Hello all! It's that time of year again with college graduations all around, and it's made me wonder, can I call myself a historian with a BA in History? Honestly I would lean towards no after seeing how much work the grad students and professors put into the discipline, but then the question I must ask is what can I call myself? Besides the obvious answer of "BA in History", I don't want to drag down the discipline, but can I honestly call myself a historian? (since as we all know, nothing impresses the ladies like an understanding of sine manu marriage). Sorry if this was a part of an earlier asked question, but I didn't see anything about this specifically. Thank you for your time!

I feel like the Allied usage of paratroopers in WWII is a lot more known about through movies, shows, etc. Did the Axis powers ever successfully use paratroopers in any campaign?

More specifically, why did Polish uprisings fail in 1956, 1968, and 1970-71 but succeed in 1989? What were the main causal factors behind these differences?

Or, (forgive the speculation) Could the mythological group be the result of a sort of Late Bronze Age version of the children's game Telephone talking about the Denyen, with just enough mis-hearing of the name to get to the mythological group?

There's been an idea circulating for a while that their methods raised soil salinity, and made their Fertile Crescent infertile.

I know many of the higher ups in the Nazi regime were put on trial, but what about regular servicemen?

Or were there already different "cults" or smaller christian religions?

Preferably in English, though with decent diagrams I could figure out a little bit of French.

Searching online, one finds lots and lots of replicas and Halloween props (and Google even suggests "how to build a guillotine out of popsicle sticks"). I want things like rail measurements, blade weights, and so on.

Where should I be looking?

About half of US casualties during the invasion of the Marianas took place while seizing Saipan. I know that hindsight is 20/20, but would it have been possible for the US to bypass Saipan and only take Guam and Tinian? Only one of the USAAF's six big airfields was on Saipan, and Guam's Apra Harbor was the main deepwater port in the Marianas. It seems like leaving Saipan to wither on the vine would have made more sense for the United States.

I've often seen it claimed that the Red Scares represent the US federal government repressing left-wing individuals and organizations. Is this is a fair and accurate depiction of what happened? And if so, was government action ever taken against right-wing politics to the same degree as the Red Scares?

Regarded by admirers and opponents alike as an indispensable Napoleon of the West, Santa Anna initially led an early military career marked not only by opportunism, but also by success. Why did his military success turn into repeated failure, especially in his dealings against Texan and US armies?

So as the title says, I'm working on writing a story about a Roman (centurion?) investigating reports of Christians setting fires and making people disappear. Since it's a detective story, it's a lot more complicated and conspiratorial than it appears, and plays into the historical doubt as to who or what caused the burning of Rome.

That said, I have some questions:

1.Would the equivalent of a private eye / low-level beat cop be a Centurion, or someone else? Did Roman Centurions have a "beat" to walk, or were they more of protectors of property than people?

2.How was it culturally and politically looked upon if a member of the Senate was taking bribes? Was there a system in place to remove a Senator or fight Senate corruption? Were Senate members representative of districts, and if so, how many were there to represent solely Rome?

3.How much of the Christian persecution is on record? Is there any truth to Christians being thrown to lions, or Christians hiding out in the catacombs under Rome? Was Christianity seen as a cult of dangerous extremists, or just an unpopular religion?

4.Did Roman law codify "arson," as a specific crime, or did they simply have laws against destruction of property?

5.How were slaves treated, both personally and culturally? Was it treated like a shitty blue collar job, or was it oppressive, violent, and shameful?

6.What was life as a Gladiator really like? Was it like being a sports star today, or was it like being the bull at a bullfight? Was there a way to quit being a gladiator, or were you one for life?

7.How common was prostitution in Rome, and how were sex workers viewed?

8.How common were fourtune-telling sessions or visits to an oracle? Were prophecies treated very seriously?

9.What were the Roman laws regarding gambling? Was it accepted, looked down upon, or outright illegal?

Sorry for the tons of questions, and thanks for your patience and expertise! If there is a book that could answer these questions, please recommend it! I'm going to try to do as much research as possible before starting this story.