Were the Europeans aware that Japan existed before Portuguese sailors came across it in 1543?

When the WW2 era greek special ops force "The Sacred Band" was formed, were they intentionally emulating the Sacred Band of Thebes and was there any concern over it's central conceit, homosexuality?

How did the country now called Ethiopia come to adopt the name that was once used for all of Africa?

Almost everything I've looked up on the construction of Venice has to do with its foundations, how it's actually constructed on a series of marshy islands with wood pillars, which eventually petrify when driven into the ground, etc.

I have a a different question: A lot of the buildings are right on the waterline, with no land in between. You need space to work, space for ladders, materials, etc. So how were such walls built? Did they use barges? Construct from the inside out? Planks or boards to cover the canal and create a temp surface?

Hey, so I'm unsure if this question is even appropriate for this subreddit or thread but I'll ask it anyway:

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How should someone choose which books to read? Initially I just was using book recommendations from Dan Carlin or the book list on the askhistorians wiki, since then however I've just been selecting books from authors I was already familiar with or books referenced by books I've read. I feel like this is really constraining because using this method limits what sort of subjects I'm going to have access too. I don't feel comfortable choosing a book without some sort of endorsement from a source I trust because I have no means of 'appraising' whether or not a given book or author is going to be useful. Just as an example I noticed here and that Jared Diamond and Dan Carlin are not exactly the most reputable sources of history and they maybe even be considered 'bad history'. So I know if I read Guns Germs and Steel or listen to Hardcore History I should take the information I'm given with a grain of salt. If I hadn't been exposed to this community I might be less cautious with these sources. Basically, as a layman I have no means of telling whether or not a given book is controversial or reputable.

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Am I being too cautious or choosy with what I read? Am I asking for too much information? Perhaps there are more recommended reading lists that I'm unaware of.

How high was the population of Muslim native Iberians in Islamic Iberia? I know that the period was one of relatively peaceful co-existence of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. But did large numbers of Iberians convert to Islam to the point which the majority of Iberians were Muslims?

What is the best Napoleon biography?

This is more of a tip-of-my-tongue question than anything, but a long time ago I read an article about a group of Japanese intellectual during the Edo Period who wanted to align Japan with the west to remove its dependence on China. Some of them insisted that Japan should align itself with the west, insisting it was already more "Western" than Eastern at heart. At the same time they claimed that Japan was unlike any other country and took very little from China- kicking off the Nihonjinron tradition of insisting on the complete uniqueness of Japan, and often its strangeness. By now I've forgotten any specifics. I am wondering anyone knows where I can read about this again, or if you know any Edo period intellectuals that exhibited these tendencies.

I'm having a difficult time remembering the name of a certain artistic group from the 1920s to the 1940s. I feel like it's on the tip of my tongue. I think they were French immigrants in the US. They stood out to me because they were rather goth. And I kind of identified with them. They were intellectuals who celebrated fine arts and they stood out from everybody else with their philosophies. I want to say they were expressionists. In their eyes, there was no shame in being unhappy. But maybe I'm not remembering it correctly.

I remember it was this very same section of my history book that I discovered a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay. "My candle burns at both ends. It will not last the night. But oh my foes, and oh my friends, it gives off such light." That part, I know by heart Though I probably butchered the last sentence.

I hate that I can't remember the name of this group.. I was so fascinated by them. I apologize for how vague this is.

The division and naming of the continents- Africa-Libya, Asia, Europe come- down to us from Greek tradition. Were there antecedents or alternative naming schemes from other cultures in the region at the time?

Is there any free source of study for the fur trade period of America? Specially on found artifacts such as clothes and tools

Are there any generally accepted estimates for the population of Gaul during the first century BC?

Can someone recommend a book about 18th century warfare for a novice? I've checked out the book list, but there is only one book that seems to be an overview. The rest are specific wars. Thanks

I have asked many North Africans about their culture and the majority of them refused to use the term berber claiming that it doesn't even exist in their language nor they ever used it?!

For a foreigner, what is the most comprehensive book series covering the history of America?

I'd very much like to experience a story of the birth and growth of the country.

I'm fairly ignorant of Chinese history, and I would like to learn more about the Three Kingdoms era. I know there is a lot of media out there (some more historically accurate than others), so what is a good podcast/video series/book series to dive into this period?

Recently I've taken to reading a Japanese Manga called "Ad Astra: Scipio to Hannibal" which basically shows the rivalry of Hannibal Barca and the young P.C. Scipio from very early on.

I realize it's very dramatized, but how much do we know of Scipio's life and how much was Hannibal aware of his existence before Zama?

Though right now the translated chapters just passed through Hannibal's sorta-kinda defeat at the battle of Nola against Praetor Marcellus (which I didn't know about, if I'm honest. It's not my usual interest) so I don't know how the manga develops the story as opposed to what we know from the records.

Oh, link to the manga for those interested: https://mangadex.org/title/12136/ad-astra-scipio-to-hannibal

I read that during the time of the plague the population decreased a lot but the quality of life somehow increased.

What caused this quality of life increase?

Was it because there was no shortage of food cause of mass amount of death, so lower prices for food meaning more money for other things?

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thanks

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Has an organizational chart of Buckingham Palace ever been published?

Did Solomon reign as king of Israel between 970 and 931 BCE? This is when Wikipedia says his reign was, is this accurate?

When did the word 'Commie' or 'Communist' begin to actively be used in the United States around the Cold war era to antagonize or show an opponent (political or otherwise) in a bad light? And was this more than an just a convenient excuse or did it have any basis in history at that time?

So, everyone knows the classic “neither” and “if” Laconic phrases that the ancient Spartans responded to Philip II of Macedonia with. However, I’m curious to know what the most accurate translation of “if” and “neither” - in the context of the Spartans’ response to Philip - would be in Ancient Greek characters. How would it be spelled? I’m looking to get a tattoo of one of those words and am curious. Thank you! This is my first Reddit post on my new account, and my first post on r/askhistorians so if I formatted this incorrectly please don’t delete, I’ll fix it ASAP.

For reference -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconic_phrase

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Sayings_of_Spartans*/main.html

Did the practice of Russian patronymic middle names (e.g. Ivanovich, Dimitriyevich, Vladimirovna, Olegovna) derive from Scandinavian patronymic surnames (e.g. Magnussen, Hansen, Jonsdóttir, Sigurðardóttir), or did both develop independently?

Was Melite always name for Malta archipelago or firstly name for one of the islands?

What battle was the greatest victory by Spartacus slave army over the Romans?

Are there any structures or Buildings still standing of Ancient Mesopotamia?

Im talking temples, palaces or shrines from the Empires and Kingdoms of the Middle East before the common era.

Hellos, dear historians.

I'm looking for a short list of ancient city defense methods (moles, walls, gates, etc) than can be potentially used in modern day property protection.

What are some of the typical ways they used back in the days? Thanks!

How would one begin to go about learning how to conduct population history? I would be very interested in a book that covered the historiography of population history in great detail. Seems simple in periods when censuses are somewhat reliable but what interests me is when I see something on wikipedia saying that indicate great disparity between death estimates and wonder how historians came about those figures. To clarify, I want to learn the methodology of the population historian.

I am currently reading this book: https://archive.org/details/speechespublicle02howeiala/page/n12

Title is: The speeches and public letters of Joseph Howe

I am quite confused if this is the actual "letters" or are they edited in a way that the language is different. Do you know how old English is different from modern English? My question, is if this is the word for word speeches by Mr. Howe?

This question is regarding the television show Spartacus. If directly translated from Latin to English, does the way that the actors speak accurately represent how people actually spoke in ancient Rome?