I have always heard that the Soviet Union had a bad economy, but maybe that's a myth.

It just seems like an odd mix having days of the week named after the Sun, Thor, and Saturn.

What would the buildings be like? The art? Everyday life? What did they eat? What were jobs? It always amazes me that cities could exist 6,000 years before the Egyptian Old Kingdom. I don't really have anything specific to ask, just really curious about something so ancient. Just anything and everything really.

Wiki describes fatwa as a non-binding legal opinion on matters of Islamic law. Local newspaper described it as "every Muslim is obliged to kill him on sight". Obviously, the truth is somewhere in the middle - Salman Rushdie had serious police protection so there must have been some threat to him.

I'm asking because somebody recently asked about the Japanese surrender being a reaction to a possible Soviet invasion, and it was suggested that the military dropped the bomb to prevent this

European countries (mainly Britain, France, and Spain) took over a lot of Africa, and other countries. Some of them, such as Australia abd Canada, are still in some way related to Britain. So what caused Britain and the other countries to come out of Africa? And what prompted the US, Britain, and any other country where it was common, to end slavery?

I read two comments on an older post here which claimed:

“The Pope demanded Genghis (?) Khan to stop killing Christians and stop taking over Christian land, or God would punish them [via their armies]. Khan responded by taunting the Pope, saying that HE (the Khan) must be the one blessed by their God, since he is the one constantly victorious."

"Khan might have said that he is God’s vengeance, and the Christians must have pissed God off to deserve Khan’s assault.”

This seems somewhat problematic for a Jewish moneylender in the middle ages. Your business is money lending, because Christians are forbidden from doing it. Perhaps you have some wealth because of it, but you are a social pariah. You lend money to someone, and he or she never pays it back. What are you going to do?

If you go to the courts, will you face systematic discrimination? Are there more shadowy means to collect your dues? And if you have no proper recourse in the case of a bad loan, why would you take the risk in the first place? If you do have proper recourse, what is the nature of antisemitism in your society if it doesn't extend to the law?

I'm curious to hear if anyone can illuminate some of the answers. It seems like an interesting intersection between economics, law and discrimination.

I've encountered a lot of anti-intellectual sentiments while working and living in the Arabian Peninsula. Was there ever a time where Arabians (people of the peninsula, not Arabs in general) had a strong intelligencia and made notable contributions to science, technology, arts, engineering, or mathematics? I know their neighbors in Persia and the larger Middle East region certainly have, but I'm blanking on specifically Arabian contributions.

Did any group or people even say Buddhist clergy is evil,like today many groups accuse catholic priests? Did any pagan religion,of china,india, say celibacy practiced by the monks was un-natural?

As I understand it, the Red Army had surrounded Berlin in late April and Hitler basically admitted defeat around April 22nd when Felix Steiner was unable to counter-attack. That time period seems to suggest a solid week between when Hitler basically gave up and when he killed himself.

Why didn't he attempt to flee Berlin? If the Red Army didn't get to his bunker until May 2nd, it seems that there would have been ample time for him to attempt escape. Were there no functional aircraft for him to fly out of Berlin? What was his motivation for remaining and eventually killing himself?

I read that a two-handed sword was sometimes used in battles, but they didn't elaborate. Would Scottish claymores be somewhat similar to them?

Hi, I needed some help with getting some reasons and arguments as to how i can make Queen Elizabeth the first sound like the most important influence in the world for a finals project in world history. I need 5 reasons and 5 detailed arguments. I would really appreciate it if anyone could help me out. :)

I have heard an assertion that Maori and Pacific island troops during WW1 were not allowed firearms and that this is the origin of the term 'digger' as they were assigned to dig trenches in lieu of actual combat with white people. Is there any truth to this assertion and if so, what sources support and/or contradict it?

Seems back then people didn't have so much choice in their career. Son of a farmer would be a farmer, a physician would be a physician, a merchant would be a merchant, etc. If they had another choice it was generic like be a clergy or monk. When did people start to have more choice like we are today? And why?

I have no idea if I'm remembering this wrong or not, but wasn't there a country that was wiped out in between the 13th and 15th century for removing the nobility and supporting radical new ideas (freedom of religion, etc.) If I'm remembering correctly, the United Nations cited the leader of this nation as an important figure in democracy.

Are there any decent English language books which provide an overview of the Lebanese Civil War? I've been wanting to do some more in-depth reading on it, but much of what I've found deals mainly with Israel's involvement.