first emperor and the man that ended the republic decisively. Did Romans during his reign also look at his reign this way or did they not interpret it as the death of the republic.

Followups: Who's job was it to do this? Were some animals harder to capture? Were there "premium" animals? Did the Romans even do this themselves or were animals purchased?

In particular, did it change the rate of slave capture? I have seen it claimed that no more slaves were being captured during the slave trade than before. Or if that's wrong, did the increase in slave capture correspond with a decrease in people being killed in sackings or after having surrendered in war? Either of these being true would suggest that slaves being shipped to America would otherwise have been either slaves in Africa or dead.

Also of interest are cultural, economic, or geopolitical changes due to the slave trade. For bonus points, compare with Arab slave trade.

Is there any timelapse/gif/video that shows what regions were Sunni/Shia since the beginning of Islam until today? Thanks!

I want to start learning about German history but don’t know of any good books to start.

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Hi! I'm currently exploring the possibilities of writing a Doctoral Thesis in history. I wrote my master's degree about the legal troubles with oil companies engaging in international hot spots, like how Total or ÖMV set up operations in Gaddafi's Libya, so I have som clue about the main topic. Now I want to explore how these companies influenced the development of the nation they engaged in. How did British Petroleum influence Aserbajdsjan? What about Elf Aquitaine in Angola? My question is: How can I measure the effects of these companies in a historical perspective? What variables should I use, and where can I find them? If anyone has any ideas or tricks they'd like to share, I'd be very happy.

Everyone recognizes the standard image of Cleopatra. Short black hair, bangs, sleeveless white dress with gold jewelry... my question is where did this image originate, how accurate is it, and has it changed through the years?

There's very little cultural heritage of the huguenots left intact here, apart from surnames. Although even surnames like Labuschagne are pronounced as if they're Dutch and holders of the surname are more often than not Afrikaans-speaking and identify as Afrikaners. How did this come to be? Was it a forceful assimilation or a gradual one?

Hi All,

The inspiration for this question came from watching the movie Apostle. There's a scene which portrayed a group of Chinese militants rejecting the teachings of Christian missionaries in a rather violent manner.

What was the initial reaction in China to European missionary efforts and European colonial powers? Please describe the timeline of European involvement in China and what are some specific examples which help examine Chinese sentiment?

What kinds of armour were used in hot/humid climates historically? Plate armour seems like a good way to overheat in places like the middle east, north Africa, and Meso-America. So what did people wear? Chainmail? Lamellar? Padded/quilted armour?

Despite it being at the end of my series of questions, I'm actually most interested in how the system of international conferences, publications and reviews functioned during the period. I'll confess I'm not an expert in how it was done in the '30s and '40s compared to today, but obviously there were still research publications, symposiums, and other ways to confer with international colleagues about the work you're doing. Between German interference and restrictions on travel and publication, I'm wondering if a new style of academic work that relied less on international cooperation and review began to crop up at all, or if it was possible for academics in occupied France to work around their occupiers.

EDIT: Based on /u/itsallfolklore's insight below, I also have one more question now that the potential scale of academic liquidation has been made evident: what happened to the universities themselves in countries like Norway, France and Denmark? Did the majority still profess to be open in some way during the occupation, or did the degree of brain-drain from academic flight and German execution result in a situation where most universities were forced to shut their doors?

I would like to read more of the history of countries. I am talking about England,France, Spain, China etc etc. I read about ancient cultures so I am more interested in the early medieval times till now. So are there any good books about the whole history of country in english?

In other words, if there were Latinos (Mexicans, Central or South Americans, Spanish Caribbean) or Filipinos living in Spain anytime during the Franco regime (1936-75), would they have been especially oppressed (more so than the average Spaniard) under the Franco dictatorship, possibly out of a perceived "revenge" for their home countries having broken away from the old Spanish Empire?

By the same token, did Franco ever attempt to, well, retake any of the Spanish Empire's former colonies, or would factors at the time (not least US predominance—it's the same power that defeated them in 1898 after all) have prevented Franco from even attempting this?