In 1904 Iceland got home rule. Fourteen years later they went into a union with Denmark in which they only shared a common foreign policy, coast guard and head of state, which virtually gave Iceland independence.

Why was Denmark willing to do this? What is the context behind it?

They're fairly close in terms of proximity, but, with my limited knowledge, they don't seem to have very similar cultures. I was wondering why these nations had such similar names.

Did different temples (like those of Minerva and Diana) compete for political power? Did they have competing political visions or agendas? To what extent did they jockey for influence over populace and government? To what extent was encouraging your god's worship a zero-sum game against other religious groups in a polytheistic context? Was there any difference in the way that temples to Roman gods related to each other versus how they related to sects like Mithraism, or nascent Christianity, or whatever? Did an Emperor's devotion to a particular god ever affect the way the state was run?

Did someone just get lazy half way through the year and go "eh, this one will be quintilis"

I wonder what the career of a navy captain was like around the 18th century

-How did you become a captain of a warship

-What kind of possibiltiies of promotions were there? Cuold you get a bigger ship?

I'm particularlty interested in the british navy but I'd gladly hear about other navies aswell

By "auxilia" I mean the ones the Ancient/Classical Romans used to call their non-citizen soldiers, not mercenaries.

Follow up questions:

1.)If they did, how did they make sure that the "auxilia" remained loyal to them?

2.)If they did not, how did they replenish their armies after each assault? I'm sure they simply can't just grab someone from mainland.

Thank you.

EDIT: Added a second follow-up question.

I've heard of the Reds, the Whites, and the anarchists, but can someone shed a little light on the Green Army?

Being a muslim myself, I have wondered how the rise of the islam and muslim life was chronicled by the rest of the world.

During the time of the Prophet Muhammad emissaries were sent to the various leaders in the region. They had a campaign against a city under Byzantine control towards the end of his life and suddenly within one generation they were at the door of Byzantium.

I have heard the story that Khalid bin Walid or Ayyub Ansari for instance sent a message in reply to Byzantine letter that muslims love to eat human flesh. And another story during the time of Umar, the second Caliph where a city surrended believing the muslims were sharpening their teeth to eat them when they were using the miswak. But as these are from muslim sources, i would like to hear what has been recorded (and survived) about the muslims from non-muslims.

Maybe sometime in WW2? Sometime after? I'm so curious!

Or was it more of a mass kidnapping that involved forced marriages?

For example the Western bed frame vs. a Japanese futon. I'm sure there are other examples, I just don't know of them.

The post about the Icelandic boys had this little factoid, and I've always assumed it's a joke, but I don't actually know. Is there any truth to it?

I'm not much into religion but the stories are interesting. I've read some of the questions in the AskHistorians FAQ and they cover specific events but are there any good reads that I could pick up that would cover the bible from a historical point of view? A good starting point perhaps? Sorry if this isn't the right type of question for this subreddit, I can't find anything explicitly forbidding this type of question but sorry if it is wrong.

Why was Cromwell given such a pass by the other European powers compared to the French Republican Government in 1793. The executions of James I and Louis XVI took place barely 140 years apart. Cromwell seems to have barely had to deal with any foreign policy ramifications as a result of regicide. Yet in 1793 all of Europe declared war on France for essentially the same act.

Assuming, of course, that Jesus didn't die and then come back to life. I'm not from /r/athiesm, I"m just curious.