Is there a historical reason why people shout "Geronimo" when jumping off things?

Is there a massive man made river in Africa constructed entirely from slave labor?

In high school one of my history teachers went over a massive African empire as part of a thing where he went over different continents histories over several weeks per continent. I recently was thinking about this and I can’t be sure if this was actual history or just racist propaganda. I’ve tried googling anything that I remember from the lesson but I can’t find anything about a massive slave built river in Africa. A few of the things that he said stand out as “race centric” but I’m just going to give the facts I remember and leave the rest out of if.

I can’t remember the name of the empire, or even if you would classify it as a empire, but one massive “empire” in northeastern Africa (not Egypt) was well known for their great works of construction and slave labor. He taught us that they used slave labor to construct the most labor intensive slavery project ever preformed by using slaves with only basic hand tools to dig a massive man made irrigation river that was used to fertilize and irrigate massive farmlands in otherwise unusable soil. He said that the river is now one of the longest in the world and that the reason that they only used basic hand tools was because the metal tools were far more valuable than the slaves labor, so they just worked them to death. It was either the widest or one of the widest African nations ever, and they had complex agriculture and distribution networks to exchange food, goods, and slaves across the nation, and he really drummed them up as being on a whole other level than anybody else in that area at the time.

Due to their proximity to Egypt they essentially had exclusive second hand access to trade with Europe and the Middle East. And because of that they had superior weapons and armor and training so that they could raid tribes for slaves that were sold in order to fund the empire. And they later collapsed from the usual historic empire is too large and corrupt issues that happened to all large empires back in the day.

Sorry for the long rant and the probably unhelpful backstory, but did this empire actually exist or was this just historic fiction to justify American slavery as “the best possible outcome compared to what could have happened to your ancestors and they were lucky to be bought by us civilized folk”

TLDR; was there a advanced and excessively cruel massive civilization in Africa that built a massive irrigation river that I can’t find any information on, or was my teacher preaching lies to justify slavery in a overcomplicated way.

Sorry for the wall of text. This was my first time on this subreddit and I was told to repost here in this thread.

This may sounds dumb, but how do you guys "do research"? I'm trying to start a podcast that has to do with the history of a particular sport. So far my research has been limited to Newspapers from Library of Congress, and when I read something interesting I just write down the facts I want/need plus site the article. At times I will jot down another question that comes to mind while reading then go chasing that answer. Is that pretty much all there is to it or am I being horribly inefficient?

Who is the person behind Clintons arm in this photo? https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/796866599930822710/877255795593601054/Clinton_1999.jpg (Taken during the 1999 state of the union)

A YouTube historian reacts said that leather armor is unrealistic an was never used. That its just a Hollywood thing. Is this true?

I’m reading Richard Miles’ Carthage Must be Destroyed, and it includes this map https://imgur.com/a/sD7Po1w of Phoenician trading routes in the section titled “The Early City,” so I’m assuming this is meant to depict them during the time covered by the section in question, around 8th-6th century BC. The southern route to Tyre includes a stop in Egypt at what looks to be Alexandria, but Alexandria wasn’t there yet. Where is this supposed to be? Was it just a random little Phoenician trading stop, and if so how would Miles or whoever made this map have decided that that specific place was the most likely stopping-point on that route? You’d think the answer would be in the text of the book, but if it is I can’t find it 😅

According to Wikipedia, the only place outside what is now the United States that George Washington ever visited is Barbados.

Did George Washington really never go to Canada?

What's the earliest precisely known date in recorded history?

A lot of ancient documents are known to have been written "about X years ago" or to have happened "around Y date", but what's the oldest historical record of a date where we know exactly when that date was? I'd imagine there's a Sumerian record of an eclipse or something where we can identify exactly when that was, but have we been able to use that kind of reference to work out even earlier dates?

Did European royalty choose not to have many children? Why don't we hear about a King's 10 children?

Who was the Indiana Jones of historians?

Archaeology has a few adventurous people that Indiana Jones was based on -- T.E. Lawrence, Percy Fawcett, Belzoni, Hiram Bingham, and so on.

Are there any similar figures who were historians, rather than archaeologists? I'd expect there would at least be a couple, since collecting oral histories or tracking down obscure manuscripts might have still involved some danger and inconvenience back in the day...

What are the best subreddits to follow that focus on the Mediterranean, Middle East, Mesopotamia and/or Anatolia from the first civilisations up to about Christianity?

Doesn’t need to be all that in one. I’m just looking to curate my newsfeed with a couple interesting subs

Which are the best sources of information regarding the Origins, History, Lifestyle, Culture, Warfare, Architecture and Religion of Huns?

I've been able to get access to Denis Sinor's and J. Otto Maenchen-Helfen works. Are there any other authors that cover this topic?

Thanks in advance!

I know that the original ship HMS Dreadnought was launched in 1906 and to put it mildly was a game changer in naval history. What I am curious about is the name itself. Was it just a cool sounding name? Was it already a word? Is it a combination of “Dread” and “Nought” and if so is the intended meaning “Have no fear, the ship is here” or “this ship fears nothing”?

Can you please recommend a book focusing on the life of Diocletian? Thank you.

Was there any official or diplomatic communication between Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and Emperor Maximilian of Mexico?

are there any good books on the chinese warlord era? i am talking more of a laymen-introduction rather than something exhaustive.

Just saw the new West Side Story, where the neighborhood is apparently being demolished in favor of Lincoln Center. Can anyone recommend some reading on "slum clearances" in 20th century US?

What was the first military operation to be titled “Operation:”?

What is the oldest attestation of the Aesop fable, The Tortoise and the Hare?

I am trying to find out if it precedes Zeno's paradox, Achilles and the tortoise. While Aesop is thought to have flourished some a hundred years before Zeno was born, I cannot find any reference to this specific fable, which may have been written in later times and subsequently ascribed to Aesop.

So I'm working on a fantasy setting for a TTRPG I'm running with some friends, and one of the civilizations is modeled on the Sasanian Empire a bit, and since I like to use authentic titles and stuff when possible for a bit of verisimilitude, yeah. I was wondering; what would be the Middle Persian/Sasanian/Pahlavi equivalents of the following titles; Duke, Count, Baron. I think Duke would be Spahbed probably, and maybe Argbed for Baron? Marzban maybe for Count, but that seems more Margrave than middle nobility.

Already using the Middle Persian equivalent of satrap for something else, and besides that's more political than aristocratic, no?

I tried wiking some of thise stuff but some of it seems a bit contradictory. One page mentions Argbeds as basically castellans, while another mentions them as among the highest Sasanian nobles.

re: caesar augustus

is his other name "octavian" or "octavius"? i see both used, sometimes interchangably

I would like to know more about the history of the Yugoslav wars. A while back I came across a documentary called "Es begann mit einer Lüge"(it started with a lie), made by german national television. In the film it was claimed that certain aspects of the nature of the conflict were being falsely portrayed by western politicians, to justify a military invervention that would weaken a russian ally state. Is there any reliable, neutral literature I could read? Im especially interested in reasons and the overall course of the war. I hope this question doesnt imply an agenda, I have none, I simply want to learn some more about the conflict.

Before I go head-forth into them, can anyone recommend the best academic history journals to do with modern American history?

I've been taking interest in the story of the Scottish Wars of Independence. There's a host of characters so I'm looking for a good book that would cover the years leading to it and the Scottish War of Independence itself.

Any recommandations?

I can find a lot of resources about what a musical key is, but why is a musical key called a "key"? Is it related to a key that opens a lock? or is that a false equivocation?

How many hours per week did the professional class (ex. scientists, doctors, engineers, etc.) work in the 1800s? Did they work the longer hours that were associated with common laborers (ex. 60 plus)?

I remember when I was in school, a teacher told us about a famous quote in American History, something along the lines of :

"In the 20th century, the negro will be integrated and not assimilated"

I can't remember the exact quote, but I think W E Dubois might have said it? Has anyone heard this kind of quote? Does anyone know who might have said it and what was the exact quote?

Thanks!

What is the earliest example of partnership in advertising, where two unrelated businesses formally endorse each other? The question came about after seeing a Transformers video game on a Chili's payment tablet; something like that.

What would be a good introductory source for the media's impact on cultures. I'm specifically interested to contrast modern news media and social media with the forms it might have taken in different eras of history.

The edges of the Silk Road (Mediterranean and China) are widely documented, but the middle of the overland route: Bactria, Samarkand, Kashgar, the Tarim Basin, that area I'm hitting a void of information. Further made difficult by modern "silk road" stuff polluting my search results. Anyone have any good sources to read up?

I'm preparing a lecture on measurements, and i recall once reading about
an Empire/Kingdom/Similar that had existed for quite some time that
eventually fell in part because they added iron to their coins. IIRC and
pretty sure i don't an Italian goldsmith got suspicious when the weight
of the gold coins from this ill remembered "State" was off. He melted
down the coins and when the iron was discovered the news spread quickly,
causing a distrust of the currency and that was that. This might just
be an internet myth i've heard off and googling(porly) led me to many
interesting things about gold coins and their history, but nothing like
i've described here. If anyone knows of the spesific event or a similar
tale i would very much appreciate it. Prefrably if you could be so kind
as to point me to a source i can use that would also be very nice.

​

​

Thank you for reading.

What civilizations have kept the best records of their history?

Post WW2, who has killed more civilians in war, the USSR/Russian Federation or the United States?

In the classic portrait of Leonhard Euler, he's wearing a delightfully floppy hat. It looks to be made of loosely folded or tied fabric. Was this a style in the mid-1700s Russia or Germany? Is there a name for this hat?

Who writes sports history in your country - social/sports historians or physical education scholars?

Did ancient civilizations practice archeology?

In 425 BC, during the Peloponnesian War, the people of Melos donated twenty minas of silver to the Spartan war effort, which is about 12 and a half kilograms. How much could you buy with twenty minas of silver? In the context of a war effort, is it a trivial sum?

Have there ever been court cases where the evidence presented a seemingly logical impossibility, i.e. one person being in two places at the same time, and if so, what was the result?

How did Rembrandt's "The Standard Bearer" survive the Nazis? It was owned by the Rothschild family since 1844 and was a French National Treasure. What prevented it from being looted or destroyed during the occupation of France?

It seems to be taken for granted (at least among the general public) that people in the past were "more religious". I'm not saying I disagree with it, but my question would be: How do we measure that? Attendance at religious services? Public surveys (which they would not have had in the past)? A declining influence of religion on the public square? Thanks!

Did any actual monarchs ever write about how to be a good monarch, like how some actual generals (Sun Tzu, Rommel, and von Clausewitz) wrote about how to be a good military commander?

do any sport historians think e-sports will become part of the Olympics?

Is there any historical precedence of republics or democracies that have successfully turned back from falling to another government type? I understand this to be a nebulous term to quantify what that "brink of failure" is, but hoping for some examples to explore.

It seems easy to find examples of failed democracies that end up falling to things like power consolidation and political instability (Roman, Weimar). I hope to find examples of how current events could be brought back to stability by understanding successful events in history.

Mods, if this question is removed for being to broad, can I ask for help in how to ask this question properly? Writing isn't really my strongest skill, but my question has been gnawing at me for some time.

I know that this movie is not trying to be historically accurate, and that is also set in the present, but what I'd like to know is what time period the clothes and setting in the church scene linked below are based on. Or the closest estimate while taking into account the inaccuracy. Thanks.

https://kissthemgoodbye.net/horrors/thumbnails.php?album=78&page=11

Did Spanish Carlists actually use the cross of burgundy in abundance during the first carlist war?

Hello, I am looking for any good books on the history of India, or more broadly south asia. I am mostly looking for books on the precolonial history which is admitedly still a pretty broad stroke, but I am looking for some pretty basic chronical histories.

There is a story about Hitler hosting some sort of National Anthem competition in the 1936 Olympics (or the Olympics "Arts" competition), but I was not able to find source other than the native language, I suspect this is some sort of propaganda, anyone can help me with this? Thanks.

For someone like Dante in the late middle ages who seemed to see literal proximity to God as one of the primary rewards/punishments of the afterlife, would that translate at all to life itself, ie would living closer to holy sites or at higher elevation be desirable for similar reasons?

Can anyone recommend books about the battles in/around New York City during the American Revolution?

I love the way Stephen Ambrose writes, he's super readable, so anything that's a good read is appreciated, that said, I'll take dry writing too as long as it's informative.

A personal account or three would be awesome, too.

Thanks for any and all help!

Were there any other contenders to unify Germany besides Prussia and Austria?

I am trying to discuss American influence in Africa from the colonial era until now.

I remember from my high school and college history courses of an American conflict with Somali pirates during the late 18th or early 19th century era where the coast guard was deployed to protect American trade ships. I believe Ben Franklin (?) was sent as an envoy. I can’t find anything online, am I wrong or am I just not looking in the right places? Everything I search returns the Somali civil war and our influence in that conflict.

Is there any significant evidence that Ben Franklin actually had syphillis?

Is there a record of the commander of Alexander's rear guard phalanx at Gaugamela?

What did the norse call paris?

What are some examples of false panic and rumors resulting in chaos - like war and civil unrest, in the ancient world?

Is the claim in Jung Chang's book (and Wikipedia) that Guangxu intentionally defunded the military and navy correct?

How did medieval armies decide on their army's composition ratios of soldiers/cavalry/archers ?

Who said this quote? “in that moment i saw he was human like me , he had a mother , a brother..”

Hello Im trying to find this quote that goes something like “ during battle in that very moment i saw he was human like me , he had a mother , a brother” and goes on a little more.

I cant remember who said it. Please help!

Are there any good books or online articles that cover the topic of why the armies of Britain and France were each so crap at the start of World War 2, and were comprehensively defeated by the Nazis? Basically what were the failings of each of the British and the French that led to Dunkirk?