It is popular among some Jewish communities to claim that, because of things like dietary restrictions, Jews have gotten the historical jump on science. Ie. Jews can't eat shellfish -> shellfish can be bad for you -> less Jews die. I've heard the same for things like STDs and heart condititions.

Recently I heard this taken a step further, when a speaker at an event I was attending claimed in passing that European Jews were generally spaired during the black plague. Is there any truth to this?

Not including extremely prehistoric times, how far back does this trade go in West Africa? I thought that Trans-Saharan trade was completely impossible, or at the most, exceedingly rare before about 700 AD when organized expeditions using camels, keeping detailed topgraphic information about water supplies and so forth began to happen. I know the camel became common in north western Africa in the third century AD. Anyway, I'm not sure HOW trade could happen before these very well organized trading companies set up shop. Wouldn't it be a death sentence to A. not have camels, and B. not know the land very well, while trying to get from north Africa all the way to the point were the Sahara turns into forest? I don't mean trade within the Sahara, I mean trade (or movement of persons) all the way past the Sahara. I can see how trade or movement could happen via the ocean, but not directly through the Sahara. Anyway, I'm not sure about this and I'd like to know.

I'm referring to the line

"For sure, it's Enkidu, born in the uplands, his strength is as mighty as a rock from the sky."

in the Andrew George Translation (Tablet II, 40). Is it actually mentioning a meteorite? Would people have understood that there were rocks that came from space? What are other historical mentions of such things? Would appreciate any and all insight!

I'm afraid this question might be a bit dumb, but here goes. Who's idea was it to convert the vikings? What kind of people went there? Was it a command from the pope? How resistant were they?

I understand Pan-Germanism was widespread in Germany and Austria. What happened to it after the war? Did Germans/Austrians just forget about it save for a few neo-Nazis?

I'm curious if anyone tried to build a non-Nazi, democratic Pan-Germanist movement or it was already ruined forever.

I've also seen this quote attributed to Hamilcar, so my apologies if I'm getting that part wrong.

Hello,

I'm a History major with a concentration in United States History. I saw an advisor last week, and credit to him he told me the field is going to get worse before it gets better. He gave me a lot of practical advice to think about, and told me the field is like a pyramid shape. He also told me it's not enough to be good you need to be great.

That's fine. I have exceedingly high expectations and standards for myself.

My interest primarily lies in writing - books or research perhaps, so how difficult is the field exactly? Thank you for your time.

We obviously have rather rigorous standards of fitness today, but how did that translate two to three hundred years ago? Much of it today seems to be based around cardio, was this true back then? Given that a lot of it was walking as opposed to running, was this still emphasised? Could, for example, people with asthma join the military? There are dozens of questions to be asked so this is a relatively open question and I appreciate any answers to any relevant questions!

How did these relations continue and how did they change from before World War II into the Cold War? Also, any links to informative documentaries and sources are much appreciated!

I just got back from a trip to Eastern Europe and Turkey, and walking around Bucharest my wife asked me, "if the economy was mostly state-controlled under communism, what was in all the storefronts?" Bucharest has lots of buildings downtown with tons of storefronts/restaurants/pubs/etc... Just wondering if there were privately owned restaurants and shops, or was everything more or less run by the state?

Rome during the reign of Augustus built up a massive standing army that was almost constantly engaged in border struggles with the 'barbarians' in the West and the Parthians in the East for the next several hundred years. I've been reading a lot recently about the training, organisation, equipment etc. of the army but now I'm really curious about what service was like for a typical soldier from the reign of Augustus through to the Crisis of the third century. What, if any, combat would a Roman legionary who signed up for a minimum 25 year stint and possibly additional time afterwards have seen? Would he have been involved in a lot of small-scale skirmishing on the frontier? What were the odds of being part of a campaign personally commanded by the emperor? Would he have been involved in many pitched battles? Sieges? Raids?