What made me start thinking bout it is that sometimes when things go wrong and don't have an immediate obvious explanation, I jokingly say things like "probably a demon" or "probably a ghost"--stuff I don't believe in or ascribe to at all. I've also used those statements in text and it made me realize that someone who doesn't know me could believe I was an occultist or hugely spiritual or some other such person. In turn that made me think about the place of such notions in history and that what if some of the people in history that talked about such things were just making a joke ir being sarcastic. this is all only tangentially related as Im not particularly interested in historical sincere beliefs on demons, ghost, or the supernatural. I'm just interested in how such a linguistic tool as sarcasm is known to ave been used through time.

I find it fascinating looking at history and seeing either the success or failure of countries made up of various peoples. Politics come and go, but ethnic identities stick around much longer. I wonder,what makes certain nations either better or doomed when their makeup is diverse?

There seem to be some good examples of this. I'm sure the comparisons I make below are not the best. Please let me know if you have better suggestions! However there are some places where different ethnicities and nationalities exist together in relatively stability and general harmony. There are also certain places that do not have any long lasting pan-nationality.

Some good examples of Stick-togethers are;

• United States
• Germany/Holy Roman Empire
• Ethiopia

Some good examples of break-ups are;

• Austria-Hungary
• Yugoslavia (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
• Kalmar Union

Some exceptions to everything

• China (mainly after the Qin conquest in the Warring States period)
• Rome (interpret as you feel like, they make and break the rules)
• Ottoman Empire

I guess the larger question is did decades in centuries past have identities like they did in the 1900's?

I'm afraid I'm not even sure how to ask the question correctly hence quotes. I know that there are several different peoples. I tried to look some up but apparently the names for the two largest groups are in debate. The Khoisan and the San (Bushmen) terms are considered offensive by some and simply incorrect by others.

My question is why these groups chose to continue their ancestral traditions into modern times. I also want to know what factors have allowed them to continue to exist in this manner.

May sound silly but I really want to know. Hundreds of years ago, did people/royalty go to the beach to spend time, bathe in the sun? What were beaches called earlier?

Occasionally, I see people, even historians, use the term "barbarian" to describe various groups of people throughout history, commonly including but not limited to the Germanic Tribes, Gauls, Celts (in the context of Ancient Roman history), as well as the Huns, Mongols, and Xiongnu.

So I guess my question can be broken up into a couple of parts:

1. In any serious discussion of history, would it be proper to use the term "barbarian" to describe certain groups of people? Is there a value judgement implied in calling a particular group "barbarians?"

2. If so, what makes a group "barbarians?" Lack of urbanization? Technological disparity?

3. If not, what would be a better term to use? Stateless people? Or do we even need a term at all?

I think by 1700, they are already westernized, and have massive manpower reserves, so why did they not push to Eastern Europe such as in Balkans?

Hi there, I'm new to this sub, but could use some help. I'm currently working on an English assignment, which is pretty much a 30 minute presentation on a topic of my choosing, as long as it relates to one of the novels we have been reading. My teacher is pretty lenient with this, and since I'm Canadian, I've never gotten the chance to learn much about Columbus. I've chosen to take a look at Columbus and the first contact with the First Nations peoples. Now this is where the help comes in, for my project, I need to conduct at least 2 interviews, either through e-mail or phone. I was hoping that someone on this sub could help me out and answer a few questions for me. Please let me know if you could help me out. Thanks in advance!

Hello.

As far as I know, these three empires were built by Persians but I met someone who claims that Meds, Parthians and Sasanids were Kurds and these empires belongs to Kurdish history. Is he correct ?

Was someone investing in their work or was aeronautical research and decelopment within their financial reach? (Someone asked a functionally identical question nine months ago, but it did not garner any replies, so I thought I would try again.)

Does it have any resemblance to the real thing or is it just a cinematic invention?

Many years ago my brother told me that in WW1, machine guns were used as indirect fire support. Is there any truth to this or was my brother talking out of his ass?

And if they were used. How common or effective were they? Were such tactics continued all the way until WW2?

I looked at his wikipedia page and all it says is that he was smuggled through Japanese lines. Then what? He magically appeared in California with the rest of his crew?

He never talked about the war. He passed away 8 years ago and yesterday my grandma gave me his Marine Pin and is going to give me a vile of sand/ash he collected while there. All I know he was one of the first to get on the island because he had to lay communication lines. What would his experience be like? Would he really have been one of the first on the island? What entails laying down the lines? Thanks!

I've heard of differentiating wine based on region, but were there individual and labeled bottles for individual vintners?

Were there different brands of garum that were packaged in such a way that the consumer could tell them apart?

Would individual shopkeepers in Rome have some way of marking/packaging their wares so that others could see that you bought that candle from so-and-so?