This is a fairly obscure question, but I'd like some information if anyone has any to offer.

I've been told by many (non-historians) that ancient Egypt did not keep records of embarrassing events, such as major military defeats. This is specifically in the context of biblical literalism, where, when taken at face value, the Torah seems to say that Egypt suffered massive catastrophes and military defeats, like the "Ten Plagues" and the Israelite Exodus, which are not recorded in Egyptian texts.

My question is this: Are there in fact Egyptian texts that detail embarrassing historical events, perhaps related to military defeats, economic collapse, or perceived judgment of the gods? It doesn't matter if it's related to anything in the Jewish Bible. Something that describes events contemporaneous to the author(s) or that occurred near to the time of the author(s) is ideal, and something in the late Bronze Age or early Iron Age is ideal as well.

Sorry for the very obscure question, but I'd appreciate any information anyone here can provide. Thanks!

Why did they not join the soviet union? Or why did they get into the cold war at all? What did they have to benefit from? To me, Turkey does not identify with many of the values of NATO, as it is secular and corrupt. Why turkey ever thought to join NATO is confusing.

He was a ruthless, heartless man and rarely gets brought up when talking about terrible rulers. And same goes for Caligula. Caligula could be in contention for one of the worst people to ever exist, yet of all the 'top ___ list' I've seen (whether it be the history channel, youtube, etc.) these two most of the time don't even get recognition.

What different types of arguments were there for freeing them vs not freeing them? ("They caused a genocide and the death of tens of million people" is a pretty freaking strong point, but were there other arguments too?) Did any former victims actually support the campaign? How was the issue debated? Did anything change when there was just Hess left?

I'm more interested in the moral arguments than the political arguments. Also, I'd really like to read some opinions from people who had a personal relationship to the question, such as Jewish debaters. If anyone can point me to a text about this topic written by someone who was persecuted by Nazi Germany, I'd be very grateful!

(I asked a variant of this question a few days ago but didn't get any responses, so I read the rules and decided that I wanted to try again.)

Do you know some good books, websites or articles I can start with? They should describe the basics, because I know very little about this time and place. I guess I am looking for Vikings for Dummies...

I can read English and Dutch. German and French would also be alright, but rather no long books.

Thanks in advance!

How many kirtles, how many gowns? How many chemises? In any station, in any century, in any (European) country. How did a peasant's wardrobe compare to that of a wealthy trader's wife, or a knight's wife, or that of a princess? Thanks :)

I'm looking for the most accurate histories of the Middle East.

Uzbekistan has over 30 million people while Kazakhstan has only 17 million and rest much less.

Is it simply geography? Or the result of past government policy?

I'm listening to the Revolutions podcast and it strikes me as odd that for all the fear the nobles had of the unwashed masses they never took any preventative measures to improve the peasants lot so their frustration wouldn't be so bad in the first place.

The concept of virginity in European antiquity seems to have held an almost universal association with the virtue and purity, seemingly as a function both of culture and religion. How was virginity treated in Han China during this period - was it a virtue to maintain, or perhaps a burden to be shirked? Did it hold similar sorts of religious connotations to those it appears to have held in the Mediterranean world at the time?

Edit: to clarify my poor wording, I'm referring to Han Dynasty China, as opposed to the ethnic group. Sorry!

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Edit: Crap, extraneous digit.

I'm basically looking for a biography of a country here, which might not exist, but some sort of introduction to get my hooks into for future questions would be great.

EDIT: I don't know what I did to flair it 'Vice and Virtue', I'm sorry!

I understand that social Darwinism was a means of justifying colonialism, and that German colonies, or lack there of, was something of an issue in early 1900 Germany. Having been only recently formed into existence, the Germans were a little sensitive of their lack of colonies, and felt that because of that the other European powers didnt give them the respect that they felt they deserved (I am not sure, any input would be helpful). Which was one of the factors leading to war.

But here's the part that I am struggling with. How was Marxism and Darwinism related? I mean sure they both proposed that competition was the essential driving force, Darwin in is Origin of Species and Marx saying that all of human history is a class struggle. But isn't Social Darwinism a misrepresentation of Darwin's theories? And if so then how does 'true' Darwinism relate to Marxism, and in turn how do both these ideologies related to the eruption of World War 1?

Any corrections, or additional input would be highly appreciative. And yes this is for a school project....Thanks in advance for your help!

I am taking a course titled "Britain and the World", and I'm looking for book recommendations for my term paper (fiction or non-fiction). It's a over a pretty broad period: any thing from 1650. I think I'd like to narrow it down to the British empire in the periods of either Benjamin Disraeli or Winston Churchill. I'm open to anything though - I'm just trying to explore my options.

Since everything I've seen paints the Waffen-SS as an elite fighting force, I would assume training would be like the French Foreign Legion or the Navy's SEALS. Am I right?

What kind of food did people eat in Northern Ireland from say, the Ulster Plantation through the 19th century, and how did it differ from what people ate in the present-day Republic? I remember reading somewhere that people in the North grew and ate more oats -- I don't know if the Scottish settlers brought that or if it had been common in that area before -- and that was part of the reason the Famine didn't devastate Ulster as badly as it did other parts of the country. I'd be curious if anyone knows more, though, about what a typical person's diet would have been like and what the differences would have been.