I want to read about politics in Medieval Italy, Germany, France, and the Norse countries. How did a Kingdom's government actually work? Who were its members, and what were their positions? What are the practical differences between a Duke and a Count? What was actually discussed when court was held. Stuff like that. Any book recommendations?

I’m a school administrator whose school named after James Garfield is being asked to rename due to remarks made here: Remarks re: indigenous people

Can anyone out there find the source of the quotes? I don’t want to rename a school based on one link of info. I fully support school Renaming based on vetted evidence.

Thanks for your help!

Prior to using the term “Korea” to refer the country, what was the country and its people referred to as in English? The country was called Chosun by many of its neighbors but I couldn’t find anything about what English speakers used before the words “Korea” and “Koreans” were used. Chosun and Chosunese?

I was having a conversation with a friend about what marriage was like for women of the past who had little agency (not to mention no access to birth control). I seem to remember reading about a women who was the wife of a famous scientist or philosopher. I think she kept a diary or wrote a lot of letters. Sorry this is so vague. She ended up having around 13 children and get trapped in her life, like her only purpose was to have her husband’s children and keep a house. I don’t think there was much affection between her and her husband. I’m pretty sure the husband is a moderately famous figure. I remember being so moved by her writing and feeling very lucky to be from the 21st century, whatever faults we may have.

Sorry this is so awfully vague! This has been itching my brain for a while and hope someone knows the answer.

The national Guard plans to deploy 20,000 troops in the Capitol for the Inauguration. Would this be largest deployment of troops ever on U.S. soil in one place, excluding of course the Civil War?

I know the National Guard has been deployed in response to riots and protests, but I don't know of any time that deployment has been larger than a few thousand. I also know that over the summer, ~62,000 National Guard troops were deployed but this was in multiple states across the country.

Would 20,000 be the largest deployment ever in one place, excluding the Civil War?

Romania's anti-communist revolution occurred in 1989. They were a Warsaw Pact Member. Did the Soviet Union try to stop the revolution?

There were a lot of Anti-Communist Revolutions throughout Europe in 1989. Did the Soviet Union try to do anything about them or was the Union simply unable to do so?

where and by whom was soap invented? specifically curious about

-liquid soap

-olive oil based soaps

-tallow based soaps

-shaving soaps

In WW2 were German combatants still getting paid right up until the surrender? What happened to their income from June 1945 onwards?

In and around the Regency era, were the grand country mansions ever burgled? I can imagine servants trying to steal a few things, but did break-ins/cat burglars exist? Or was it impossible, so the only option was to catch the wealthy en-route like a Highwayman? What about their London homes, especially when they weren't in residence?

If the answer to the above is that burglary as we know it didn't exist then, I'd love to know roughly when it started, if possible.

Thanks!

Where imperial era roman legionnaire's better trained both as a unit and as an individual than the Spartan Hoplites?

I'm looking for a quote between a Chinese leader and a Japanese diplomat (or politician?). It may have been Mao himself or some other subsequent high ranking CCP person. Essentially the Japanese diplomat attempted to apologize for Japan's actions during the 2nd Sino-Japanese war, but CCP guy was dismissive and said something along the lines of, "There's nothing to apologize for, the CCP would not exist if it weren't for Japan". Presumably referencing the fact that the CCP were on the brink of destruction when Japan invaded and interrupted the Chinese Civil War. I just want to know what the exact quote was and who said it to who.

My wife’s grandpa was in WWII and he brought back two captured Japanese flags with him. Could that imply that he killed someone? Or were those given to every American soldier?

Hey- so I'm wondering how many (ballpark, approx) ancestors a male who came over on the Mayflower (and survived, of course) would have today. A coworker says a million, I say more like a few thousand.

Where was the 653rd Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion located in July of 1944? Asking because I've read that a Porsche VK 45.01 prototype was used as a command vehicle in that unit and was said to have been lost in July 1944 and I would like to have an idea of where it was destroyed.

In the 18th century, how did ships know when it was their turn to pull into port to unload their cargo? Was it first come first serve or was there some kind of protocol?

Going off Wikipedia, Kushan rulers were still minting coins with Greek legends in the 3rd century AD. So what is the latest attested case of "native" Greek writing in Central Asia/India?

What did the middle class wear during the Renaissance period, particular in Western Continental Europe?

Edit: men of the middle class in 1650s Paris.

Fantasy books often depict catapults and trebuchets on castle walls. Do we have any documentation of this? What about on the decks of ships?

What are the best books to read to get a good understanding of the Sino-Japanese wars?

I was reading o the Battle of Kletsk 1706 between the Swedish Empire and the Russiand.

It says that 15 of the Swedish Cavalry lost their lives and up to 4000 Russian infantry. How is something like this even realistically possible?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kletsk_(1706)

What music was popular in early 20th century Germany?

I'm reading Demian by Hermann Hesse, published in 1919, and the protagonist makes frequent references to composers like Bach. I was curious if popular music at the time was Baroque in general or if the character having an appreciation of Bach and other classical music would be saying something particular about him as a character.

I have a request to help identify a uniform with medals on it from a period in Prussian history that would encompass roughly 1860-1880. Would this be the proper place to post a picture? I'm trying to figure out where and when my great-great grandfather may have served in the military and all I have is a photo of a photo of him in later years proudly wearing an old uniform with some medals on it. He was born in 1845-6 near Stettin in Pomerania and lived most of his adult life in Berlin if that helps. HIs name is unfortunately very common so that doesn't help much. If this is the right place I'd appreciate being pointed to what is :) Thanks!

Was Eisenhower fluent in Russian?

Were the vassal territories to the east of East Francia given to Louis the German in the Treaty of Verdun? Did they immediately become a part of East Francia? Did they remain vassals?

I just saw that the series I, Claudius is available on Amazon.

As I currently have a course about Nero, it would fit the header of "Vaguely related to my studies, so I can easily justify binging it by saying I am learning and still get some off-time from reading scientific essays and articles" but as always the danger of "What I see isn't even close to any historic accuracy" lurks around the corner. Even if I know it isn't a problem per se and there basically is no thing such as historic accuracy and one should just enjoy a show on it's own merits.

And from what I heard the series is pretty good. So the question is less of "Should I watch it" and more "Anything to look out for that is definitely wrongly represented and which i should forget about as soon as I finished watching?"

Reposting from a few weeks ago:

Did Abe Lincoln ever actually say "my greatest concern is to be on God's side"?

Spurious quotation:

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right"

I've found no evidence that he said this so far and have no idea who originally began circulating this quote other than it has become an assumed fact. Thanks.

In what century was race invented?

Can anyone help me find a good book or preferably audio book about the election of 1876 and its aftermath? So far I’ve bought the book by justice Rehnquist But I’m in the middle of a road trip and I’d really like to find an audiobook.

Why do we refer to it as the Union army rather than the U.S. army in the American civil war?

A question on Pan-Germanism;

In the Kingdom of Bavaria before unification a memorial-temple was built to honor a vast collection of Germanic heroes called Walhalla

(ironically built in the classical style. I would have gone with a Gothic cathedral but hey)

In this temple there are several anglo-Saxons included.

•How pan was pan-germanicism? The unification of all germanic peoples like Denmark, Sweden-Norway, England and the various German settlements of the Baltic and Transylvania?

Approximately how much were the sepoys paid in salary during Company rule in India in the early 19th century?

Are these legit? Working with a brand and not wanna tarnish the image with fake history.

symbolikon

How large was the population size of the Eurasian Steppe nomadic people before the 16th centuary?

What could twenty minas of silver have bought you in ancient Greece in 416 BC? Twenty minas of silver is about 12½ kg.

probably not going to be a very short answer, but a relatively simple question: what were the general economic systems of the world, either before feudalism or in countries that didn't have it? how did people get rewarded for work done in service of another? what would be the point of being anything except a hunter-gatherer or a farmer, if you weren't rewarded for the work you did? trading comes to mind, but what, then, did people do when nobody wanted the goods they created? how did governments accumulate wealth if people farmed, hunted, etc. to sustain themselves? were there artists in a time where people didn't have enough food to not spend the majority of their days getting food? how did citizens of non-feudal kingdoms get rewarded for work, because the only method of rewarding i can find information about is serfs first being given a small portion of land to farm for a king or vassal, and then second being allowed to keep a certain amount of what they farmed?

Are stories like this about Caesar’s skull shape at all legitimate?

Is there any historical basis for people we know as African having a presence of any kind in ancient Palestine?

I heard once that to forge a roman gladius, a mold would be filled with iron, and the hilt attached. When the iron had cooled, the hilt would be grasped and the gladius would be pulled form the stone, and this might have contributed to the post roman-britain Arthur legend (or added to it). However, I have also heard that the Roman legions used the falcata before adopting the gladius from the celtiberian tribes, and that the gladius was of more or less Celtic design. If this is the case, was the forging method a Roman advancement or is it possible the method was widespread in Celtic Europe and that aspect of the Arthur myth predates the Roman annexation of Britain?

I recently found the death certificate of my great grandfather, who served in the Wehrmacht and died in russia. It states that he died in „Ssenkowo“. The problem is, that I just can‘t find anything in regards to that name. Does anyone of you happen to know anything about that place? I would appreciate it!