I was reading the Wikipedia page on Marduk and it said "In the city of Babylon, he resided in the temple Esagila." Just as the god of the Hebrews was thought to "reside" in the holy of holies in the temple in Jerusalem. So my question is this, did the ancient peoples of the near east think that their Gods resided bodily in their temples or was it more of a spirit thing. As a further question, what was the reason for them having a physical dwelling place in the first place?

I've seen endless amount of the many different weapons of a knight, but what might a single knight be able to carry into battle? Could this be tiered? Like, primary, secondary, and tertiary options?

I hope this is the right place for this, I wasn't sure where to ask.

I know some of the history behind popular attitudes about black sexuality, for example. Things like Sara Bartmann, the Jezebel stereotype in media, and slavery. But I'm wondering if there's a history I'm not aware of about why Asian women especially are so heavily fetishized.

Asked another way, why aren't green and red or yellow and purple used more widely to represent opposing factions?

I specifically mean when it became the state religion. Was there a clergy? How were priests trained? Was it similar to modern Catholicism?

I feel like the periodic wars and peace treaties between England/France/Spain/Italy are constantly covered in pop culture and books through stories of the Tudors/Borgias/Medici/etc, but I never come across mention of who ruled Greece and how they factored into European politics at the time?

As a 27 year old American, I'm curious to hear historical point of views from the "other side". I'm sure there were British war heroes, important dates, key victories, etc etc, that we (Americans) never were taught or heard about in schools.

Reading Thucydides and particularly the assault on Syracuse by a Athenian naval force that was massive, one of the problems in getting the Syracusans and the Spartans to resist was that neither of these powerful city-states had any naval power whatsoever. They even seemed to be hopeless that they could ever overtake Athenian naval power, much less in the middle of a war. How is it that Athens was so superior on the sea, aside from the psychological advantage of reputation?

I've read parts of Marx's Communist Manifesto and I see how his ideas affected Lenin's political ideals (Lenin-Marxism, the least original yet most appropriate name for it).

Thinking further ahead, what did Lenin leave behind for Stalin? Is Stalin completely different from Lenin as in he brought in plenty of new ideas in communism or was Stalin just picking up what Lenin left behind?

Specifically in the 16th and 17th centuries. Were these cities expected to provide anything to the empire? To what extent would the Emperor protect them? What prevented them from being absorbed by nearby principalities?

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While doing homework this weekend, I was surprised to learn that Ghandi worked as a lawyer in South Africa before World War I. How much do we know about his legal practice?

As we get closer to the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, what is known about his life? Was Shakespeare an independently wealthy farmer or grain trader? What allowed him time to be a prolific writer?

It's been said that in the past, when only the nobility were able to eat an optimal amount of food, that a fat man or woman was considered attractive because it was a way of advertising their wealth. Is there any truth behind this?

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How were the military forces of Venice organised at the very beginning of the Republic - 8th-10th century? Did they rely on a militia of conscripted local people, or did they hire foreign mercenaries?

I would think a ship would have to pass within 50 miles to see an island so it seems remarkable that most, if not all, of even the most isolated island groups were discovered by europeans by the end of the 18th century.

Was exploration really this voluminous?

• The island Tristan da Cunha, 1500 miles from South Africa, 1200 from Saint Helena was discovered in 1506.

• Saint Helena, also one of the most remote islands in the world, was discovered in 1502.

• Bermuda, 665 miles from North America, discovered in 1503.

• Magellan discovered guam and the Mariana Islands in 1521.

• South Keeling/Cocos Islands were discovered in 1609.

• the Marquesas Islands were discovered in 1595.

I'm guessing that in some situation, the local population on some islands could have pointed in them general direction of other islands but it still seems like there must have been a lot of luck involved.

They could not defeat the British in Egypt, lost heavily in Abyssinia and didn't muster the strength to defeat Greece, even though in all these situations they outnumbered their opponent at least two to one.

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I've noted in movies* set in '70s New York City that parts of the city looks like a complete war zone. Crumbling buildings, garbage everywhere, etc.

What caused this?

* e.g. The French Connection, Taxi Driver

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