How extraordinary was Alexander's conquest really, and how much of it was just kicking down a rotten door?

Everything I've read about Alexander suggests he was a military genius leading a well-trained army, but the Persian empire also seemed to disintegrate with remarkable alacrity.

(This is a repost from last year, I got no replies last time.)

I'm curious if someone before modern times write something about dinosaurs fossil or other 'unknown' bones

i'm doing some research on polynesia and i'm finding very difficult to get good sources of the european exploration and expansion into the polynesian archipelago. What countries were most involved in this part of the globe, what was their policy with the natives and significant names and dates, any help or pointing to a source is appreciated.

Hello everyone!

I've been finding difficulty in trying to learn more about the Islamic world during and after the disintegration of the Abbasid caliphate. What there is, focuses on the Mediterranean and almost always on the interaction (read wars) between Islamic powers and the Christian world.

Central Asia is a massive region and events there have had tremendous importance towards the history of the world as a whole. From the Ghaznavid invasions of India, to the creation and rapid expansion of the Seljuk Empire (Which would go on to defeat the Romans at Manzikert and are the reason Turkey is where it is today). Besides such events, the developments in culture and the sciences can't be ignored, much as Hellenisation after Alexander can't be ignored.

I thus ask for any sources, be they books, documentaries, good quality websites on this region during the period from about 900-1200 CE.

Many thanks for reading.

I know it's hard to give specific time periods. I'm trying to understand if capitalism has lasted (so far) longer than feudalism in Europe. In The Communist Manifesto it is explained how the history is a struggle of classes and due to this conflict bourgeoisie replaced feudalism with capitalism. I wonder how long did capitalism last (so far) compared to other economical systems.

I'm especially interested if ship naming was endemic to non-European cultures such as China, Japan, Polynesia etc.

Did the Egyptians keep cats as pet like we do today? I know that people believed that cats were the pet of witches or a sign of bad luck (if black) in the Middle Ages. I know that the Plague was said to spread faster because people had killed many cats. When did this attitude begin to end?

What evidence is there that crusaders or Christians used "Deus Vult" as a battlecry? Are there even any recorded battlecries in history that we know of?

Did the Indians ever use cannons and muskets? Where can I see them?

A friend of a friend is asking me to find out about and appraise a gun which appears to have the nazi eagle and swastika insignia. It says "ANZIO" on the side of it in all caps and I'm wondering how that could've gotten there if it's a German mauser.

I know this isn't exactly what "AskHistorians" is designed for but I figured what better place to get recommendations than from people just as interested as my friend. He truly loves the roman empire and I was wondering if any of you had a recommendation for what I could get him.

What was the name of the age when there were no major civilizations like Greece, Egypt or Rome but there were already people settled in? In other words, before the big empires. Also how were life and culture in those times?

And no, it's not for homework.

Many members of r/atheism claim that there is little to no historical non-christian evidence for his mere existence as a man. I cited Tacitus and Julius Africanas writings but they waved them off as unreliable secondary sources. Am I mistaken, or are they ignoring evidence? What evidence is there for or against Jesus being a man in history and being crucified for spreading Christianity? Thank you!

It seems like, considering the size of China, an incredibly wise decision. But I know that they were wearing a foreign technology as well.

I have been reading about the idea that China beat Columbus to America. One often comes across comparison between the size of Zheng He pointing out how much bigger Chinese ships were that European ships. Even among those that reject the stories of Chinese exploration one often hears the assertion that they could have crossed the ocean had they sailed in that direction. But I have also come across the claim that the Chinese ships while huge were utterly unfitted for open ocean travel and they lacked the navigation ability to make voyages like this (possibly they were unaware of the curvature of the earth). Researching it it seems they are contradictory claims on this as well as how European navigation compared to Arab navigation.

Can you guys set me straight. At the eve of the age of exploration how did European shipping and long range navigation compare to the rest of the world. Was it already vastly superior or was it fairly comparable?