What is a rough estimate of the population and size of Norwegian cities such as Nidaros and Tunsberg, around the year 1000? To my knowledge Scandinavian countries were a lot more rural than continental European countries. Especially Norway, since it is still very rural according to modern standards. I'm curious to know if these cities and towns could be compared to their European counterparts in size?

I'm not necessarily looking for such a specific answer. Estimates on other Norse cities such as Hedeby, Uppsala, and Jomsborg are also welcome. The time period can also be flexible (850-1250), altough I'm mostly interested in the end of the viking age or shortly after it ended.

This is a repost as my previos post didn't gain popularity or responses.

And are the serbs only the guys with horrible crimes during the yugoslav wars?

Thanks in advance.

This is a question I've been trying to figure out for a while now after noticing in my History lessons Charles V being referred to as Emperor but the Russian leaders being referred to as Tsar and not Emperor. Everyone I've asked has no idea why we do this and I find it very odd how we refer to Wilhelm II as the Kaiser but then call Charles V the Emperor despite the fact the Holy Roman Emperors would have been called Kaiser. Does anyone have any idea why we do this?

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could point me to the best videos, books or podcasts about the Holy Roman Empire? Preferably something that is not too overwhelming for a beginner but still detailed enough to be worth reading. Anything would be helpful, but especially the medieval era. Thanks in advance.

Edit, after checking wikipedia I see that at least according to it most of East Asia and some other bits and pieces use yyyymmdd, which I know at least programmers would love to be more common. I'd be happy to read answers dipping into the reasons for that too, but the title is the one I'm looking for.

For example, from "The Conquering Tide,"

"On July 30, he broke out his flag above a tumbledown house in Rabaul township."

This is just the example right in front of me. I've also been reading "Rules of the game" and that mentions Admirals flags many times.

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Singapore is a unique country in that it's also only a city and happens to be one of the premiere centers of finance, trade, and so much more finding itself outperforming many other larger and even more powerful countries in many ways.

Obviously, this is in part due to its geographic location, but this can't explain the success of Singapore alone as places like Egypt and Panama also hold trading choke points without the same level of success.

In addition, Singapore must have the support of more powerful nations but often doesn't find itself mired in global international conflicts between the US, China, India, Russia, etc (at least not outwardly).

I'm curious as to what resources peal back some of these layers of its history, the power struggles, the agreements made around it, and how it continually keeps itself such a politically exceptional entity, especially in context to what the area was like before global trade. If there are any who have an expertise in all this and can share their own version here, it's much appreciated!

So in simpler terms, how did Europe react when they heard of the Mongol invasions and their overwhelming success?

So often the picture we're presented in the media of the fashion in ancient times is a static one. Ancient Rome, for instance, is always toga and tunics. Based on how much fashion has changed in just the last century, it stands to reason that fashion underwent rapid changes like that in those days as well. Was fashion as important a topic in the days of Republican Rome as it is today? Were their any fads that are similar in scope to the fashion trends of today? Was it a topic of record in those days...for instance, were there "trend setters" or people that were considered fashionable and their style of dress and accessories emulated in the general populace?

I'm at the Escher museum in The Hague, and one of the prints of Metamorphoses contains a particular chess pattern that I found interesting. It's called a smothered mate, where a lone piece deliverscheckmate to the opposing king despite it being surrounded by many allied pieces.

Was Escher a chess player (presumably he was, to know of such a motif), and was there a reason he included this particular pattern in his print?

I spent a couple weeks in Greece, followed by a couple weeks in Romania. In Greece there were ancient ruins all over the place. But in Romania there are ancient and medieval structures. Why? What were the Greeks doing for that millennia?