I have been researching some about the types of guns used in the Franco-Prussian War, but have only found information on the rifles used and none on the pistols or artillery pieces. Does anyone know what specific models of Pistols, Revolvers, Mortars, or Artillery Pieces were used during the conflict?

Pretty sure this is the right subreddit to ask. Apologies if not. So, I am a huge fan of the Fate/ anime series. Fate is about historical or mythical beings being summoned to modern times and fighting for the Holy Grail. So in Fate/Zero the Rider summoned is Alexander the Great. That is, by the way, not a spoiler of any kind. Not only does he identify himself as such right off the bat but he literally announces his name right in front of the rest of the cast. In that work he is almost always referred to as Iskandar (or Iskander the minute spelling sometimes differs) which was apparently the Persians' name for him. I was just curious how well known or popular other names like Iskandar are for him since before Fate/Zero I had only ever heard him referred to as Alexander. The characters themselves (who are either Japanese or European) don't treat it as obscure at all.

I've watched quite a few documentaries that say that the Great Pyramid is aligned to the north poll with staggering accuracy. I don't doubt this, but they were built thousands of years ago. Wouldn't have contenental shift over this time span changed their alignment? It seems to me that the only explanations would be that the Giza plateau didn't have any shift, or the movement was perfectly east to west. Any thoughts?

It's my understanding that during, for example, the Napoleonic Wars, armies were singular groups of soldiers who would march around in the countryside, and battle would commence when two opposing groups would encounter each other. How did it then become that by World War 2 there were wide, thousand plus mile fronts with millions of men fighting essentially non-stop?

Secondarily, how did this impact military doctrine?

I've met one person who claims he got his doctorate only because he kept taking courses to avoid having to be drafted. How common was this, and how much did the population of academics increase because of it?

I often hear people say the Canadians were the best, or the Australians, or this corp or that. Has there been any type of objective study about it? Was there really a unit that was better than the rest, or is it just bias?

I've read for military combat that both the poleaxe was the primary weapon because of armor, or that long swords were the primary weapon to be used in two hands, from different sources.

Is there any historical proof regarding which was truly a primary weapon, and which was more of a specialized niche weapon or sidearm?

I thought about this when I was in middle school and never really got an answer. Considering her age, I'm assuming that she started puberty during her stay in the attic. However, we all know that there was basically no privacy in that tiny spice. Also, the beginning of a girl's menstruation cycle is monumental for young females. Was this just not the case? It was never mentioned in the diary.

I'm sure this is trendy because of the Canal+ series Borgia(recommend for any renaissance fans), but in the show Alessandro Farnese and Cesare are close friends, studying together in Pisa for priesthood. I can't find any evidence directly proving this, but it doesn't seem unlikely seeing as they would both have been in Pisa at similar times, they were close in age, and Alessandro's sister was the mistress of Cesare's father. If anyone has anything to prove or disprove this, please let me know. :)

Also, if you read that and don't have an answer, I would also be interested in any documentaries or books about historical figures from 1000-1700 Europe(I find it much easier to take in information when it is presented through the scope of politics surrounding an important individual as opposed to a description of events).

I read once that when the Muslim armies marched into Alexandria and found the Great Library, that the Muslim General was asked what to do with the scrolls by a subordinate and he responded to the effect of "If what they contain is not in the Quran, then they are blasphemous ad should be destroyed. If what they contain is in the Quran, then they are superfluous and should not concern us, and should be destroyed."

Does this statement seem credible, or is consistent with how Muslims conquered new lands?

That's what I heard from my history teacher today, is it true?
What does he mean by dominant world-power? Unbeatable/biggest army?
Biggest economy?
Biggest population?
Biggest area under direct control?

I've been interested in learning about the Cossacks (in really any time period) and haven't been able to find much in the way of primary accounts from them themselves. I do not speak Russian/Ukrainian/Ruthenian, so even the things I have found have been unreadable for me. Can any experts point me in the right direction for this search? Anything in English would be helpful, however if there aren't many translations I understand as well.

Why was Stalin's cult of personality dismantled? Why did the following Soviet leaders not institute the same type of cult of personality? Was this impulse unique to Stalin? Was he involved with causing Lenin to be mummified and publicly displayed?

How did they scout out and find new places to live? Who among the population did the colonizing? Did they pick uninhabited areas, forcefully displace the natives, or slowly trade their way to controlling an area? How does it compare to colonization in the modern age?

The obvious answer is that the Romans deliberately wiped out all traces of them. But can that really account for the shocking lack of artifacts from a major world empire? For example, there should have been Carthaginian goods traded all around the world.

I have been reading The Tools of Empire by Daniel Headrick, professor of history at Roosevelt University, and one of the central tenants of the book is that steamships essentially dominated other technological advances during imperialism. In fact, from what I understand, it was the motivation from steamboats and imperialism itself that encouraged the Suez Canal.

Prior to the Suez Canal, merchants would travel around the Cape of Good Hope, or otherwise travel through the Middle East. One of the routes through the Middle East was through Egypt. A merchant from England would take a steam ship across the Chanel, a train through France and a steamer to Alexandria. From Alexandria, the merchants had to cross the desert on foot, with camels, etc to Suez. In addition, all of the coal for the steamers to India had to be brought to Suez on the backs of camels.

So, my question is: during a time where Europeans emphasized efficiency, why didn't they choose to build a railroad through Egypt to bypass the need for the camels, to speed the process of transfer of goods between Alexandria to Suez, and to save money in building the canal?

The technology was available. The United States was building the Transcontinental Railroad, with completion in 1869 (same year as the canal). Dr. Headrick also said that by 1849, the railroad had eclipsed the steamboat.

I'm currently enrolled in a college course studying Spanish literature from the medieval period through the Baroque period, and know quite a bit about Spanish history. However, one thing I really feel like I don't know enough about is the origin of the language of Catalan. I know that it was the language used in the Kingdom of Aragon in medieval times and I know the basics of the differences and similarities of it and Castilian Spanish, but I really want to know more of the origins and how those origins caused it to differ from Spanish, Portuguese, and even Occitan (which I've seen compared to Catalan as being one of the most closely related).

So essentially, if you had to make a family tree of Romance languages, how would Catalan fit in (would it be the same branch as Spanish or not, and where would it branch off)? How did any major differences come about? Any information is greatly appreciated!