I'm trying to read up on histories I know little about, for instance I recently read 'The Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare: The Middle Ages' and 'China: a History' by John Keay.

So I'm looking for similar books that give me an outline of the course of wars and conflicts, rather than an in depth study on one conflict. I hope this makes sense.

Thanks a lot.

what exactly is the point of this disctintion , when fetrues of antiqutiy survived into the middle ages, and parts of the middle ages surived into the 1800s.(serfdom)

Or to put it another way: did farmers ever resist selling their land for suburban development?

According to Wikipedia, Prussia and Austria lost 184 men, the French lost 300. How come just a loss of 184 men ruined the invasion of France by Prussia and Austria ?

Hi, I am about to write an novel about a man in the Napoleon era. But one thing really bothers me is that I have absolutely no clue about the army organisation in the Napoleon era. I know the modern army organisation is like Army Group>Army>Corps>Divisions and so on... Is the organisation in the Napoleon era the same? or more simpler? Do they have something special compare to the modern army? How do they arrange their army? If they are fighting in lines, do they have platoons or fire squads? Do all the country organised in the same way?(same arrangement?) . Also, how do generals communicate on the battlefield, or even in a country when they are miles and miles away to commence an operation or a synchronized pincer movement?

I'm not necessarily a "historian" by any means. I acknowledge that several cultures may have had dreadlocks in some form or another before Rastafari. What is the origin of the term "dreadlocks" in African American liberation and Rastafari?

I am white and locked my hair with the freeform method before unknotting them to backcomb them. In a discussion my friends made several claims about the origins.

• My friend said without a link: dreadlocks were originally called that because they were meant to inspire fear in the heart of the white oppressor

• My friend quoted urban dictionary: The name "Dreadlocks" originated on European slave-ships during the middle passage. / The white crews would bring the enslaved Africans up on deck to wash them off. They saw that the thick Hair of the Africans, full of vomit, blood, and shit, had matted into "dreadful locks". / It is therefore offensive and incorrect to refer to the dolltails worn by ignorant white children as Dreadlocks.

• I quoted knottyboy.com: The followers of this [Marcus Garvey's] movement called themselves "Dreads," signifying that they had a dread, fear, or respect for God. Emulating Hindu and Nazarite holymen, these "Dreads" grew matted locks of hair, which would become known to the world as "Dreadlocks" - the hair-style of the Dreads.

Are any of these different stories accurate? Are none of them accurate? What's the true story of the "dread" in dreadlocks?

Is it private companies that also built ships for merchants or monarchy backed shipyards.

Looking for the rise to the fall and the juicy stuff between. I know I know very broad here but anything will do even some fiction as long as it's properly labeled as such. I've been playing a lot of Total War: Rome 2 lately and get a bit of knowledge from it here and there and have always had some interest in the ancient time. I loved the show Spartacus even though you can't say it's historically accurate at all but it took you back to the times.

Also would like to know a decent mythology book for both.

I mean is there any advantage in armor by tying them so high or is it just for the looks? Were metal plates tied to the shins with them?

Edit: Thx for your detailed answers, especially "Tealwisp".

It seems that when learning about antiquity, most "major" cultures had kept other humans as slaves. I've seen slaves mentioned in information about Ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, Vikings, Celts, Mongols, Kongolese (?), Harappans, and probably more.

Were there any ancient civilizations without slaves? How were slaves distinguished from non-slaves? Were there any anti-slavery movements in the ancient world?

I know this is a very broad subject, but I'm interested in learning if every culture has had people they kept as help, and if anyone knows details about life as a slave in any particular civilization/time period. Thank you!

I'm quite the cynical person, and I find it hard to believe, that there never was a sect, that decided to pacify the people by force, so I come here and ask? :)

Title explains it mostly. I find this particular bit of history to be fascinating, but really know very little. Does anyone have a wall of text eli5 or a suggested reading list?