1. How was the average Byzantine soldier equipped say around 700-800 AD? I know a Roman Soldier of the Empire during the Pax Romana would have a Gladius, Scutum shield, 1-2 Pila, a Pugio dagger, and wear Lorica Segmentata. How was a Byzantine soldier different?

2. How did the Byzantine soldiers fight compared to the Romans, and their contemporaries, in terms of tactics.

3. Was the fall of Constantinople similar to the fall of Rome? Was there pillaging and raping, and destruction of historical places and artifacts, or was it more of a peaceful occupation by the Ottomans?

4. I often hear the Byzantines described as the center of arts, learning, and culture in Medieval Europe. Did they have any famous orators or poets like the Romans did, such as Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, or Pliny?

Edit: Changed Western Empire to Empire during the Pax Romana

Just curious what he was up to for the 12 years in between the signing of the Declaration and his presidential election. Thanks!

I'm interested in history, but I don't study it. What I know of battle probably all comes from choreographed scenes in films and TV programmes, where each man fights another man and occasionally one man is free to save a friend from mortal injury.

But what I've always been curious about is what was it actually like to be on a battlefield, with a sword or shield or whatever, and fighting? Were there minor tactics at that stage or was it a rumble? Did the men at the back have to wait for the men at the front to fall, or could they charge past and pick out their own combatant? Were one-on-one matches over in seconds or could two men with swords work on each other for many minutes? Was it a deafening roar or was it eerily quiet save for the sound of metal upon metal? Were men who were wounded but not dead, left to live out their days disabled, or was there not that level of honour? Did all units go in at once, or were some kept back to replace the tired ones later on? Would a man rest for 10 minutes before going back in, or was it non-stop, til you drop, sort of stuff? Etc.

I know some factors will be culture-based and each battle different, but I'm assuming the basics of battle didn't change for hundreds of years. I'd also be interested in reading some good true first-hand accounts, if anyone knows any. Are there any unusual stories about things that happened on the battlefield?

I understood that the founding fathers wanted to create a secular state and did not want to create the USA as a christian nation. Recently in a class I was bombarded by students saying "Under God" is in the constitution; while I highly doubt it I wanted to corroborate with the experts. Please I will ask for you to leave a reference as your answer as this information will need evidence.

Early 15th century Burgundy seems like a pretty culturally diverse place, and I know the term "German" might not have been what people identified as then. What I'm really asking is, did Burgundy, by the 1420's, hold any geographically German areas, in that they would have considered themselves more citizens of the HRE than France? I might be completely off the mark here, and the case might be that everyone in Burgundy considered themselves "Burgundians" and/or vassals of the French Crown. If that's the case then so be it, but if not, what provinces/regions of Burgundy considered themselves, or would we consider today, more German than French? Sorry for the loaded question in advance.

How*

Anyway, I know TVs were something "cool" that one neighbour might be jealous of another for having, were other appliances the same way?

I know this might be one for /r/etymology but thought you guys might be able to help me out (and yes I do mean 'fuck' but didn't want to put in in the title). I have heard three different versions.

• It is from the Tudor period where it stood for 'Fornication Under Command of the King.'
• It is from the Victorian period where prostitutes would be charged 'For the Use of Carnal Knowledge.'
• It is rooted in the German word frichen (to strike)

Are any of these right?

In films, photos, and literature of the world wars, soldiers are depicted as wearing canvas leggings above their boots. What was the exact purpose of these?

Okay so France has shutters (mostly wooden), Germany has shutters (more metal now but also wooden), Switzland has shutters, Italy has shutters in the north, they are a great way to keep the heat in/protect window/security but British homes have no shutters (at least as far as I have seen). This may be an inane question but it bugs me as the British climate is really suited to having shutters!

And how effective was it? If this wasn't common, were there any other effective ways of integrating conquered territory?

Like what kind of technology or tactics helped the Allies and did the Nazi soldiers slip up in any way

Hi everyone, really new to reddit, but I seem to of found some great info for a project I have been given although, I am looking for something I little more specific. I am in need of how the crusades communicated, both with other ships and with main land personnel. I'm looking at an over all with the crusades so 1096-1270, but more specificity the first crusade from 1096-1099. Thank you in advance for any and all help with this,

Once Serbia had managed to gain political capital in Vojvodina, Kosovo and Montenegro, it still faced 4-4 deadlocked votes in the Yugoslavian system. It seems like tactically, allowing Slovenia to secede would have given Serbia a political advantage; economically, the importance of Serbian natural resources to Slovenian industry would have meant they would not have risked losing a trade partner; and legally, it seems like it would have bolstered precedence for Krajina's secession from Croatia.

I'm not an expert in this period of history so forgive me if I've overlooked obvious details.

I saw a documentary on the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot in particular.

In it, one survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime said that he spoke with Pol Pot during the leader's imprisonment - and that Pot was genuinely surprised to hear that his people "no longer sang," that is, they were to depressed and downtrodden to express much of anything. The survivor spoke with Pot more, and implied that Pol Pot really thought his people were living in a paradise.

Is there any evidence to suggest Pot had convinced himself his people were happy? Are there any other leaders that may have suffered from similarly intense delusions, if they happened?

As a typical American I know next to nothing about the cultural differences between coastal asian countries. I'm probably a bit racist, but I can't see the difference between Cantonese and Kana. They just look like hieroglyphics to me.

It seems most modern day European and American countries share a common background based in Latin (after the dust settled anyway), but I don't even know what system the current Asian languages are based on. Can someone give me a Cliff notes history of the (coastal) Asian continent?

A few more specific thoughts on the matter:

Were there any legal challenges that a woman faced when plying her trade?

What was the social stigma towards a prostitute? How about a john?

How much of a difference would there be for a lower class working girl compared to one with a higher end clientele?

The Victorian Era spans a very long time, so how much of a change was there between the early period, and the waning years?

Excluding those that had an obvious bias (such as Communism, Anarchism, and so on).