I am currently a senior in college and obtaining my undergraduate degree in history. I go to a relatively small school that offers a GTA position for those in the grad program, this would pay my to get my MA. To some this might be reason enough to go ahead and get it. I am looking for advice from those who have gone through the program and what they would tell someone contemplating the decision, thank you.

Having read some articles on the net about the Bosnian War, it seems to me (or I could have read incorrectly) that some of the evidence in the trials were misused/fabricated? So is there any actual credible evidence of genocide happening?

I'm having trouble finding any primary sources describing the life as as soldier, in the battlefield or at camp. Do you know where I can find information about it? Also, what was the reason behind joining the army back then for them? Was it the money? the pride of being in the army?

Thanks.

How often would he have bathed? Washed his clothes? Cleaned his house? What would these rituals entail?

I'm in the middle of reading William Scott Wilson's biography on Miyamoto Musashi, The Lone Samurai. In it, he describes the sword of Sasaki Kojiro in detail. Nearly three feet long, and somewhat legendary in its own right. It was apparently forged by a famed smith from Bizen in the 1300s, and according to Wilson, was more or less in perfect shape despite having been used in combat. Even in its own time, it seemed to be a rare and unique blade.

Does it still exist? What became of it after Musashi killed Kojiro? If he had no family or disciples to pass it down to, would his lord claim it? Musashi pretty much hopped right back into his boat after checking Kojiro's vitals and bowing to the spectators, but would he have been within his rights to claim it?

I wanted to know information about the Koreans before the Korean War eg how long has their language been around and their relationships with other eastern Asian countries

How did people from mainland Italy feel about this and how long did the Normans stay?

We all know Hellen keller was blind, Def, and mute and some how learned to speak and write. Have there been any other documented cases of other persons in history experiencing/doing the same or similar?

Edit: fact correction on when Hellen developed her conditions

The Maori defended their homeland extremely effectively for decades, and even after New Zealand was founded they were involved in the formulation of her government, and secured themselves certain protections, a far more positive outcome than what befell most other peoples of the Pacific.

How did they manage this?

Also as a follow-up question, is there any trace to the origin of how the heart (in general) was associated with love?

Thank you for your time.

I recently checked it out from the library (first time someone has done so since 1975, in fact) and while the topic is one I'm interested in, I have to question the translator/publisher's story of how they got it.

They essentially have no real proof that Nikita Khrushchev actually wrote the book as his memoirs.

Is this book considered credible by historians, or should I take it with a grain of salt?

If it's not considered credible, are there any other books I should look into? I'm primarily interested in seeing that period of history from a Soviet perspective, as opposed to a foreigner writing about it after the fact.

If not, how close did one get?

I've been listening to the "Death Throes of the Republic" Hardcore History podcast, and it has been mentioned many times that there were no banks, all loans and such were handled by private persons (such as Crassus) and so something that keeps sticking around in my mind is, how did all of these wealthy people (Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, etc) keep their cash? And how much of their net worth was in cash or assets?

After Pompey returns from his campaigns that get him his third Triumph, he is said to have utterly inordinate amounts of money, not only did he dump a ton in to Rome's coffers, he paid his soldiers and paid for his Triumph and yet still had almost as much as, or (based on responses to other AskHistorians questions) more money than Crassus left over.

And if they kept it at their home(s) in chests, was burglary a problem? I would assume that any of the wealthy elite would have private guards on hand to prevent such an occurrence.

As a slight aside question, it is mentioned that the Senators felt that land ownership was far more valuable (or at least more important) than being a merchant or businessman, was land ownership generally more profitable than trade/commerce? Or rather, how did the landowners actually make money from their land? Simply by selling grains/foods?

Not based on population size (before and after). Numbers counts are what I'm looking for but any other information is certainly welcome.