Abram and Sarai can't have kids then YHWH says they'll have a kid, Isaac. Hannah can't have kids by her husband Elkanah then the priest Eli says she can have kids and ends up having Samuel. Elizabeth can't have kids then the angel Gabriel in Luke (this is New Testament but it's still Hebrew people) says she'll be able to have a kid, which becomes John the Baptist. I understand that other cultures have divine birth as a part of their cultural mythologies but, to my knowledge, no other culture has human characters that are infertile becoming fertile by means of divine interference. But are there any other cultures that have this same theme?

Hi there, i've recently finished SPQR by Mary Beard. I really enjoyed it. What i am looking for are books more like this in regards to English history and Byzantium?

And then also something that is a little more specific /in-depth than SPQR as i felt it was a little 'brief' (which i can apreciate since it's such a large topic) But something that focusses on the Kingdom? Then another on the Republic? And later, the Empire?

Also i see a lot of hate towards Guns, Germs and Steel (i have not read it) but is there a book that is similar but more accurate? (I dont know what word to use in this context)

Thank you for your time.

The definition of "conservative" by historians seems to generally be the universal training of Spartan citizens to consider and fight for the interests of the state over consideration for personal wants. Their government was set up originally to retain these ideals. What are specific moments during the Persian & Peloponnesian Wars as well as leading up to, during, and immediately after the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC that displayed these foundations were flawed, leading to negative outcomes for Spartan hegemony? I'm not looking for an answer to all of these at once since that is daunting, I'm fine with reading whatever you want to focus on.

Example questions: 1. Do we have evidence a king of Sparta, who so far as I've read is the sole communicator with the Oracle of Delphi, ever lied about a prophecy in order to push Sparta to go on a military campaign? 2. Moments where the passing of laws by the Gerousia and/or Assembly (or vetoing the Assembly by the Gerousia) lead to long term negatives?

I apologize for not having a source for this claim. I thought it was from Vo Nguyen Giap but I have not been able to find the quote.

Given the council had 30 members, do we have any examples in ancient texts of what happened in the event of a tie vote? Would it then be left to the Assembly to decide?

I know that they had different classifications in the Nuremberg laws but was it possible before 1935 to deny any Jewishness? If so, how difficult would it have been? Would it have been easier if you had typical Aryan features instead of stereotypical Jewish features? I was wondering this during a lecture today but I didn’t get a chance to ask anyone

The way England/UK colonized is different from France from Belgium from Spain, but in what distinctive ways and how did that affect the colonized and the colonizers themselves afterward?

In Empire of the Mind the author goes over a battle between Rome and Parthia in some detail, explaining that Parthian hit-and-run tactics drained the slow, heavily-armored Romans, while also denying them the quick and decisive victory they had hoped for (and, strategically, depended on). This pattern would repeat itself famously at the Battle of Manzikert.

Since these hit-and-run tactics were such a hard counter to heavy infantry, and I only hear about steppe warriors when they're dunking on Romans, I don't have any idea how battles among steppe warrior groups went. Did they dance around each other until someone gave up? Did they use totally different tactics when fighting each other?

Edit: cleaned up the wording since I was half asleep when I wrote this

While it’s genuinely accepted that Libertalia didn’t exist in the way it’s portrayed in legend, there are historical accounts of members of Thomas Tew’s crew settling on the Northern peak of Madagascar where they divided up the locals and built “fortresses” in the forest.

Is it possible there are still remnants or ruins of those “fortresses” deep in the forest of Northern Madagascar???

I’m curious because it’s mentioned in Johnston’s A General History Vol.1 (generally considered the more reliable of the two volumes) and by Woodes Rogers in his journals as he bought slaves from the remnants of a pirate colony there during his time as captain of the Delicia.

Am currently learning the bagpipes and would love to do some reading up on my clan’s history. Also any recommendations for books on Scottish history would be greatly appreciated.

How would a free black person in the South become free, rather than enslaved? Were any of them able to become solidly middle class or affluent, as some freed blacks had in the North? What regions were they most prevalent in? Was there anything that kept them from fleeing to the North, as most enslaved Southern blacks would do?

It seems logical that they would to reduce the likelihood of being hit by arrows as well as make it more difficult for direct assault from ladders. The best reason I can conceive that they're never portrayed in movies or games or present in the remaining ruins of castles is that 1000 year old timber probably has long since rotten away before the stone began crumbling underneath it.

But at the same time you'd also expect holes for beam support to be easily added or removed on the feet of the battlements. So I guess my question boils down to two things:

1. Did old castle battlements have temporary overhead protection in the form of timber or ceramic rooftops?

2. If they didn't, would the reason point to impermanent architectural designs or would there be an actual strategic disadvantage from using them?