I cant find one word about the Southern Kingdom (sometimes called the kingdom of Sicily or Naples)

I occasionally hear something about Genoa, the Pope, and Venice. Tuscany maybe. It seems the first abolition were against western Christians owning western Christian slaves, but everything was fine

I know Florence had a doge who was the son of a Medici and a black slave, but the overwhelming majority of Slaves we're east European or Mediterranean.

Are there no records of any abolition? Did they not sign on to those organisations the british started after 1833 to end slavery?

A friend who is a historian recently said this, more holidays and a 4 day work week was apparently the norm for most of the Roman empire's history.

Is this true? Please let it not be true.

I was thinking the other day how in my history classes, when the covered the start of WWII, they always talked about Nazi Germany's actions that started it with the invasion of Poland. They kinda glossed over the Russian involvement with this as well and only started covering the USSR when Hitler went to invade.

Could we trace in medieval music ancient origins of folkloric music from germanic peoples, celts, romans etc..? If not, how did it transform into such a different style and what are the origins of it? My questions may be open to origins of later gregorian chants etc.. Thanks!

Anarchism (particularly in the U.S.) is a fascinating topic to me, since it seems that it was a very frightening and powerful counterculture in its time but it is essentially never taught about in U.S. high schools or referenced in present day. President McKinley was shot and killed by a self-professed Anarchist, as were several heads of state in Europe, so it was clearly an important movement that had important historical impact.

As a movement, how tightly organized was it? Terrorism in present day is often described as a network of "cells" which function autonomously but are technically still linked or are supposedly following a leader's orders; were anarchist movements connected among nations of Europe and the U.S.? How was this movement ultimately suppressed and defeated?

I said read some brief stuff but would like to get some insight from experts and maybe some recommended books on the subjects.

They always envisioned that the country would spread from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. Okay, but how did they know that, if they traveled west far enough, they would eventually come across water and not just infinite land? Because for them to know where the Pacific Ocean begins, that would imply that they've already gone through and settled that land. How did they know about the Western United States and the Pacific Ocean without first claiming all that land?

Compared to it's other independent east Asian neighbors at the time, China and Siam/Thailand, Japan was resource poor and had little to no links or trading relationships with outside powers. How then was such a small mostly agrarian nation able to become a dominant industrial power and eventually dominate their much larger, more resource rich neighbors who already had long histories of trade so quickly?

From what I've gathered, Europeans tend to see the Reformed and Lutheran Protestants as being as distinct from each other as Protestants and Catholics are. Meanwhile, I never saw that distinction being made in America. Is my impression faulty? Or was the distinction blurred somehow in the New World?

Lately I've been reading about general Spanish history, specifically about the Peninsular War, that time the French told us they were only passing through to conquer Portugal because they traded with Britain, and then decided to stay and told us we were no longer independent; and I've read quite a lot about how in general the Spaniards resorted to guerrilla fighting when they French beat them.

However, I fear some of this accounts may be somewhat romanticised, given that I've mostly read Spanish authors, and I'd like the opinion of someone who knows about this specific part of history.

In short, how true is it that Spanish resistance to French occupation was widespread and violent enough to be an actual problem, and not just a funny anecdote to the people in charge?

I've heard about the Moors teaching Europeans how to properly bathe and take care of their personal hygiene, as well as the agricultural technology being significantly more evolved and superior to the one used in Europe. The Europeans took the African agricultural technology when they enslaved them and forced the slaves to use them in the New World, correct?

Where can I learn more about this? I would want to read about this subject so much! Thank you.

For the Cold War history buffs out there, I'm looking for what's among the best/top resources of a comprehensive, historical overview of the Cold War. Any books come to mind? Thanks in advance!

Could someone please explain to me why the two house legislature was included in the constitution? Thanks

While I realize that the roots to modern day environmental movements go as far back as late 1800s, it seems like the issue just suddenly gains traction and becomes more "accepted" around 1960-1970s, and I just can't find anything that talks about this. Why did it become normal for "the common man" to get engaged in environmental issues, when it had mostly been a thing for a select few earlier?

Why was there no single school of thought? As in the presence of philosophies like Aristotleianism and Platonism? What points caused them to differ?

Your answer is greatly appreciated!

I was reading in the memoir of a Great Depression survivor that she would stop and gather dandelions while out looking for work and bring them all home for a dandelion dinner in case her mother had been unable to find anything to eat. This piqued my interest, and I did some research on the dandelion. I was shocked out how versatile this plant was-- the leaves were edible, the roots could be roasted as a coffee substitute, the milky sap inside the stem was said to have medicinal properties, and the flower tops could even be bottled and made into wine!

How and why did the dandelion come to be known as nothing more than a pesky weed? It seems like this flower got the raw end of the deal.

EDIT: Wow. First of all, let me say that I am deeply thankful for the insightful, in-depth responses provided by both /u/gothwalk and /u/WRCousCous. You both have gone above and beyond in addressing my query, and I did not expect such expert-level responses to my question about the humble dandelion.

Secondly, I am blown away with how popular this post has become. I cannot believe that it is the most highly upvoted question of all time in /r/AskHistorians. I hope this has exposed many people to the lost arts of foraging plants for food and medicine. This is something I feel that everyone should know more about. (Please be absolutely certain that you have positively ID'ed any plant that you intend to ingest, especially if you are dealing with fungi. Otherwise your delicious salad may kill you :) )

I want to understand the views of everyday Germans during the early part of the war. Was the opposition to Hitler and the Nazis more muted given the victories? Were people generally swept up in a euphoria, or was there an unhappiness in being at war?