So who was this famous Chinese General? I've read the art of war and its gotta be the most influential thing I've ever read but I still don't know much about the man. Was he even real? What battles did he fight? and etc.

In feudal era Japan and earlier, when the Samurai were a warrior class, it could be assumed that there were times a Samurai had to go from one region to another. Assuming he is a modest land owner of no great renown, would he travel alone, or would he have retainers that followed with him on his journey?

I recently read about the Ottoman Empire and its attempts to modernize itself without being dominated by a European power. The source I read claimed that the Ottomans sought a European ally in order to protect them from other powers and help them modernize.

Was it possible for pre-industrial societies, such as decolonized colonies, to modernize in the 20th century without European intervention?

Source (for Ottoman information):
A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East

Hello! I have been doing a lot of reading on Genghis Khan recently, and while many of his exploits and feats are well recorded and known, it seems that the last year or so of his life and time after for him are very foggy.

As far as causes of death go I have seen claims that he:

Died of wounds received in battle against the Xia in China.

Died of an arrow wound to his knee he received in battle in the Middle East.

Was killed when a vengeful concubine castrated him after having sex (apparently she was supposed to have been a surviving member of a people the Mongols committed genocide against or something).

He got some sort of sickness that killed him after several months.

etc...

What is the most academically believed account of his death?

Also, we know when he died his body was transported back to Mongolia, and the slaves who buried him were killed, and the soldiers who killed the slaves were also killed, meaning the secret of where he was buried was literally taken to the grave. To this day the tomb still has not been found and there are widely varying accounts of what region in Mongolia it might be, and what it might contain. Some say its just his sarcophagus, while others claim a huge cache of his treasure was buried with him.

What is the general consensus, if any on this?

Are they the descendants of mountain men, settlers, and former slaves who married into tribes?

My grandfather tells a story that he heard from one of his RAF OTU (Operational Training Unit) trainers. After hearing this story he thought that it was obviously not true, and didn’t believe him. In March 1945 however, he was in a waiting room and looked in a back issue of the Illustrated London News and there was the story with photographs! The story goes a little like this (I’m not a story teller, so please excuse its brevity) ;

Its getting close to Christmas, and this gentleman gets on the radio and asks if anyone has any food for a Christmas dinner. He gets a reply from a fellow in Malta saying that he has some turkeys, so he flies over there only to discover that the Turkeys are still alive and need to be rounded up. After a while he has chased down all of the birds, killed them and has them hanging in the bombays. On the flight back to Alexandria they run into some German fighter planes and eventually get shot down. Thankfully they reach the African shoreline, but unfortunately their navigator had been killed and they have no idea where they are. They start walking and come across a group of Italian soldiers, who immediately surrender, saying that they want to be their prisoner, as the Germans are crazy! After taking in this group of Italians, they resume their journey and they come across a group of Germans. They are quite worried, thinking that they will be killed for sure! As it turns out the Germans say they want to be taken prisoner as the Bedouins are crazy! The British say that they are trying to make their way to Tobruk, and the Germans are confused by this – we thought that we controlled Tobruk? They then quiz each other about how recent their information is, and come to an agreement. If they arrive in Tobruk and it is held by the Germans, the British will be their prisoners, and if it is in British hands, then the Germans will be their prisoners. Eventually they arrive in Tobruk to find it in British hands. The trainer said that when they got back to Alexandria or Cairo after this, they sold their story to the papers along with the photographs, and had the best furlough and spent every single penny they had!

Could this story be true, or is this just a tall tale?

Has anyone else heard of this story, and if so, would there be a way of tracking down the exact issue/article? (I have looked at all the March 1945 issues of the paper, and can’t see anything about this. This only leaves me 119 other issues to look through)

I ask since the texts are now quite old, the first one being from 1935.

I had a debate with someone on the origin of curry. My friend insisted it was British and was adopted for Indian cuisine while I thought it was a native Indian blend of spices.

What event(s) lead to the empowerment of the people to challenge the divine right of kings?

In ancient times, no peasant would willingly challenge their king, as the monarch was seen to have been given the position by god.

The monarchy had their tradition-based power, and did not have to have the majority support of the people to remain in power. It appears that as the ages have progressed, the monarchy had to rely more-so on charismatic power, and a general support of the people in order to stay in power.

At the moment, it is my understanding that this trend started with the French Revolution... is this the starting point of such a trend?

I am currently enrolled in an American Constitutional History class at my college and this is a question my group has been assigned as part of our final. Our trouble is, because the Bill of Rights was originally written as a check on federal power, that we're having trouble just limiting our scope. Part of the assignment is to connect the question to relevant political issues today, so we were going to take a look at legislation regarding whistelblowers as well as food libel laws, since these are both instances of tensions between free speech and corporate rights. Thanks so much in advance!

What sort of person becomes a public executioner? Did the role attract psychopaths? Did it make psychopaths?

Edit: Someone living in the modern-day Scottish highlands.

I know there are few and our main source is Perciles. What others do you know of?

I know Honda makes cars and Hiroyuki Sanada is an actor but what about the others? are they still around? and if so what are they up to? The Date, Oda, Tokugawa, Imagawa, Mori, Otomo, Shimazu, Uesugi, Takeda, Azai, Chosokabe, Toyotomi, Hatorri, Hojo, Akechi, Asano, and any others i may have missed, id like to know are they still prominent? did they die off? are the families respected or hated? anything would be nice.

Ive heard it was as high as 600, which find hardly believeable, so i ask you historic redditors.