AskHistorians Archive Observer

When and where was bread first made?

Well, I was wondering, bread has been a very common food for a long time, and it is quite easy to make, which makes me think it is one of the first 'elaborated' meals ever. But when was it invented?

In another - but related - topic, the first records we have of food with multiple ingredients date to when (and where)?

2 Answers 2015-10-24

Resources on Tudor knitting?

A good friend of mine liked to knit, and is extremely interested in Tudor history, so I was thinking that a discussion of Tudor-era knitting or collection of patterns or some such would make a great gift.

2 Answers 2015-10-24

Was it possible to be a ruler in Early Modern Europe without engaging in war?

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1 Answers 2015-10-23

What kind of venerable relics were known, transported or "used" during the second crusade by the crusaders?

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1 Answers 2015-10-23

When the Anglo-Saxons Kings were first converting to Christianity were most of the peasants still pagan for a while after, or had they already mostly converted?

Basically which level of society converted first?

2 Answers 2015-10-23

Why didn't Neodameis (freed Helots) rebel against their Spartan commanders?

I read that Agesilus II brought a few thousand freed Helots with him to Asia Minor to fight as soldiers. If the Helots truly hated the Spartans why wouldn't they just mutiny?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

Have any world governments or organizations (UN, specifically) had any formal plans/instructions in the event of aliens openly visiting earth?

TITLE SAYS IT ALL, FOLKS

3 Answers 2015-10-23

In history class, there was a general concensus that, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Western Europe would not recover culturally or intellectually until the Renaissance. Is this actually the case?

Just a curious question I had. 1000 years seems like quite a long recovery.

1 Answers 2015-10-23

When did human beings start wearing clothing?

I'm not entirely sure if this is the right sub for this kind of question, as it may pertain more to an anthropologist or someone better learned in human evolution, but when exact did human beings feel the need to clothe themselves?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

When were the secret police in the United States started?

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1 Answers 2015-10-23

How damaging was victory in WW2 for the Soviet Union?

I'm not much of a history buff myself, but am throwing caution to the wind and taking a unit in it. A lecturer mentioned with some certainty that the actions of the Soviet Union in WW2 were the beginning of its eventual collapse. I wanted to hear a second opinion, as I was not aware, seeing as the USSR continued in at least some form for another 50 odd years, that its victory left such long lasting damage. Any recommended sources/historians who have an opinion on this, or when the USSR actually began to fall apart (as much as pinning an exact date is possible) would be much appreciated.

1 Answers 2015-10-23

Are there any other books/series like "The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II" covering other parts of the world?

I've never found history interesting until I ran into this book mostly by accident, and ever since I've been looking for equally comprehensive/readable treatments of

East Asia
Rome
Renaissance Europe
Abbasid Caliphates

1 Answers 2015-10-23

Are there any proof that people knew about the sanitary properties of alcohol in contrast to contaminated drinking water from way before people knew about how diseases transmitted?

Should perhaps say evidence in the title.

1 Answers 2015-10-23

In The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, a character mislabels a union army because of dust on their uniform making him believe they are confederates. Did this ever happen in real life?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

Deployment History of the Imperial Japanese Army's 119th Infantry Division?

I have a picture of an IJA soldier from WW2 that shows a WW1 style uniform (with the "bus driver cap") with 23 on his collar blazes.

Looking up the 23rd on Wikipedia it shows that they fought and were defeated in the battle of Nomonhan versus the Soviet Union, then the remnants of it formed the 119th IJA Division.

The 23rd was then reconstituted and in 1944 deployed to the Philippines where it fought the battle of Luzon.

The only problem I have is that my father who was a Marine in WW2, [1st and 3rd Amphibious Corps] (who had this picture in his possession), never fought or went to the Philippines.Looking at his record, he probably got it from either New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, or Okinawa.

So I was trying to determine if anyone here knew of the history of the 119th IJA Division? Or if they had information that parts of the 23rd went somewhere else? (my hunch is this is from the battle of Okinawa)

The other possibility that I have thought of is that this was a picture of a relative of the soldier that my father fought against and subsequently took the picture from.

I will be asking in the Japan subreddit for help as well, but thought I might find some answers here first to help me locate the correct family that this (and one other picture) belong to.

Thanks!

The picture:

Full Size

Zoomed in on Collar

Back of Soldiers Picture

Female

Back of Female photo

Edit: Grammar, and added full picture group.

1 Answers 2015-10-23

What were German plans for Britain if they had successfully occupied the UK in World War 2?

I was reading this Wikipedia page on German-Soviet Axis talks and read the quote about the British Empire, which piqued my interest in what exactly was planned out for the UK had they surrendered to the Axis in WW2.

Thanks for any answers.

3 Answers 2015-10-23

Would executioners be punished if they botched a execution?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

How much were books in 1750?

I was discussing the "Ben Franklin effect" this morning. While Franklin talks about "a certain very scarce and curious book", I am curious about the price of books in general.

How much did books cost in 1750, relative to some metric we might understand today? In particular, how much was a Bible, which I expect was a very common book to own.

2 Answers 2015-10-23

How was Islam viewed in the 20th century?

So with respect to the 20 year rule. My question is asking, was there large anti-Islamic sentiment from the West prior to 9/11.

How did the West react to to other acts commit by Islamic fundamentalist?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

How did the Nazi's reconcile Goebbels's disability with Nazi ideology? Seems like a contradiction. Were physically handicapped people able to work for the Nazi government?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

Did the Holy Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire, both consider themselves 'Roman' at the same time?

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1 Answers 2015-10-23

Once the talkies hit the cinemas, was there any "le wrong generation" style backlash, anybody claiming that sound is ruining films?

1 Answers 2015-10-23

What sort of contemporary writings exist that were written by members of other nations about the Roman Republic/Empire?

I'd probably like to exclude Greece from this as I get the feeling that's kind of common. I was thinking more along the lines of Carthage, Parthia, maybe a Gaulish nation, etc.

1 Answers 2015-10-23

suppose you're a rich roman (AD250) and you decide you're really really fond of one of your slave children and you want to have them educated and made into a normal free roman, like as if they were your own child (legitimate child). how unusual would this be? to what extent is it legally possible?

2 Answers 2015-10-23

Every Muslim-majority state that was once communist (Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo etc) experienced a drop in religious fundamentalism, rarely breeding terrorism or violent theocratic movements. Why the same didn't happen in Yemen, communist for more than 2 decades?

8 Answers 2015-10-23