I think most historians agree that there is plenty of evidence that Constantine converted to Christian at some point (although it's still unclear exactly when he converted, and for what reasons). But I have a different question: did the average person living in the empire actually know that he had converted?
I ask because the coins and inscriptions he left behind show no obvious references to Christianity. When, if ever, did the normal Roman citizens find out about his Christian beliefs? And if they never did find out, who was the first Emperor to be "openly Christian"?
1 Answers 2015-12-23
What were the names of the discoverer and the conqueror of chile? if im not wrong the discoverer travelled across the andes? if so, what is the name of the path he used?
1 Answers 2015-12-23
Many movies often depict the Swiss border as the main goal for many POW escapees, Jewish refugees and others. The moment they arrive at their goal, the war is virtually over for them, they are safe and free.
Was this always the case during WWII? Or were there stories of the Nazis (or others) ignoring Switzerland's neutrality so they could continue waging war on others?
2 Answers 2015-12-23
Jus' curious
1 Answers 2015-12-22
While obtaining my undergrad degree in History, I took at least four classes that touched on the Civil War. One was specifically on the war and Reconstruction. Another was specifically on the American South. None of my studies made more than a passing mention of the Confederate Home Guard.
From what I've read the purpose of the Home Guard was, ostensibly, to protect the home front from attack. In the movie, Jude Law's character, a deserter, lives in constant fear of capture by the guard as he tries to make his way home. The characters played by Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger, as well as others in their locality, are terrorized by a band of the Home Guard that executes not only deserters, but those that provide them aid. They seemingly act with impunity.
My questions:
How extreme a fictionalization is this? Do we have documented cases similar to what we see in the film? If so, did such groups face retribution after the war?
Also, as I understand it the Home Guard was officially part of the Confederate army. How would one get that assignment? Its members in the film are all of fighting age. Was anyone able to use it the way some used the National Guard during Vietnam, as a means of avoiding service on the front?
1 Answers 2015-12-22
I've seen an episode or two of this new History Channel show called Hunting Hitler. While I don't usually believe a word that that channel says, they have given a piece of evidence to two that seem pretty strong, such as the skull that the Russians had and claimed to be Hitler's being tested and found to be a females.
Is there actually a decent case for Hitler having survived after WW2, or is this show just more History Channel bullshit like Ancient Aliens?
2 Answers 2015-12-22
Picking up on the theme of the week...
The search function gives me answers to very specific questions, such as why the Romans didn't conquer the rest of the Nile, and why it wasn't feasible or practical for them to cross the Sahara.
That being said, I still wonder what they knew about South-Saharan Africa. Were they aware of the vast Rainforest / Jungle?
Also, the posts so far addressed the problems of venturing into jungle (Malaria, parasites) or across the desert, but what kept them from just sailing along the coast of the Red Sea
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Does anyone have any links or sources?
1 Answers 2015-12-22
It just occured to me that I know a bit about the trade networks down the Red Sea and towards India, but to what extent did such networks exist across the Sahara? The Carthaginians sailed down the coast as far as (maybe) the Congo, but was there trade along that coast? Across the desert?
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Most empires and superpowers end or when they break about or end seem to do so with some level of bloodshed yet not so with the Soviet Union. Was the Yeltsin Bloc that strong?
2 Answers 2015-12-22
Or, I'd be happy to hear about any other interesting methods of fingernail maintenance anywhere in the world pre-clippers.
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It seems as though every movie and television show including Nazis has large elements focused on agents dedicated to taking down the Nazis from within or literal backstabbing to get senior positions.
Is this true or just feeds into out desire to further demonize the Nazis?
1 Answers 2015-12-22
I am particularly interested in 19th Century drummer boys, but an explanation of their origin and role in previous eras would also be appreciated, if possible.
According to a preliminary search, the drums were also used as vital tools for battlefield communication but it sounds impractical in a scenario where cannons and gunfire are erupting, wheras other methods (flags and signals) wouldn't suffer from this caveat.
1 Answers 2015-12-22
Hi!
I am reading War and Peace, and I am realizing that I'd probably get more out of the book if I had some idea of how the Napoleonic Wars panned out. I'd also be interested in a biography of Napoleon, if that could be considered more appropiate. I am a big fan of biographies, especially Truman and The Years of Lyndon Johnson.
Thanks a lot!
EDIT: On second thought, if a book could describe both the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon's life in detail, that would be best, but two different books for each subject would also be good. Thank you very much for reading.
2 Answers 2015-12-22
From the 1988 article 'The Origins of the Pacific War' in the Journal of Interdisciplinary History:
Which was more accurate: the view that the United States was unlikely to go to war over European colonial possessions, or the [Japanese] navy's position that American intervention was too probable to make the "southward advance" an advisable policy? If one examines the available evidence, it is difficult to avoid the con- clusion that the United States would not have gone to war in the summer of 1940 had the Japanese restricted their attack to the British and Dutch colonies. Unbeknown to Tokyo, on 23 May 1940 the United States' senior political and military officials re- viewed strategic policy in light of the anticipated German victory against France and determined (according to General George Mar- shall's notes of the meeting) that "we must not become involved with Japan, that we must not concern ourselves beyond the I 80th meridian, and that we must concentrate on the South American situation."
The Roosevelt administration, nonetheless, sought to prevent Japanese expansion into Southeast Asia through the use of the two diplomatic tools it had available to influenceJapan: the threat of an oil embargo and the threat of military intervention. After considerable debate and confusion, the administration decided in July 1940 not to impose an oil embargo on the grounds that such a drastic step might provoke the very action-a Japanese attack on the oil fields of the Dutch East Indies-that the United States sought to deter.l"ith respect to military threats, however, the United States was willing to let the Japanese believe that the United States Navy was poised to interfere in any Japanese move south. 111 May 1940, the United States fleet was ordered to remain at Pearl Harbor rather than return to its regular, less vulnerable bases along the West Coast. The private expla~lationgiven for this action, by Admiral Harold Stark, chief of naval operations, to Admiral James 0.Richardson, the commanding officer, de- serves to be quoted at length:
Why are you in the Hawaiian area?
Answer: You are there because of the deterrent effect which it is thought your presence may have on the Japs going into the East Indies . . .
. . . Suppose the Japs do go into the East Indies? What are we going to do about it? My answer to that is, I don't know, and I think there is nobody on God's green earth who can tell you.
I would point out one thing, and that is even if the decision here were for the U.S. to take no decisive action if the Japs should decide to go into the Dutch East Indies, we must not breathe it to a soul, as by so doing we would completely nullify the reason for your presence in the Hawaiian area. Just remember that the Japs don't know what we are going to do, and so long as they don't know, they may hesitate or be deterred.
edit: It's fine that people are responding to the overall argument of the article (the Japanese decision to attack the US was rational), very interesting comments so far. I'm curious about the quoted section though: does the best available evidence suggest that the US would not have gone to war with Japan had Japan merely conquered British and Dutch colonial possessions?
2 Answers 2015-12-22
I was reading the infamous reply and I became curious about some of the insults they used. The reply reads:
O sultan, Turkish devil and damned devil's kith and kin, secretary to Lucifer himself. What the devil kind of knight are you, that can't slay a hedgehog with your naked arse? The devil excretes, and your army eats. You will not, you son of a bitch, make subjects of Christian sons; we've no fear of your army, by land and by sea we will battle with thee, fuck your mother.
You Babylonian scullion, Macedonian wheelwright, brewer of Jerusalem, goat-fucker of Alexandria, swineherd of Greater and Lesser Egypt, pig of Armenia, Podolian thief, catamite of Tartary, hangman of Kamyanets, and fool of all the world and underworld, an idiot before God, grandson of the Serpent, and the crick in our dick. Pig's snout, mare's arse, slaughterhouse cur, unchristened brow, screw your own mother!
So the Zaporozhians declare, you lowlife. You won't even be herding pigs for the Christians. Now we'll conclude, for we don't know the date and don't own a calendar; the moon's in the sky, the year with the Lord, the day's the same over here as it is over there; for this kiss our arse!
Were the highlighted statements things that would have been considered insults of the time? Was there a stereotype that Macedonians were bad wheelwrights? That Podolians were prone to thievery? Etc.
2 Answers 2015-12-22
A friends last name is Eacho/Eachos and they have no clue where it is from and no one in their family knows either.
1 Answers 2015-12-22
Good day,
I would like a history lesson? What exactly are the differences? Did India exist as two different/seperate clans/cultures in the past and it somehow melded into one? If so, how come both practice hinduism yet have distinct differences in language? And yet their practices and culture seem similar? How does this tie to north/south differences?
2 Answers 2015-12-22