In researching an article I'm writing for the upcoming centenary of the start of WWI, I'm trying to find information on the conditions of life in Belgium during the German occupation. Any info, with cited sources, particularly if it has to do with Mons would be greatly appreciated.

I've always wondered what the the Persians made of the Pyramids in Egypt at the time. Were they cordoned off as historical treasures? Were they just ignored?

I understand that the Crisis of the Third Century broke the empire politically and economically but I don't understand why Latin fell out of use to the point that Latin is considered a dead language. Even when the Goths, Vandals, Franks, and the Moors took over Western Rome didn't its residents have generations upon generations using Latin? Was Latin suppressed?

I have not read the books so my knowledge is limited, but they seem like a financial institute with great power, even power over the Iron Throne. Were there any organizations in the middle ages with similar reach/power?

I'm currently reading Robert Remini's Andrew Jackson and I'm hoping to gain some insight to Jackson that will aid me as I read. Thanks for any answers! -Also, if there are other relevant threads already answering this question, I'll gladly look at those!

"No, they had to make sure hey could go on working,.....but they also had to make sure they could never run away.The operation was called "hobbling"."

Ever since I saw Stephen King's Misery, I wondered if mines ever did this. I had it in my mind that a Diamond mine in Africa was being referenced. I think it might be possible that Stephen King just made this up, but it seems like a very specific social practice, and I wonder if it ever really existed.

If you haven't seen the movie or read the book, in the movie the woman in question break's the main character's ankles with a Sledge Hammer in order to keep him from leaving. In the book, there isn't the same quote about hobbling but there the main character's foot is amputated.

Did mines ever break or amputate worker's legs in order to keep them from leaving the mine?

Edit: I found that the movie references the Kimberly Diamond Mine in Africa. Please extend my question to any other mine besides this one, I am interested to hear that as well.

I'm not taking about better or more accurate interpretations of ancient history. Out of all the ancient writings that have been lost from the Greeks and Romans, is there a chance that some might still be sitting somewhere waiting to be found. Much of the ancient histories that we have, source other works that are lost. I feel a sense of sadness every time I come across ancient history that draw from fist hand writings that would be beyond amazing to have access to. Have we ever found such works that were thought lost? what are the chances of that?

We always hear about scurvy with regards to sailors but there doesn't seem to be much common knowledge on other potential health issues that sailors experienced.

For example, was skin cancer a major problem back then? Or was the life expectancy low enough that it was more common to die or have problems from other things before skin cancer was able to develop far enough to be problematic?

I suppose this is a pretty broad question, but I'm not looking for anything super exact except some general knowledge on how the Chinese viewed the Korean war, from any perspective available. How did they see it? How did their soldiers and civilians see it? How were the UN/South Koreans viewed during the war and what about the North Koreans? The war is rarely mentioned even from the US side and I've almost heard nothing from the other - pretty much any information would be appreciated.

How many different languages could Adolf Hitler speak? Could he speak English and french? And if so are there any audio recordings of him speaking something other then German?

Was there alternative proposals below or above 5 permanent members? If so, were different governments more receptive to this than others?

Where, and among who, were these arrangements composed and finalized?

I am, of course, looking for any general, or specific, information on the matter.

Before the Nazi came into power, what was the plan for German army expansion? I remember reading book about Rommel and Patton that German military was planning to expand from 100,000 to around 300,000. Does anyone have more detail about this? Thanks in advance.

I've heard Socrates, in addition to being a philosopher, was also gifted wrestler. However, I can't find any info on what his wrestling career may have entailed.

Apparently he never spoke a single word about it, but overall my family is really secretive about everything and won't give me any details.

I have a few specific questions. Is surviving 5 years in a Japanese POW camp a big deal? Did a lot of troops simply waste away before they could be freed?

Where was he taken exactly? Since he was a Quebecer, it's likely that his battalion was the Royal Rifles of Canada (Quebec). Did prisoners stay with their battalion?

What kind of anguish/work did he have to deal with in such a camp?

I saw several other threads about Americans in camps, but since they only started getting captured later on I was curious about how this could have played out early in the war.

Edit: apparently he got captured in 1941, and was in for 4 years.

Having been a long time (armchair) student of Roman history, I have reached the fall of Rome and the late antiquity/early middle ages. As we all know, one cannot learn very much about this period of European history without learning about the church. What was Christianity like from the death of Jesus to Constantine's conversion? What were those early first years like for the church?

Also, could someone recommend a good book(s) about this subject?