In Britain, men returning from war were given "demob suits" so that they could reintegrate into civilian life more easily, and because often they simply didn't have civilian clothes after years of military service. Were returning women also given something similar?

I was recently listening to a podcast episode on the Song of Roland and it occurred to me that Medieval romances had some truly weird names. Galahad, Lancelot, Ganelon, Amadis...what is the origin of these, or more broadly, what is the deal with them?

Is there either any historical accounts of, or modern conjecture about, why Akhenaten decided to upend the entire Egyptian religion to be monotheistic and worship Aten. I only keep reading that it was widely hated and his heir promptly reverted to the old polytheism upon his death. So it seems like it wouldn't have been a decision he made to help solidify his power or anything, which makes me wonder if he had some genuine deep belief in Aten and some sort of conversion experience, so to speak.

The Congress of Vienna and Treaty of Westphalia are some examples of diplomatic meetings between great powers that shaped course of history - what were some others?

Lately I've become quite interested in international diplomacy pre-WW1 and have been doing some reading on the Congress of Vienna and how it shaped Europe for the next 80 or so years. Same with the Treaty of Westphalia which led to the peace of Westphalia and the modern understanding of a nation state.

What are some other examples of great powers coming together and shaping the future through diplomacy rather than war? I'm sure there must be some examples from Asia or even the ancient world but I'm struggling to come up with any

Do we know when the first instance of crowd surfing was? Was it at a rock concert?

Also wondering about Michael Jackson’s first moonwalk, is it recorded, and what were people’s initial reaction?

Sorry for another “how do I become a historian” question, but I do have some specific questions for my specific case, so please indulge.

​

After my masters (in something non-historical), I plan on doing a bachelors and a masters in history (the high Middle Ages is what I’d like to focus on, possibly social history). Since I’ll already have a masters, my bachelor can be shortened to just one year, and the masters is also only one year. So just two years to get a masters degree in history.

​

Up until now, I’ve read (not studied) quite a bit about the Middle Ages, mostly popular histories and great courses and whatnot. But I often get overwhelmed at just the sheer amount of information available. I don’t remember the vast majority of what I read, and I haven’t read even the slightest sliver of what is available on the high Middle Ages.

​

So my question is this: how much am I supposed to know, as a historian? Is it more of a study where being able to look up things and organise them in your mind is important, or are you also expected to, for example, be able to recount the major crusades in some detail?

​

Since I only have 2 years, after which I do hope to do a doctorate, I don’t have much time to study and would like to start reading and studying before I even enter the bachelors.

I recently read a blurb that "On September 9 1943, 36 high ranking Nazi officials were killed at a banquet [in Belarus] by partisans..."

Sounds dramatic! Is there any reporting on this event? Barring that, is there any sort of English-language study of partisans in Eastern Europe that might shed light on this or similar events?

I found "Stalin's Guerillas" somewhat underwhelming as it focused almost entirely on STAVKA's attempt to control partisans, interesting sure, but a very niche focus.

What did people in eras that we’ve named later (e.g. the Middle Ages, the Belle Époque) call their time periods?

I can imagine that most folks who thought about it would have talked about “nowadays,” but what would historians of those eras call them?

I've read that 60 000 books have been written on the American Civil War. How does that figure compare to other famous historical events like the French Revolution or Russian Civil War?

When did we stop writing dates as words, e.g. "eighteen hundred and sixty-five" and make the switch to writing them as numbers, e.g. "1865"?

Do the words “human” and “man” share an etymological origin, or are the modern similarities a result of that phenomenon i can’t remember the name of, when a word’s pronunciation is changed because of it’s chance resemblance to another word?

What would a Roman tax collector refer to themself as?

Were there public health disinformation campaigns during the Spanish flu pandemic in the US? Watching all the disinformation flying around today made me think if a parallel can be drawn to back then.

Jonathan Swift published "An Argument Against the Abolishment of Christianity" in 1708. From what I understand no one was seriously trying to abolish Christianity. But he makes it sound like atheism or irreligiousness was commonplace in his time. Do we know how widespread atheism or irreligion was at that time in Britain?

What happened to the traditional Chinese Queue during British rule of Hong Kong? Was it preserved, diminished, etc.?

Can anyone speak to the economic or financial conditions of Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s, and whether British rule had a potentially positive or negative impact on the economy leading up to it?

And finally, can anyone provide some insight into how British rule had influenced Hong Kong culture by the 1990s? Was it evident in language, food, etc.?

Did a shootout ever happen between the Austrians and Soviets in 56?

Saw a YouTube comment in which a guy was talking about a moment when his family was sneaking through the Hungary-Austria border during the Hungarian revolution of 1956, they saw Austrian soldiers shooting at the Soviets cause some Soviet bullets crossed the Austrian border

How much did a pound of coal cost in the US in the 1890s?

how where vikings known for wielding axes?

I'm working on a myth-history project involving Charlemagne, and I was frustrated to find that there's not a ton of sources listing the Paladins. There are some- I've been able to find Roland/Orlando, Oliver, Astolpho, Bradamante, Ogier, etc- but I just can't seem to find a list of twelve paladin names at all, let alone anything specifically summarizing them. I imagine this is because there's simply less interest in Charlie than in his much more famous derivative Arthur, but there's no way we don't know all twelve, right?

Is there archaeological evidence of a massacre at ancient Carthage in 146 BCE? I know that there's a significant destruction layer that attests to the destruction of the city - but do we really know that most of the population was massacred? Are there mass graves or evidence of bodies being burned en masse?

Was it very common for your average Frenchman in Late 18th Century Paris to carry a sword on their hip? Did it become more common with the revolution?

Was advised to ask here by mod so..

Are the helmets the Frollo’s soldiers wear historical and do they have a name?

Google is really failing me at getting an answer, just get a bunch of shop links to toy versions of the helmets in question so thought I’d inquire here

Were "spall liners" used on ships in the age of sail?

What is the difference between an Irish Galley, Scottish Galley (Birlinn) and a Viking Longship?

Was there a difference in oars only or other differences?

Bonus question: Which would be better at transporting horses and how many commonly to each boat?

I'm curious to know the make and model of the last muzzle-loading rifle to be designed, commissioned, and issued into service as a primary infantry arm.

I'd also be interested in knowing when it was replaced, and with what.

Thanks very much!

Anyone know much about 19th/early 20th century maritime history? I'm curious: just how "risky" was trans-oceanic travel in both practice and popular perception? Basically, from the late-Victorian era to WWI.

I know there were a number of high-profile wrecks of massive passenger liners (Titanic, Brittanic, Lusitania, etc.), but I'm curious just how common these accidents were, and how they were perceived. Like... would you say it was roughly equivalent to our aircraft crashes are regarded today--horrific, but very infrequent--or were people back then forced to just accept a significant risk of wrecking as the cost of sailing from one continent to another? The whole concept of being "shipwrecked" certainly seems to be a very popular trope in fiction from this period.

In China's Cosmopolitan Empire of the Harvard series, on pages 234 and 235 the author mentions a Liu Zhiji who ' argued that for Confucius to chronicle only the state of Lu when he had available the records of other states, and to omit dramatic portrayals of men and events, were serious historiographical errors. Similarly, Liu criticized Confucius's supposed practice of modifying the historical account or omitting certain events to indicate his moral judgement, traditionally considered the raison d'etre of the work and the core of its genius, as a failure in history's fundamental task of providing a truthful record.'

Do we know of any other criticism of Confucius in his role as historian before the twentieth century?

Is there a specific date in which the Aeolipile was first created/described by Heron. I have checked some sources and they just say 1st century AD (I know what that means but I am looking for a date/year).

Any recommended reading on the subject of assessing cause and effect in history? I'd love to get a better handle on historians' approaches.

It seems simultaneously important and impossible, and is a constant underlying problem in debates I follow about social change strategies.

What do people mean when they say feudalism wasn't a real thing? I've seen the claim made several times on this subreddit, indicating that current historiography is moving away from the concept, which is shocking to me. Is this simply a revision of terms, where historians are finding that the normative application of the concept is inadequate in describing pre-modern European agrarian social-political relations? Or is it an even bolder and truly revisionist claim than that? What are the important essays on this topic that I should read?

Good book on the Franco-Prussian war with a wide lens (i.e., that is not simply about how the war was fought?)

Paraphrasing a bit/summarizing from memory a bit, Peter Heather said that about 85% of Roman citizens were farmers, and yet the Empire was never more than at a subsistence level. Why is that?

I know that a lot of powerful figures in Greek and Roman history claimed that they were descended from heroes and other mythological characters but what are some examples in other cultures of king, emperors or other figures claiming descent from myths and legends? (Not just claiming to be demigods)

How fast was travelling in ancient rome?

I am currently watching a documentary about ancient rome, and the wife of Marcus Aurelius heard of the (false) passing of the emperror, and to secure her and her families safety and future she travels from rome to "egypt" (presumably alexandria then, capital and all?).

Now they didn't mention how long that would take but I can't stop wondering about it. Did it take days, weeks or even months?

And on topic: If, let's say, romans wanted to travel to britannia would they sail all the way? Or would a land route be faster?

Just to clarify: I don't talk about armies.

What is a "mirrored stand lamp"? Hopefully this has some sort of historical significance. I read a lot of fantasy novels and my impression is it's some sort of candle in front of a mirror. Is this even a real thing or have my fictional tastes fooled me? Google is no help it just shows modern lamps with mirrors.

What are some good books published in the past decade to read about the French Revolution?

I know World War 1 was originally just called "the great war", so, when did the terms World War 1 and World War 2 come into use?

Does anyone know of any documentaries about conquered people from pre-18th century?

I'm interested in what life was like for conquered people at times in history where there was not much enlightenment with regards to how you should treat those you've conquered in war. Both in terms of any practical hardships, but also how people dealt psychologically with the indignity of being a conquered people.

So any documentary that might shed any light on any of that.

How likely were soldiers to survive their career is medieval times? (let's say 800)

Were veterans with lots of experience extraordinarily rare, or was dying just unlucky?

The question comes from wondering how many soldiers had experience in the field, and if they were just as likely to die in combat as rookies. Not to mention wondering how apprentices were kept alive so that they weren't wasted investments.

When apartheid in South Africa was dismantled (circa 1991), how much support did the transformation have among whites?

What did Washington say when he crossed the Delaware?

I was researching Hecataeus of Miletus when i encountered a discrepancy. While it is widely known that Herodotus is the first historian, Hecataeus having lived almost a century before Herodotus ,is considered a historian. I searched about this but couldn't find anything. What's going on?

Was and how European mail improved from the dark ages to the end of the metal armour period?

Was mail ever copper, or gold around 1066 or is the beaux tapestry inaccurate?

How did saxons and vikings tell each other apart in battles that didnt allow for shield walls? Like raids?

Are there any particularly good biographies of Ignaz Semmelweis?

Is there a place I can find info about the number of occupying and fighting forces in ww2 on any given day in any region/country/front?

Medieval-early modern taverns;

Was the tavern owner usually the wealthiest person in the village? And how did the villagers typically pay for their beers and what not? Trading foodstuffs or just long running credit/tab until the harvest went to market and the farmers could settle debts with coin?

And when did he tavern/ "public house" stop being the central meeting location for a community? Sure, there's probably more bars and "taverns" than ever before but I would be thought weird if I chose to hangout at the local "bar & restaurant " in my small town all day.

Is it true that millions of Black people in the U.S. are actually native Americans and only few (maybe tens of thousands) of black people were actually brought over from Africa??

I was wondering if anyone has a good book recommendation about English common folk in any period between 1000-1700ce?

books about pre christianity ireland?

Did greek people before the bronze age collapse speak an Indo European language?

What family bloodline has wielded the most power for the most amount of time?

Is there a possibility that an ancient european could have made it to north america during the last major ice age?

Maybe this is more suited for r/AskEconomics, but how did the Empire of Japan industrialize if they had so few resources (coal, iron, stuff for heavy industry) that they had to invade Korea, Manchuria, and the colonial territories of Britain and the Netherlands, among others?

In the Golden Age of Piracy, when a crew committed a succesful mutiny, what would happen to the former captain?

Were they killed outright or could they surrender, and if so, what happened afterwards? Tossed in the brig, marooned, ...?

I recall reading somewhere that a massive amount of property destruction - greater than wwII - occurred in Maoist China. Is there any truth to this, or have I been lied to?

When was the term liberalism to label an ideology created?

By the time of John Locke and Adam Smith there was no conception of liberalism, right? When did it emerge?

A little embarassed to be asking a question inspired by videogames, but playing CK3 I am always a bit dubious about the negatives of the ruler being of "different culture" from the people they rule. Was this a real issue in the CK timeframe (9th - 15th century), in Europe or elsewhere? Or is it an anachronistic nationalism? Or some other option?

What was the civilian death toll of American civil war?

Was Hitler ethnically German?

which of his Marshalls did Napoleon last saw before he died?

was hitler really a teetotaler or did he enjoy beer? I saw a piece of news about weekly beer shipments while he was in prison,and some photos show him drinking.

I NEED THE ANSWER FOR THIS QUESTION Please help

He was in a high place in the military.

He has a title which only 2 person has.

He won the title thanks to a mission.

Other person with this title is a doctor.

He left his duty and doctor took it over after 26 full days.

I need the full name of the person mentioned in the first 3 clues. This is really important for me so all help is appreciated. Thank you already!!!