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A couple months ago I posted this as on the subreddit as a thread of its own but it got little traction and I figured it might serve a better purpose in this thread:
In the movie Alexander (2004) there is a scene where one of Alexander's companions, Philotas, is executed by method of being tied to a post and having a javelin thrown at him. Is this an attested method of execution? And if it is, for what crimes was it reserved?
My dad has recently asserted a few times (mainly because he always forgets after I tell him I can't find evidence) that there were Japanese samurai in Arakan in what is now Myanmar. Is there anything to back this up? What about samurai, or more likely just plain old Japanese mercenaries, in SE Asia more generally?
If Yeshua was jesus true name.Than how and when Yeshua became jesus?
In 1951 and 1952, Hank Williams Sr. was the hottest popular music artist around, or at least in the top three. Simple question: in that time period of 1951 and 1952, would the general public have referred to Hank Williams as a "country music star" or just a "popular music star?" Was the term "country music star" widely used in those days, or was that delineation not yet widespread?
I'm writing a story from the perspective of someone in 1952. Would that person have called Hank a "country music star?"
My boyfriend is a dentist and is interested in learning more about the history of dentistry. Does anyone have a book recommendation that would cover that topic?
I am curious: are there any automatic translation tools (like Google Translate) that can translate ancient languages: such as Roman Latin, Greek, Sumerian (?) and so on? Basically anything ca 300 AD and earlier.
I know only the very basics of machine translation, but if there is anyone here familiar with it, do you know if there's at least enough source material available to train one to do this? Or are there any fundamental problems preventing us from doing this?
What sort of crops did people in antiquity grow? Particularly in Europe.
I guess I'm kinda puzzled about culinary staples like celery, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers and mushrooms. They are almost totally devoid of calories.
It makes me wonder why people laboring very hard to survive would bother to cultivate them at all.
Can anyone suggest any books or reading material on the East African slave trade? Particularly concerning Mozambique and Zanzibar's networks connecting to the mainland interior.
Thanks.
There's an English (or perhaps he was Scottish) occultist/prophet claimant who was alive during the English Civil War period who had weirdly long name that sounds like multiple first names strung together. The name starts John and ends Tayne as one word but I don't remember what goes in between. I don't know many more details but the bizarre name should be enough to identify him. Does anybody know who I'm talking about?
What’s the oldest depiction of Jesus that we know of?
Do the original "Causes of secession" from the civil war still exist and housed somewhere they may be viewed by the public.
also why are they not referenced more often in debates about the causes of the civil war?
What was the longest navigable river on the east coast during the early days of colonization?
I get the feeling that the Hudson gets you the deepest into the interior, besides the Saint Lawrence.
What was the dominant faith in pre-Constantine Rome? I can’t find a consistent answer online.
What was World War 1 all about?
What is the origin of the royal protocol of backing from the King's presence? Particularly the first use in England.
I believe I've read that it was established before the Tudor period but I can't find a source for when it first came to be for the life of me.
During the Chinese one child policy, did the families have to have one child, or could they decide to simply have no children?
I am very interested in the philosophy of humility, pride and ego and how they developed in different cultures. What myths, legends or stories do we know of throughout the ages from different cultures that reflect on these ideas? I'm somewhat acquainted with Greek myths like Sisyphus and Arachne, so on, but am no expert so I would love to hear any and all recommendations.
What was THE oldest known text? I am certain that the first person ever recorded was a guy named Kushim who lived around 3200 BC. The Sumerians developed writing around 3400 BC. However, every time I try to Google what is THE oldest text, it's not there, and it is frustrating.
Any suggestions for books on the British Empire (ideally on Audible)? I'm looking for ones that strike a balance between the "achievements" of the Empire, and its tragedies (including massacres, famines etc). I'm currently looking at Jan Morris' "Pax Britannica; the Climax of an Empire" - any comments?
Why do so few images of PzIII tanks have radio aerials mounted? Weren't German panzer kompanies well equipped with radios?
Would only the command vehicle have an aerial?
I'm reading The Making of Modern Japan and found that the word kokujin means 'men of the land', yet I know that nowadays it means black men. I have a hard time believing there were black people in 16th century japan so... why the change in meaning?
Maybe I'm just stupid and I'm missing out on something tho
Is it true Europe adopted the idea of meritocracy from China (through the British East India Company), rather than Greek philosophers they rediscovered during the Renaissance?
I just visited Florence and would love to get to know more about the Medici family. I studied history so I'm looking for a good book that isn't too 'popular history'. I saw there are books by Hollingsworth, Hibbert, Parks and Strathern, does anyone know any of these and could recommend some? Thank you!
Why was inflation so bad in eastern Germany after world war 2?
Were any first rate ships of the line deployed to the Caribbean during the golden age of piracy?
Would anyone have source or book recommendations on general culture and lifestyle in late 1920s urban America? I’m also interested in the history of speakeasies, rum running, and/or the legal profession in particular during that period. Thank you very much!
Are there any historians of the internet who are using Geocities as a primary source?
What was Hitler's legal position within the Reich by April 1945? Perhaps with regard toward his ability to, withstanding forms and protocols, dole out death personally or not.
Where is the earliest reference to the titan Atlas in Greek mythology? Hesiod's poem 'Theogony' is about as far back as I can find, but I'm sure there is some sort of text which details the story before Hesiod wrote about it.
When researching family history, I'm looking into records of the first colonial towns of New England. (Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s and 1640s, and the towns that became Hartford/Windsor in the Connecticut river valley before Connecticut gained its own Colonial charter.)
In some cases, the first official mention of a person in local records is "they became a freeman", or "swore the oath of freeman". I gather that this is some sort of status above resident, and gives some privileges with respect to taking part in the government of the town/city.
Do we know if this is a carry-over of some traditions from England, or if the role of "freeman" was invented by the leaders of the new Colonies?
How was the power to bestow knighthood distributed in the early-through-mid medieval period?
In England, for instance, knighthood became an honor granted exclusively by the monarch at some point, but when, and what came before?
Why were walking canes/sticks popular as a fashion sense during the 18th and 19th centuries?
When did keycards replace physical keys in hotels and motels?
What’s the name of the Aegean-style pottery that was found at sites in the Levant after the Bronze Age Collapse?
I’m reading These Truths by Jill Lepore and it’s amazing. I realize it’s written for a general audience. What has its reception by academic historians been like? How different is the writing style of this book from academic history writing?
There is a term called "Grammar Nazis", about people who are really strict about Grammar. Did the real Nazi party in Germany actually cared much more about Grammar than most governments do?
In other words, did the term come from actual things that the Nazis did?
Is there one book that does a good job of laying out the political environment and justifications leading into the first Iraq war? What was going on with Iraq and Kuwait? What led to the international intervention? Thanks!
Does anyone have any book recommendations on the religious history of the indian subcontinent? Especially about the rise of Islam in the area?
Can anybody recommend a book on the Franco-Prussian War and/or the Paris Commune?
I've requested The Fall of Paris by Alistair Horne from my local library system, but they're having trouble getting it to me and I'm not optimistic.
Thanks!
Does anyone have any recommendations for primary sources concerning raw data about casualty rates and equipment expenditure during the first world war?
Where did the idea for naming the central powers the “Axis” come from? And what exactly does it mean?