I read somewhere that obsidian- edged Aztec weaponry was possibly the sharpest weaponry ever made. Is there any merit to this claim? Also what was the Spanish view of the weapons fielded by the Aztec?

I'm translating Agatha Wheeler's text in the Cumbrian dialect of English, written c. 1790, and although I'm familiar with the dialect in the 1800s, there are a few things I can't work out, and I thought you guys might be able to help. She says the following;

It wur net ith Time of Oliver Crumel, ner King Stune, but sum udder King, two Men com a girt way off...

Translated; 'it was not in the time of [Oliver Cromwell, I assume], nor King Stune, but some other king, two men came from a long way away...'

Who could 'King Stune' be referring to? Could it be the nickname of a British king? A lot of literature from the area dates its stories by reference to the king at the time, so this isn't out-of-place, I just have no idea who she's referring to here. Thank you if you're able to help :)

I'm aware that the fighting style of Greek hoplites was referred to as Hoplomachia (sp?) and that very few ancient Greeks actually trained or drilled in combat skills.

What I'm looking for are the best sources that we have on individual combat, dating as far back as practical. What are the earliest sources on individual fighting styles, whatever those may be? (Hoplomachia included, if there is such a resource.)

I'm working on a book about a wandering warrior, and I've asked a few questions in this sub before. It's... incredible the resources here. I'm learning that much of what I pictured of classical armies, formations, and battles was not accurate.

This leads to my current struggle: In order to properly write about what this warrior would be like, I need to understand what sorts of skills she would likely have. My book is fictional, so I can import training and skills that develop "late" in the real world back as far as I need to in hers, but I still don't really understand what those skills would look like.

Were There Any Battles Where Soldiers Saw The Bombing Of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Pacific Theatre of World War II? What islands? How close were they to Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Was there a risk of radiation? What are the accounts?

Obviously native Alaskans, but where there any Russians as well? If so, did they have to leave?

I've heard a rumor that Adolf Hitler's father, Alois Hitler, was either Jewish or of Jewish ancestry. Is there any validity to this claim or is it just a wild claim? If false, what would be the purpose of someone perpetrating it as if it were fact?

I’ve seen lots of documentaries that say the planes mostly missed their bombing marks because of the weather which meant more resistance on the beaches. Why did they not use the gunships to back up the bombardment of the beaches to give the troops an easier landing?

Being an Irish American myself, I'm curious why they were treated so poorly. It doesn't make sense that they weren't considered white by the rest of the population. How was their life different from other ethnic groups in America at the time?

What is this about? I have always heard that Poland was cooperative with Nazi Germany in constructing and sending people to these concentration camps. Has that always been a result of how “history is written by the victors”? Or is this revisionist history attempting to try and change history.

I thought it was interesting since I had recently read a post on reddit claiming that it’s illegal in Poland to even suggest they played a role in the concentration camps.

Thanks!

I remember reading somewhere that Europe's thick city walls were made to prevent a breach by artillery after cannons became strong enough to break the thinner stone walls. So why did China as early as the warring state's period have city walls about 20 meters thick at the base? What were the reasons for building such thick walls in the absence of of artillery at the time?

Is it because people lost the incentive to work, or what? I don't think it's that because it'd make more sense that people who didn't work as much would be punished somehow or something.

Basically the conversation was about how technologies are always demonized and like the argument that the internet is ruining people's attention spans, Pinker noted that people initially demonized reading and writing because they thought 'if you just write down everything then you won't train you memory to remember things'

Any truth to this? either by the Romans or any civilization?

Just curious. Seems like when great economic upheaval hits in the 20th century, there is a spike in suicide rates among categories of people with wealth to lose. Did the same thing happen in the ancient world?

The texts I've read have been primarily concerned with the second invasion under Claudius in 43AD, but what were the initial reasons for Caesar's invasion in the mid 1st century BC?

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I'll try to keep this question brief, but I feel like I'll need to elaborate a bit to get the answers I'm really looking for here.

Presently, I'm working my way through Mike Duncan's inimitable "History of Rome" podcast series on Spotify. I'm loving his dry wit, his casual way of attracting attention to things that will come back later, his admittance of that which is not well recorded, and his genuine enjoyment of the history he relays. His series is over 100 parts long, and though he's not bloating the episodes with minutia (Though sometimes I wish he would, I'm a very anecdotal person) he's ensuring we get the detail we need to fully understand the stories he's relaying. I won't be finished with this series for awhile, but I'm wondering: where to next?

I considered attending college for Classics studies. I took 2 years of Latin in HS, enjoyed my minimal Ancient Greek training, and have enjoyed both my trips to Italy, both times ensuring to see sights of the ancient world. Instead, I'm presently at an exclusively arts-based university, where there are no serious history courses taught (excepting a few intended to serve as liberal arts credits, and are often taught by Low level teachers who couldn't get a job elsewhere). That said, I took APUSH and APEURO in high school (AP world was, sadly, not offered), and I would really love to expand my reach. I was thinking a continuation of my classics roots (perhaps Greece or Carthage?) Or perhaps something stretching into Asian or African history? I mean, if there's a billion part "History of the world" series our there, hit me up. (Don't you dare post that Bill Wurtz video, I've seen it. I love it, but I've seen it.)

I should also add an amendment here: spotify is probably not the premier streaming service, so what is? I'm on a Samsung Galaxy S8, so whatever works on that. I like listening while I walk from class to class or whenever I'm chilling or driving (when I go home).

I'd like to conclude this post with a "Hey! If this isn't allowed, please let me know and I'll take it down!" Message. I'm aware this page is normally used for more specific historical based questions, but honestly, I didn't know where else to go for this. I figured most "ask reddit" pages wouldn't have the insight for this answer, but if this isn't the place, I'll remove it.

Cheers to everyone here, whether or not you have an answer for me!