If that's not fully clear, I'm interested what is Christianity's impact on Holocaust? Was it one of the most important factors on it, since the Church spread harsh antisemitism in the middle ages including Protestantism because Martin Luther had strong antisemitic views, that were spread to Protestantism either, or maybe I'm overestimating religion's role here?

I'm looking for a good book on what the world was like after the fall of the Roman Empire. Like how Europe went from Roman control to the self ruled countries they are now. I'm really interested in that transition period; what went on geopolitically and culturally. Can anyone recommend a good book on that?

Sorry if it's wrong sub for that kind of question but I can't think of any other.

It's dangerous to walk around with uncut toenails, especially in a times where people walked more and didn't have smooth roads. I can imagine you can just use your teeth on fingernails. You can cut your hair with any blade (especially if someone helps you). But what would you do with toenails if you live in a primitive society with no access to a complex tool like scissors or clippers?

Basically this is a question of how far and how much information spread throughout Europe during the middle ages. How long did it take for news of a death of notably bit of royalty in Russia to reach Western Europe, such as the court of the King of Portugal, or vice versa?

Most of what we know about the first Persian Empire comes from Greek writers such as Herodotus in spite of the fact that the Greeks were not the only literate culture to encounter the Persians. The Egyptians for example have written records that predate their time under the Persians by thousands of years. Why did they not write of their experiences with the Persians?

How was Napoleon in rule? Not militarily but in terms of running things in France and abroad.

I have a vague notion of the Napoleon judicial reforms, educational, and building, kinda and lots about him militarily but not much in terms of actually running stuff.

Also how was he in victory throughout lands outside of France?

I know history is written by the victors, and in the english speaking world, with a bias towards the british too.

Was he a tyrant? was he a liberal savior (because the taking all power for himself part), somewhere in the middle?

thanks a doodle!

To me, I feel like a buckler wouldn't be so great against an axe, a spear, a dagger, or one of those choppy period-swords they had. Or arrows for that matter.

Bucklers seem like they would've been more useful in the renaissance period, in the style of fighting they had with the more hand-balanced swords.

For reference, the bucklers used in Mount and Blade mods like 'Brytenwalda' depict some very small shields that are basically early medieval bucklers.

My fiance and I were watching Jesus Christ Superstar, and we got around to discussing whether Pontius Pilate is guilty for the death of Christ.

I know from my Catholic upbringing that the Gospels largely either exonerate Pilate or state that he only relented when the crowd refused to yield, and thus the Gospels blame the Jews as the murderer of Christ. At the same time though, Pilate still had to authorize the execution for it to occur. Otherwise the crowd/priests would be guilty of homicide under Roman law. This concern is quite literally washed away in one of the Gospels when Pilate symbolically washes his hands of guilt.

I know that there is very little record of Pilate to work with, so instead I'm more interested in the justifications of Christianity's position. Why do the Gospels go out of their way to clear Pilate of guilt, and instead largely/exclusively blame the Jews? Was this blaming of the Jews a contemporary belief, or retroactively introduced/reinterpreted to fit the later needs of the church?

After reading a bunch of books on the British Empire, I'd like some different perspectives on it.

I have Empire by Niall Ferguson on my list already, can anyone add to that?

Title is quite self explanatory. What sorts of problems could they have caused though, in the early days? When is the first known printed April Fools Day article?

In the Inferno Dante recounts his decent into hell with Virgil as his guide. Hell is divided into 9 circles (with various sub sections) each with a Sin as their name. Each circle has increasingly brutal and grotesque punishments (often ironic) for the inhabitants and on the penultimate circle 8 is Fraud. Those who find themselves in this circle are tortured in various brutal ways according to their crimes. What I found surprising is Fraud is beneath Circle 7, Violence. The ultimate depth the 9th circle is where Satan and the ultimate traitors suffer. Within the Inferno are various mentions of real historical figures of Dantes time, mythical figures, political leaders etc... and dantes life experiences obviously influenced his perception of those in hell but why is Fraud viewed as such a heinous and evil act only surpassed by treachery ? Was there any events in Florence or the Time Dante lived in which would have influenced him placing Fraud so low in hell ?

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I was watching Jumanji (the original with Robin Williams rip) and noticed a line that said "Sorry, those bullets haven't been made since 1903" I was wondering what type of bullet exactly it could be. Were there any bullets that have been phased out at all, let alone during the early 1900's? The gun Van Pelt had had a magazine if that helps.