I know of books about the CIA and SIS, but what about other intelligence services not necessarily in the Anglosphere, or lesser well know ones?

Hi /r/askhistorians! I stumbled across a stamp on a post card (not a paid stamp, this is like an ink stamp) referencing an organization called "Monda Ligo". Other than a few random Google Books results and Ebay listings, there is nothing I can find about this organization. The stamp says "Monda Ligo" inside of it, and includes an insignia that says "Correspondence & Exchange Club". The insignia includes two earths side by side with a letter in between. I can gather that it may have been a club devoted to stamp collecting, but that is about it. Does anyone know what Monda Ligo is??

Hello, sorry if I have phrased this wrong. In either case, What was the ranking(Non-Com) system like for enlisted soldiers? I don't need an explanation on how the modern or say post vietnam era ranking system works.

I have a bit of past Army experience myself..so I understand Modern Non-Com and Commissioned officers and how that works.

Specifically, I would appreciate any info on how the Tech Specialist/NCO thing worked. I see they had Spec 4,5 and etc.
They had sergeants and tech sergeants at one point?

Did they have a warrior leadership course..did they even have promotion boards in that time period?

Also, I have read articles and the like that state of multiple soldiers going from like Corporal to 1st LT. What factors or influences allowed this to happen? Thanks Much.

Hey Reddit. I need some help. As my title states, Why was Trench Warfare Significant? What was it? How did it affect the world and warfare? Where did it originate? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you! :)

A book I'm reading says; "In the Ottoman Empire, Western European traders former colonies within the city of Constantinople where they were granted commercial privileges" the time period is 17th-18th century. Can anyone give me some more information about this?

Were there any fears that he would go in a conquering spree like his uncle? Were preparations made just in case?

I noticed how "Latin" countries have some kind of pork-meat connection when it comes to cured meat (jamon serrano, prosciutto crudo, etc.), is this the effect of the Roman heritage? Is it later? Why are they so common between two countries without a shared border (granted, Spain had parts of Italy for centuries)?

Coming from a background in Classics, I initially assumed there’d be a large pool of evidence for (and high scholarly interest in) Byzantine homosexuality, but after a year of graduate-level study I’ve never seen either scholars or historical sources talk about it for more than a sentence or two, usually to say it was illegal. This seems very odd.

Do any modern scholars address this topic? Are there any Byzantine sources that mention homosexual behavior? I know that eunuchs were often accused of homosexuality - though again, I’m not sure in exactly which sources - but presumably this implies that there were bearded parties involved as well? (Do I even dare ask about women?)

If the Nazis were so oriented on destroying things like art why didn't they destroy British monuments?

In Louis Zamperini's autobiography Devil At My Heels, it's mentioned a few times that the Imperial Army kept professional prostitutes to look after the men's sexual needs.

Did this actually happen? Was it an officially organized practice? Where did they recruit the women? Are there any other armies where this happened?

The Aethelbert Laws #10 and 11 say "Gif man wið cyninges mægdenman geligeþ, L. scillinga gebete." and "Gif hio grindende þeowa sio, XXV. scillinga gebete. Sio þridde XII. scillingas." This translates to "If a man lies with a maiden belonging to the king, he shall pay 50 shillings compensation." and "If she is a grinding slave, he shall pay 25 shillings compensation. [If she is of the] third [class], [he shall pay] 12 shillings compensation." This reference to classes of slaves appears in many of laws by various Anglo-Saxon Kings. Does anyone know what the classes of slaves were? racially, if the top slaves are ex-freemen, or more skilled, etc.

What did the council of indies and viceroyaltys actually do? How did they govern?

when did chiefs appear? in neolithic age? chiefs were always men? as i know patriarchy is from bronze age. which is earlier - appearing of chiefs or patriarchy?

I was reading about how Caligula ordered the death of Ptolemy of Mauretania on stephaniedray.com and she states this:

"We are traditionally told that after having been invited to Rome in 40 CE, Selene’s son appeared in the arena with his cousin, the emperor, while wearing a splendid cloak. This was undoubtedly a purple cloak because Mauretania was famed for its Gaetulian purple dye industry. The Mauretanian royal family would have flaunted that purple for all it was worth. However, purple was the color of royalty. Certainly, as Cleopatra VII’s grandson, Ptolemy would have had more royal blood in his little finger than the emperor had in his whole body–and that may have been the problem. As the legend goes, Caligula didn’t take kindly to the idea that anyone should wear royal purple better than he did, and descended upon his first cousin in a murderous rage."

How accurate is the bolded sentence? I thought Caligula himself was a melting pot of royal blood