(Would AskAnthropology be a better place to for this question?)

The exact words in question:

"...there are few archaeological traces of the new-style ranches he [Tiberius Gracchus] reported and considerable evidence, on the contrary, for the whole spread survival of small-scale farms."

"In fact, many historians now think that, if his motives were sincere, Tiberius seriously misread the situation."

Beard seems to say that there is little or no evidence for massive, slave-run farms that drove smaller farmers to destitution in Rome. If that is the case, where did the (seemingly) huge popular support for the Gracchus Brothers' land reforms come from? Blind populism? Were they just using it as an excuse to consolidate power for themselves?

Popular understandings of the Fall of France seem to focus almost exclusively on the encirclement of Dunkirk and the destruction of the Allied forces in Belgium throughout late May, 1940. Yet the weeks during and following Dynamo were characterized by fierce fighting, and massive subsequent operations were required to breach French defensive lines on the Somme and to isolate the Maginot Line. Was the German success in Belgium decisive enough that these operations could be characterized as 'mopping-up,' albeit on a massive scale, or was the fate of France only decided in subsequent battles East of Paris?

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Not that I think Columbus would have been able to draw a connection between Vinland/Greenland and the Caribbean basically being connected (sorta)

But I would have thought that reports of dark skinned peoples in "the northern isles" of Scandinavia would have piqued the interests of any European scholars that read the Norse sagas or historical accounts. Or had the Skraeling really been dismissed as a mythical and fictitious people?

I've read a lot of entries on here discussing European knowledge and opinion of Norse accounts of the lands of North America, and how they had thought it was a collection of islands and not an entire continent, but not much about the people they encountered.

Despite the fact that the economy has been pretty rotten the last few years, the press has kept a relatively sunny and optimistic outlook. Did this happen in the aftermath of the 1929 crash and the next decade or so of The Great Depression? Will we look back at this period of time as the Second Great Depression? How was it reported on to the general public over time?

Caltech researchers have done the math and it shows a rogue ninth planet orbits the sun every 15,000 years. Is there any evidence in recorded or oral history that might be able to identify this occurrence?

Hi there,

I came across this quote whilst reading the Wikipedia article about the Siege of Baghdad.

""Iraq in 1258 was very different from present day Iraq. Its agriculture was supported by canal networks thousands of years old. Baghdad was one of the most brilliant intellectual centers in the world. The Mongol destruction of Baghdad was a psychological blow from which Islam never recovered. With the sack of Baghdad, the intellectual flowering of Islam was snuffed out. Imagining the Athens of Pericles and Aristotle obliterated by a nuclear weapon begins to suggest the enormity of the blow. The Mongols filled in the irrigation canals and left Iraq too depopulated to restore them."

Sounds like this was a profoundly important historical event. Is its case being overstated?

I'm applying for university in 2 months (give or take a few days) and I must have a solid choice in mind for what I want to do for the rest of my life. I would like to be a history prof at a university, a historian or an archaeologist. I've been told that there are no jobs in this sector of work. Should I go through with what I want to do or do something that is hiring. If so, how is the field of work?

From what I know, the Eiffel tower was hated by many French people and was regarded as extremely unattractive. Today, it's regarded as beautiful. How did this switch from hate to love occur?

How successful were American submarines during World War Two? Did they have any significant impact in the war? I am also curious about casualties. If I recall correctly, 30000 of 40000 German submariners died. How dangerous was life for an American submariner? It seems to me like the topic of American subs wasn't very well documented.

Whenever I or my friends have read into Josephine and Napoloen's history as lovers, the phrase 'zig-zag' always comes up as something which Josephine would perform while in bed with Napoleon.

Does anybody know more about this sexual act? Where did it originate from? And was it really that good?

Recently, I have been looking into the view that the holocaust did not occur. I am wondering how seriously such this view is taken among historians. It has always been curious to me that there are people who old such views as holocaust denial.

I'm born in Ankawa in Erbil, Iraq. It used to be a Chaldean village but not anymore. Me and my family left the country due to war and I've always wanted to learn more about Chaldeans and the village that I'm from. Every Chaldean I ask only knows the stuff they heard (folklore). Nothing seems to be recorded or documented. I just found this subreddit and I hope there are some people that are knowledgeable on Mesopotamia, Chaldeans etc.

I want to know the villages history if possible. Also I would like to know more about Chaldeans since I know very little about us. I would appreciate any answer. Thanks!

I recently read something saying that ancient Berbers travelled to Ireland.

It reminded me of the 'Black Irish' legend of Spanish sailors washed ashore who survived against all odds.

I know it's a broad question but if any of the experts here know of records of early north-African peoples visiting/settling in Ireland I would be very interested to ask follow up questions.

Thanks so much.

I'm currently in RCIA (neither because I'm trying to marry a Catholic or have been brainwashed but because I actually want to believe it or not) and I'm pretty sure up until I started I didn't know that "Virgin Birth" was a thing, I had always through that Mary's (alleged, if Christianity isn't your thing) conceiving of Jesus was referred to as the Immaculate Conception. As far as I know it seems this is a pretty common misconception (no pun intended) and I'm just wondering when it started/where it came from. Considering the church/Christians consider the Immaculate Conception to be the conception of Mary and the Virgin Birth to be the conception/birth of Jesus--both of which are super important cornerstones of the formation/foundation of the Christian faith--how did "Immaculate Conception" basically come to replace "Virgin Birth?"

I hope this is the right sub (since r/ChristianHistory is pretty dead) as although it's a question about a religious principle I'm wondering at what point in history did this terminology change happen among common people.

EDIT: I'm realizing in my title "Virgin Birth" probably shouldn't have quotes around it, my b

Of course, in all of the textbooks, we hear about women who worked in factories or who were nurses during World War II, but I'm curious about any jobs that women held that aren't as well known? I only just heard about Flight Nurses and the WAC, so I'm curious what other women's wartime efforts I've never heard about!

I've been reading up on the Gladiator War, but haven't been able to find much info on the mass crucifixions with my current sources. I'm curious about how people throughout Italy and beyond felt about the act in particular (I am, to a degree, aware of how the war itself impacted the people of Rome- though more info is always appreciated). As far as I know, there were no MASS slave revolts afterwards in Rome, so do historians ever credit the crucifixions as that which scared slaves throughout Rome out of future rebellions?

My grandmother grew up in Germany during the second world war and told us about her father being a conscientious objector during the war.

Apparently if you were not sent to concentration camps, or just shot, the Nazi's would force you to wear an SS uniform and also force you into the front line in Russia. My grandfather got beaten so badly that he had to have his stomach removed, he also did not come back from Russia until the 50's.

I have been told the story so many times, I have looked into it, just on google, and can find no other records of such things happening.

Historians of Reddit, does anyone know of any similar stories (or can even verify this to be somewhat true) about the German conscientious objectors?

I know that in the years between WWI and WWII, people called WWI "The Great War." However, what did people call WWII during and immediately after the war? When did people start calling it WWII and who coined the names for WWI and WWII?