After hearing of Caesar's death, why did Octavian travel to Lupiae then Brundisium instead of straight to Brundisium?

EDIT: Bonus question, how long would the journey have taken?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Why wield your sword in your dominant hand rather than your shield?

Someone I know asserts that you use your dominant hand to wield your shield, and your offhand to wield your sword.

I assert that you would use your dominant hand for your sword because it requires much more finesse to use.

I cannot find any concrete evidence for either side, and I would love to know if there is any sources to back up either assumption. Thank you.

4 Answers 2014-10-05

The fairy tales of Charles Perrault and of Hans Christian Andersen are, at times, downright grim. At what point has the popular attitude about what is most appropriate for children been inverted and why?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Roman military historians, are there any major misconceptions about the Roman army that are taught/believed as fact?

5 Answers 2014-10-05

How are ancient/lost scripts like cuneiform and hieroglyphs deciphered?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Did Imperial Japan really believe it could win America in WW2?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

How did horses first get domesticated?

How did they catch the first ones? How did they train them?

2 Answers 2014-10-05

Was Mahatma Gandhi really racist against Blacks and Muslims? IF this really is true, did he change his views later on in his life?

2 Answers 2014-10-05

What are some of the most interesting aviation or nuclear experiments post-WW2?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Why is the cross the symbol for Christianity?

Why would early Christians choose to make the method of their savior a destruction they symbol for his worship? Was it because of Constantine, and the sign he had on his shields?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Is it worth reading Gibbons' "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"?

I want to learn more about the decline of the Western Roman Empire and I thought that reading Gibbons' work would be a good start.

Would it be a waste of time though? As in, is it outdated? And if so, what books would you recommend ?

2 Answers 2014-10-05

What social class would a Lord of the Manor fall under in feudal England?

Would they have been considered gentry, or aristocracy, or something else altogether?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Was the rise of illuminated manuscripts and increased focus on the written word in late/post-Antiquity Europe influenced by the already existing calligraphic practices of the Islamic world?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

What are some unique physical characteristics of the United States Constitution?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Do we have any idea how close modern operatic vocal style is to what it was in past times?

I've noticed that opera singers sound somewhat different in early recordings than they do now. I know that poor recording quality is a factor, but I still think you can tell a difference beyond that. For example, in this 1911 recording of Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì, she has a "squeaky" voice quality that I can't imagine being acceptable in modern opera.

If singing style has changed that much in 1 century, how different might it have been 2 or 3 centuries ago? Obviously there was no recording technology in the 18th or early 19th centuries, but do we have any other clues to show us how singing styles might have been different?

EDIT: Before someone assumes that I am suggesting that modern opera is qualitatively "better" than it was in 1911--I am not. I'm simply pointing out a shift in cultural aesthetic taste.

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Were there any blatantly hibernophobic essayists?

There were cartoonists that supported hibernophobia and irish essayists that contested racism, but during the 17th-19th centuries were there any writers who were vehemently prejudiced against irishmen in their writings?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

The Haitian Revolution is often described as "history's only successful slave revolt." Is this accurate?

Given that the institution of slavery persisted on the island after the French were forced off, should the revolution really be described as a slave revolt?

2 Answers 2014-10-05

why were many soviet soldiers sent to battle with no weapons during the second world war?

I can understand that they had a lack of supplies but it seems that it would've been more efficient to keep unarmed soldiers as last option.

1 Answers 2014-10-05

18th Century Funeral Trains?

In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" Irving wrote: "Many dismal tales were told about funeral trains, and mourning cries and wailings heard and seen about the great tree..." Since there was no rail transport in the 1790s (when the story takes place) what exactly does he mean by funeral trains?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

Neolithic Revolution

How did the Neolithic Revolution help create society today besides in agriculture?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

why were most militaries during the second world war poorly equiped and trained?

Most soldiers seemed to receive poor training and equipment during ww2. Why?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

How did Communists react to the erection of the Berlin Wall (and its fall)?

I have searched for this for a long time and for some reason I haven't been able to find anything about it, which is very weird. How did hard-core Communists deal with the fact that a huge wall had to be erected to stop people from running away from Communist rule into an evil Capitalistic state (in their eyes)? And how did they react to the fall of the Berlin Wall, which pretty much meant the fall of the Soviet Union and the triumph of capitalism?

4 Answers 2014-10-05

Why are so many of "the ancients" treated like a different species who didn't ever base their decisions on the same things we do?

I mean, there's the worn out Medieval Morons and The Dung Ages stereotypes for Europeans in the 500s to 1300s. Japan's samurai being contractually obligated to follow a long lasting bushido code that was written down and stayed the same for centuries which doesn't allow retreating, ambushes , etc., even with all of the evidence otherwise. And other cases.

4 Answers 2014-10-05

"Over the past 200 years, women's clothes in the West have trended toward more revealing, while men's have remained more or less the same in terms of exposed skin." How true or false is this statement? And if true, what has been the impetus behind this trend?

3 Answers 2014-10-05

How would WWII have gone if they had social media back then?

1 Answers 2014-10-05

6242 / 7255

Back to start