Was at a concert recently and starting wondering when people decided to ride on top of other people to get close to the stage. Also, when did performers doing stage dives become a thing?

EDIT: Bad at grammar.

Were similar amounts of troops or ships involved? Was there similar use of special troops like paratroopers? Did it take similar amounts of time for the Allies to break away from the beach head?

Were they the same warrior culture during the Trojan War that they were during the Peloponnesian War and at Thermopylae?

I understand that naming the composers broadens the question, but I used them as examples, implying that I am interested in understanding if history, if at all, influences the generations of new music styles or writing of music.

Many Biblical names were changed to more Anglicized versions, and a lot of them are commonly used in the Anglosphere today. Abraham's real name was Avraham, and his sons were Yitzhak and Yaakov, not Isaac and Jacob. Moses was in fact named Moshe. Other examples include Jonathan (Yonatan), Benjamin (Binyamin), Jesse (Yishai), Joseph (Yosef), etc.

Can anyone explain why the changes were done, and who did them?

Obviously the Greek and later Roman world made enormous contributions to what we would come to call "western civilization", but had the Persians conquered those parts of Europe, would the world really have been worse off?

From what I've heard slavery was largely outlawed in the Persian Empire, and the empire in general was more egalitarian than Spartan and Greek society. Is there any truth to this? If slavery was outlawed in Persia, why do stories like 300 portray Xerxes army consisting almost entirely of slaves?

Or did they keep an oral history of where they came from?

Company of Heroes 2 has a British sniper using a Boys rifle to take out everything from infantry to light tanks. To me, it seems like a "historical backport" to give players a 1940s Barrett. I've never come across a mention of the Boys being used like this in any sniper accounts (including Captain Shore's account). I'm not sure if I've missed anything though. Can anyone else throw some light onto this?

How is a plate armor going to protect a two handed swords or axe just use a shield

The Russian Black Sea Fleet was superior to the Ottomans if I recall correctly. Did the Ottomans have Defensive gun emplacements? Did the Russians have fuel or ammo shortages that prevented them from attacking?

I've heard of burial sites and archeological digs coming across radioactive items and bodies, and surely ancient peoples would have had encountered examples of uranium on the surface. Did any of the ancient peoples have a concept of radiation poisoning and it's cause?

Hi guys I'm new to this, I was just curious about some of the deeper root causes to the Salem witch trials.

I know the Coptic Christian church of Ethiopia is one of the oldest churches in Christendom, did this Christianity play any role in why Ethiopia was not colonized? I know the Italians made an effort beginning in the mid 1930's, but in the 19th century's scramble for Africa, Ethiopia seems relatively unscathed compared to other African nations. Was Ethiopia seen favourably for its religious similarities to the West, or by extension of that was it seen as sinful to colonize/conquer fellow Christians? I do not know much about Ethiopian history (for all I know maybe there were serious colonization efforts), but it would be interesting to see if religious similarities played a role. Any and all information is greatly appreciated.

When the Romans hosted games or plays, were there any kind of tickets or entrance fees? How were these managed? Were seats numbered or was it first come first served?

What is the reason there is so may countries with this name, is there a specific historical reason for this?

[deleted]

Today's topic was inspired by /u/jedilibrarian and /u/caffarelli, though I have modified the premise a bit.

Anniversaries and public holidays are hugely influential in bringing historical events to public consciousness.

As a demonstration of this, I would direct readers to check out /r/wwi and view a sample of the many articles about the ongoing centennial commemorations for that war, and the debates about how it should be remembered.

With this in mind, how do historians interact with commemorative holidays? Is the increased attention a chance to reach out and engage the public in a discussion about history? Do round number anniversaries offer a chance to step back and reassess the meaning of an event?

Does a focus on anniversaries or specific days privilege topics that can be neatly dated, like battles and wars, over harder to date movements such as labor history or women's suffrage?

Also, how do historians deal with holidays originally intended to celebrate a person or event, where popular sentiment is now ambivalent or critical? I am thinking specifically of Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, or Washington and Lee day in Virginia.

Hey guys, just realized that i don't know the first thing about anarchy. Can someone recommend me a good introdutory book and tell me where in history those thinkers had a strong role?

Hello,

Currently writing a paper about the Battle of the White Mountain ( 1620 ) I was reading about Emperor Ferdinand II so I could introduce him as a protagonist of the coming war. However I have so far read contradictory elements about him.

I know he was close to the Jesuits ( his confessor, Lamormaini was a member of the Jesuit order ) and was educated by the Jesuits but I read ( in the same article! ) that he lacked perspicacity when exercising power and was very much influenced by his councilors while at the time he worked a lot to increase his own power, as sovereign of all his various titles, and thus leading the path towards absolutism. This seems a bit contradictory ....

So what was he ? A puppet in the hands of his council ? From what I gathered I don't think so. I have the impression he knew very well who he was and certainly did not lack insight about what was going on especially in religious matters, being a devout Catholic.

To clarify things according to the rules, this is indeed homework related which is however not about Ferdinand II himself. It's just that he is a protagonist of the topic I'm working and I would like to understand what part he played ( himself ! ) in the escalation of violence in Bohemia.