It is commonly reported that Ruxelana came from Rohatyn in Ukraine (Rohatyn was part of Poland prior to WW2) where they have a statue of her in the city square. However I did read suggestions that that origin is apocryphal and really it is not clear where exactly in Eastern Europe she was from. So what is known of her origin?

The Wikipedia article on her says "According to some historians, Roxelana was born as Aleksandra Ruslana Lisowska", implying there is some doubt or uncertainty if that is her birth name. Are there any records or sources that link Roxelana to this birth name?

At the time she was enslaved, how far north did the Ottoman Empire extend into Eastern Europe? Was Rohatyn part of the Ottoman Empire at the time?

The period of Arabian history leading up to the Arab conquests has become a fascination of mine. One odd thing I've noticed, is that many of the figures attested from this period seem to live rather long life spans relative to what I've always understood as being the average lifespan of a person in this time period. For instance, Omar ibn al-Khattab is attested to have been born around 583 CE and died 644, making him around 61 years of age at the time of his death. This also seems to be true of Muhammad, Abu Bakr and a few other figures in this time period as well.

So, what I'm wondering is this: is this an accurate lifespan for someone in this part of the world around this time? Or is it the result of poor documentation/exaggeration? Would this have been an extrordinary circumstance? Furthermore, how accurate is the classical historical image of men being considered old for their time simply for living into their forties?

Hello! I've been searching the internet all day for information on this topic but I haven't come across much.

So I am wondering, what conditions did the Chinese have to deal with working on the railroads in the west? How were they treated compared to white workers? What were the worst things the Chinese had to go through? Did the Chinese speak English (were they educated)?

Lastly, why did the Chinese come to the west in the first place? Thanks!

For instance, if I am reading about Imperial Rome, I'd like to know what it looked like.

Of course, an obvious option is to go and watch a high-budget movie or TV show set in that period, and hope they've done their homework, but even if they have I imagine that many things would have been updated for a modern audience (hairstyles, hygiene?) or exaggerated for effect.

So it makes me wonder if historians ever publish benchmark visual reconstructions – by compiling all the written research on a period and translating it into images.

If so is there an official term for such things?

Would a visit from Hitler be seen as unnecessary, not worthwhile, or impractical? Was there perhaps a sense of guilt he didn't want to further? Was it just too out of the way?

I have noticed this to be a trend among many tribal cultures of the world. Do historians have any consensus on how the procedure originated? I know that it is practiced by many Australian Aboriginal tribes who, to my knowledge, had little to no contact with the world at large prior to european settlement. Would this suggest that the procedure was conceived prior to the australian land bridge flooding over, or that the procedure was invented without outside influence? If the latter option is true, why was the procedure so popular and how/why did people begin practicing it? Edit: to clarify, my main questions are: 1. Did the practice stem from one original culture, or was it developed independently by many? 2. Why was it so popular for 'coming of age' ceremonies? 3. How was the procedure (probably) first discovered?

This may be an seemingly stupid question but did the major betrayls and/or deaths in the Nazi Party/German Military of men like Reinhart, Goering, Rommel, and Rohm (fully aware he died in 34) affect the outcome of the war, and politics within the Nazi Party/German Military? And what other deaths would have had an major affect on the war and their eventual loss?

My knowledge on international relations between countries in that area is almost nonexistent, so I'm just here to learn about this tiny country.

How come that Austria Hungary was left with no colonies during the 19 century European rush to grab colonies?? Did they fail, or fail to even try??

I've been interested lately in Late Medieval/Early Modern conflicts, and I've been wanting to do some reading on the Italian wars, because they seem both fascinating and less well trodden than, say, the War of the Roses. However, I've been struggling to find a good general survey. The only book I can find is The Italian Wars 1494-1559: War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe, by Mallett and Shaw, but it's a little expensive and not available through my University's library. Are there any other good surveys of the war, or even shorter periods within the conflict?

Hi there! I'm cleba76,and I was wondering about this earlier today after playing some mount and blade warband. So,would it be possible for a medieval peasant to move up the social ladder,perhaps becoming a noble with lands&their own serfs? Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Hello, I was hoping someone here has some knowledge that will help confirm or disprove of something I saw during a documentary years ago.

This documentary made the claim that some Waffen SS units would set up a fake surrender. They would do this by hiding their troops in a field with high grass then sending a message to the allied unit in the area that they wanted to surrender. They would set up the rendezvous point in the field where their comrades would be lying in wait. A few unarmed SS soldiers would make their way to the middle of the field with their hands up to draw the allied unit out to greet and capture them. When the allied unit was close enough, the surrendering soldiers would throw themselves down while the hidden soldiers would pop up and kill the allied soldiers where they stood.

Certainly seems like something the SS would do but I can't find a single mention or documented occurance of this happening. It's been several years since I've seen the documentary that made this claim so I can't recall it's name. Has anyone heard this as well?

Bill Clinton just made this declaration at the DNC but Bobby's brother was the president. How was he an outsider?

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I'm referring from prehistory to the 12th century.

I've always struggled to mentally categorise them.

Due to the difference in language and god's to the rest of the Ancient Groups of Europe eg Celts, Gauls, Breton's, Germanic and Norse.

I see them as between but would like some clarification please.

Hi, I'm looking for information on a group of pilots from World War 2 that I read somewhere on Cracked or something similar long ago.

Basically from what I can remember is they were a from the US and as described, they had the most beat up, derelict planes out of anyone. I believe what I remember reading was they would cut the planes up and reinforce them with wood, and mount different guns that they had laying around onto their planes.

I hope I gave enough information for something to be found, this has been my white whale for the longest time. Thanks!