Recently did some digging into my lineage (McKnight) and traced my great grandfather (deceased) to Sutherland, Scotland. Which religions were likely prevalent going back in that region. Obviously there's the Celtic/Gaelic connection but I'm curious if it were possible that that Norse was present due to the heavy Scandinavian presence in the highlands?

Edit: Sorry I didn't make this clear. I'm not so much interested in what religion my great grandfather potentially was associated with as much as I want to know the different religions that were present in the region throughout history.

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A few days ago I dreamed I was a member of the secret police in ancient Egypt. Weirdness aside, that actually got me thinking, how far back can we trace the use of underground repression to control population?

Edit: Something that may have inspired the dream is that, in the videogame Rome: Total War, middle eastern civilizations can build secret police HQs to reduce dissent in the population. Needless to say, I do not consider a semi-historical videogame a reliable source for population control in Antiquity, but if they added that, chances are they had some sort of source that inspired them.

We have stories of Marco Polo going to China, there Norse going all over Europe and west.

Is there any documentation of Romans going fast afield?

For example, a character who is fifteen years old might describe his age as "having seen fifteen summers".

Tolkien uses this periodically. He describes Elrond initially as:

Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fulness of his strength. He was the Lord of Rivendell and mighty among both Elves and Men.

It is likely that more modern medieval-fantasy novels are copying the style of Tolkien.

I know Tolkien's writing was inspired by Old / Middle English sagas. Was this actually a way of tracking ages used in those societies?

I know all nations made use of women as part of their labour forces due to the shortage of men. While, I am also aware that many nations had separate women's units in their armed forces. However, these units appeared to have support roles as opposed to combat roles. I also know that the Soviets did use women in certain combat roles, such as snipers. Besides this, are there any other cases of women fighting on the front line?

I'm British. It seems like good fortune that I've had the opportunity to travel the world for nearly 3 years now - but the more countries I visit the more I wonder whether it is in fact not so much good fortune, but instead the sobering result of colonialism's brute and overwhelming violence. Can I really be happy about the historical reasons my passport is so influential?

Last week I visited the museum of Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province. It mostly displayed pottery and hand fans, but in the final section I was surprised to see a huge curation of WWII artefacts. For those who, like me, were unaware of Kunming's involvement in WWII, it was because America funded 3 air squadrons, some 60 aircraft, in defence against the Japanese. Since then I've been reading up on Japan's motivations for its involvement in the war. So far, to my mind, the basic fact comes down to colonialism. Japan felt themselves worthy competitors to the other great world powers, world powers that attained and sustained their power with resources far beyond the borders of their homelands. So to compete Japan needed to do the same, thus leading to Japan's and then America's presence in Kunming.

To me, the prevailing narrative of my country's history of colonialism does indeed express a measure of regret, but that is eclipsed by the narratives of the atrocities committed by the "other sides". It would seem that, on balance, Britain has done more harm than good in the world. Prevailing, indeed indelibly ingrained, in my mind are the evils of the Axis. It is not knowledge that I accidently came across and then followed up on by my own accord. Instead it was a fundamental part of my state education. Not only did I learn objective historical facts, but also the appropriate decorum one should have towards the gravity of such serious events.

One of the most striking things I've found about being in China is that it is one of the most foreign countries I've yet visited. By which I don't just mean the language and culture, but perhaps more so China's unparalleled ability to stave off Western influence. Just take the lack of Google and Facebook for example. For sure there is an exciting sense of exoticism visiting other Eastern and Pacific countries, but in actual fact, they are all fundamentally shaped --through either colonialism or brute force-- by European (assuming America is also an offshoot of European culture) influence. Not to even mention the histories of Africa and South America.

So here I am, ingrained with the ability to recognise and judge the gravitas of atrocity, such that the more I see of the world the more I want to apply that same, if not deeper, severity of judgement to the "victors" and therefore to my own heritage and even my current identity. I know it's a difficult thing for me to do, to somehow direct that gravitas I learned at school towards my own makeup, so I'm sure it must be hard for others to do. Of course I know that adage that history is written by the victors. But I also know about the rigorous discipline of academic study (I have a Religious Studies degree (very different from Theology BTW)), that academia prides itself on self-awareness, that it can see through to the facts, regardless of personal bias. Yet I'm not aware of there being a significant conversation, academic or otherwise, that directs an appropriate seriousness to the history of European colonialism.

Is there some truth to what I've written? Or is my perspective too narrowed on recent history? Does any of what I've said make you think of writers or topics that might interest me?

But mostly, thanks for the opportunity to organise my thoughts here. I hope it is in some way relevant to this subreddit.

Edit: a couple of little missing words

I would want proper sourced books, great with biographies of different Moroccan pirates.

I just don't get it i mean they knew they were going to die why not put up a fight? We had one case in Serbia where the Germans forced an entire school to march into a forest and killed them all.I don't get it how none of them ran into the forest to hide but marched into certain death.

I'm thinking especially about Colorado, since it's hard to make out on maps whether it's just passing through.

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I get the point if bannermen, but why play drums or other instruments to let the enemy know exactly where you are?

That will be all. I have said far too much!

I'm interested in the logistics of the postal system in Rome. I know a wealthy citizen could afford to simply send a courier, but lets say my family is of the poorest Roman citizens. Specifically, I want to know:

-Where does she take the letter?

-How is it sorted, how is it carried to Britain?

-Once it arrives, how does it make its way to me?

-What is the probability (just a ballpark estimate) that the letter actually gets delivered?

And for a bonus question, lets say my mother wants to send me 3 sesterces, what can she do to ensure I receive the money?

Thanks!

I've seen estimates on Wikipedia that put the Ottoman population in Anatolia and Syria even lower in the early 20th century than it was in the Middle Ages.

Are these accurate or are they pulling them out of no-where? And if they're actually accurate - how or why was the Ottoman population so low? I've seen references to repeated cholera epidemics in the 19th century, but why would cholera suddenly have started killing so many people in the 19th century and not earlier? Or why were the Ottomans so severely struck by cholera?

Hi, I am currently in my last year of high school and one of my subjects is Modern History. I am struggling to get my head around the massive subject matter for my current assignment, which is Mao and Communist China in the 40's ish. We had to set a question ourselves based on the unit we've learnt throughout the term - my key question was 'Why did Mao's communist China begin with the promise of change but ultimately result in a Republic wrought with human rights abuses?' and then I have to answer 3 sub questions throughout my essay, while still answering the overall key question. My sub questions are: 'What were the goals and ideals set by the Chinese Communist party at the beginning of their rule?' 'Did the policies created by Mao Zedong infringe on universal human rights?' and 'Were the issues created in Mao Zedong's China resolved or expounded upon after his death?'

For the most part, with all the research I have done I have information to fill and support my questions. But I am just struggling to find good, reputable sources or readings that I can reference in the essay. Wikipedia and the like are not counted as good references, but first hand accounts are, I think I need some more Primary Sources as well. I am really struggling with writing the essay, and getting any research I have into words if that makes sense.

Complete honesty - I'm wanting to start working on planning a fiction based in Venice when it was at the height of its power. Being the history nerd I am I want anything I put to be accurate to how it really. So I'm looking for a reliable source on any and all things Venice history. The rise and fall. Daily life. Politics. Anything I can read. Any suggestions?

If this is the wrong subreddit I'm sorry.