Hey everyone,

In an audio book I was listening to, Tom Holland discusses how Bakkah was likely distinct from Mecca. I wanted to look into it, but a cursory Google search found little.

Was wondering if any early Islam scholars could explain the evidence for this claim (or lack thereof).

Thanks!

What did they eat? Wear? Do? What sort of houses did they live in? Really any detail of what makes up an average day in ancient Rome.

Also, if anyone knows of a map that shows where the Vikings are attacking to and from that would be interesting to see (even if the show is not all that accurate).

basically I want to know if it has ever been profitable to melt down coins for material value (regardless of legality)

Edit: I have heard that it costs more to produce pennies than they are worth but I'm not sure if that cost is associated with the material cost or the manufacturing cost

I understand the Romans were inspired by the Greek gods, altering names and styles to fit the roman way of worship. I also understand they made illegal certain forms of worship inside their empire. I'm having a hard time finding information about what happened in the Greek temples after that! Was worship of Zeus still acceptable? Was animal sacrifice still alright (in Greece or Rome)?

I understand worship of dionysis was frowned upon. What were the requirements for a religion to be banned in the roman empire?

Also, were drugs a luxury item for the rich, or were they more commonly abused by the poor? What kind of drugs were available?

I was watching Ken Burn's Baseball on Netflix and they have a part where Ray Chapman is killed by a baseball in 1920. This ushered in the new rule that any dirty ball is immediately replaced. This also meant the pitcher gave up a lot of control of a ball BECAUSE it was dirty and scuffed. THEN Babe Ruth just happens to show up on the Yankees in 1920 and seem like the greatest slugger ever.

So I'm in an experimental class which has a really big impact on my future. We have to write blog posts analyzing cited information that has to do with certain time periods and topics. My topic is Foreign Affairs, and I am unable to find anything my teacher finds "Worthy." I really, really need help. Last week I made a 60 for a quiz grade by writing about the effects the Louisiana purchase had on American foreign affairs because it wasn't "quirky" or "Interesting" enough.

So my question, Do you know of any interesting documents that I could use for the 1800s in regards to foreign affairs? I would appreciate it.

I was initially going to write about how treaties tended to have secret tag-along treaties, but wasn't able to find any usable information because I couldn't find anything to cite.

In "The Third Man" it seemed like almost every other person was involved in something shady, especially racketeering. Ordinary people avoided dealing with law enforcement. When Holly discovers what Harry Lime is in trouble for, he seems to be the only character who was genuinely shocked by the inhumanity of Harry's crime. Were things really this bad, or was it exaggerated in the name of film noir?

I assume taking poops was an entirely new ballgame, not so much enjoyed as it is today.

How would I start to learn about Medieval History? What books should I buy?

I'm open to hear any interpretations!

As a layperson and not a historian, it seems to me that the methods of persecution just seem completely ineffective and laughable.

This is Rome we're talking about, an empire that could field several armies at once at four different corners of the continent. And even the most anti-Christian emperors such as Decius II and Diocletian couldn't come up with a coherent way to stamp out a tiny sect that almost everyone disliked? How hard could it have really been to deal with such a small and powerless minority?

Note: I understand and can excuse the poor effectiveness of persecutions by some emperors. Nero, for example, just wanted a scapegoat to momentarily distract the angry crowds. But I feel that some of the more dedicated anti-Christian emperors (such as the two I mentioned above) should have been intelligent enough to design more effective methods.

Maybe I'm simplifying this too much. In which case, please enlighten me. Thank you.

There are several (apparent) similarities between Indian Sadhus and early rastafarians, such as the dreadlocks, vegetarianism, and spiritual use of cannabis. Why is this?