The majority of Earth's population follows one of the Abrahamic religions. Starting as the value system / religious ideas of the Jewish people in a remote corner of the world, Abrahamic religion has converted the planet's peoples almost like a tidal wave. Was its success rooted in specific political events (e.g. adoption by Rome), or do these religions have specific qualities potent for conversion?

Give me anything you got really. This is quite intriguing.

I've left the time of sailing and type of sailor unrestrained but let's take for an example the following question: what kind of crass language might a pirate in Nassau in the early 1700s use? How could one literally curse like a sailor?

For a long time the walls of Constantinople have stood firm against a wide variety of invaders. It's walls have been widely appreciated for their advanced design and successfulness of course this is not to say that they are the only factor that made Constantinople hard to besiege.

But what I'm curious for is if any European powers made efforts to emulate these walls. After all, according to some, Charlemagne tried to emulate Constantinople by the building of his coty Aachen. With the rise of the cities and the subsequent taking of Constantinople in 1204 it wouldn't be surprising if anyone took some inspiration from their walls.

The "little-known fact" that the vomitorium was not actually where Roman went to make themselves sick so they could keep eating is by now common knowledge. Outside of this, however, would the Romans, or at least, certain Romans, truly eat to the point of vomiting and then just keep going? I recall in Seneca's Letters from a Stoic him recording his utter disgust at the sort of people who did that: was this something that actually happened, or might this just be a scurrilous rumour about some particularly immoral character that Seneca heard and wanted to believe?

I've heard that writing was invented in temples in Mesopotamia, basically for bookkeeping. How accurate is that? And how does it compare with the invention of other writing systems--Chinese, Egyptian, etc.? Did astrology play any role in the development of writing in Mesopotamian/Mediterranean cultures?

I just recently finished this book, and Clark seems to make a point of upending a lot of 'conventional wisdom' about the origins of the war, such as the inevitability of the decline of Austria-Hungary, the bully/victim narrative of the A-H/Serbia relationship, etc.

Particularly striking to me was the assertion that French and Russian statesmen created a 'trigger' for a general European war in Balkans by vowing to back Serbian interests against Austria-Hungary without regard for both the legitimacy of Austrian grievances and the bad faith of Serbian actors. As I interpret it, Clark's claim is more or less that France and Russia planned for war, crafted a plausible mechanism it's initiation, and then successfully manipulated the narrative of the July Crisis to ensure they were not painted as the aggressors.

Am I interpreting Clark correctly? Are these conclusions accepted by other historians of WWI, and are there critiques of Clark's research or interpretations? I'd appreciate any insight.

My friend keeps making the seemingly ignorant and unresearched argument that following the use of internment camps in WW2 there were no or very limited instances of Japanese sabotage or espionage in the continental US. I'm curious if this is true or not? And your opinions if this was more of a correlation without any causation.

Thanks

Monday is named after the Moon

Tuesday comes from Tiw

Wednesday comes from Woden

Thursday comes from Thor

Friday comes from Frige

Saturday comes from Saturn

and Sunday is named after the Sun

Why did the Church not change the days to more Christian names? Is there a direct reason did the names stick or was an attempt never made?

after 1 metric fuck-ton of reading, I understand that Germany's population size, national philosophies, and geographical position made it THE force in Europe during WWII, but how does a fully armed Germany stand up by itself? What were some aspects of the Wermacht that made them such a threat to giants like Russia and badasses like France?

I read a really good NY Times article around 2012, about this guy - I think it was called "An Uncommon Enemy" or something like that, and had an illustration of a Japanese Zero alongside a moth of some sort. Supposedly, Yamamoto was an admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and was in charge of the Pearl Harbor attack. But allegedly, he also was against Imperial Japan going to war with the US, and also attended much of his education in the US, before WWII. I recall him even admiring Abraham Lincoln. Is any of this true?

Well obviously probably slave/black related legislation, but what about other legislation?

How often did working class men shave in the 19th century? How often would they go to a barber? I'm assuming the barber was not an every day thing for most guys. Did they shave at home every morning?

When did BCE (before common era) and CE (common era) come into use for western historical dating? Growing up I remember only seeing BC/AD in use (regardless of private or public) until I got to highschool (mid 2000s).

As for the reason these dating terms are used, I assume it has to do with secularization, which sort of seems silly because you are still defining the "common era" with the birth of Christ. But this is beside the point.

When did these more secular/pc terms come into use? I am generally curious. Is it recent, or has it been done for a while?

Indian here, studying U.S. Politics. From what I gather, Marbury v Madison case gave the U.S. Supreme Court the power to declare any law unconstitutional. How could the Supreme Court give itself this power, that they didn't have. Wouldn't it be unconstitutional? How did the other branches, Legislative and Executive react to this?

Would be happy to hear answers that are not the absolute oldest or most authoritative as well.

I'd love to hear what the situation was like. Was it controversial to have them back? Were they severely reprimanded or prejudiced against? Did many not return in protest? Was the capitol incredibly tense?

Issuing Letters of Marque is an enumerated power of Congress in the US Constitution. Can anyone explain how this worked in practice in the time period around the quasi-war with France or the War of 1812?

If I were a trader in Savannah or Charleston ca. 1813, would I buy/upgrade cannons for my sloop, recruit a crew, write a letter to my Congressman, and then set sail for the Caribbean to harass British shipping? Would a private individual have issues accumulating weapons (and from where?) or sailing a warship in-and-out of US ports? Was it viewed as a patriotic endeavor?

Or were privateers more likely to be opportunistic stateless individuals who already possessed all of the above and acquired a Letter of Marque out of convenience?