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Some questions people have just don't require depth. This thread is a recurring feature intended to provide a space for those simple, straight forward questions that are otherwise unsuited for the format of the subreddit.
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In addition to Quetzalcoatl and Xiuhcoatl, what other Nahua (Aztec) mythological serpents are known? For example, what is the name of the serpent that Tlaloc is holding in some ilustrations?
Could someone help me refind an answer on this subreddit? I think it was in response to a question about how dangerous travel was in medieval times. IIRC the answer quoted extensively from the diary of a French monk who was travelling with a knight and a squire, and at some point a storm washed away a bridge.
When did Louis XIV start using le Roi Soleil as a moniker?
Thank you.
Many Americans of Italian descent regard Columbus day as "their" holiday. Would my 15th century peasant farmer ancestors in the Kingdom of Naples have felt any affinity or shared nationalism with CC, had they even knows who he was?
How is the name of a historical event decided upon? Most are rather self explanatory, but there's a lot with more creative names: Bloody Sunday, Roarin' 20s, Night of The Long Knives, War of the Roses, The Wild West, etc.
To be clear, I understand that they describe the event, but these more creative names don't feel like no-brainers that arrived via common sense. So, for these more colorful names, where do they come from, and how is a consensus reached?
Is it true that when Philip V became King of Spain, he couldn't even speak Spanish? I've seen this mentioned a couple of times here and there, but nothing sourced.
Under what conditions has land reform (not) "worked"?
Or can you recommend English-language sources for a popular audience that compare various land reform efforts and what made them work/not work?
I don't know how to make this a completely precise question, but here's how I define things:
Maybe this is unanswerable. The first comparative source I found on google says this near the end: "To sum up the discussion, the article holds that the land reform policy cannot be standardised, but should vary from country to country and that each country must adopt its own land reform model." Grrrrreat. :D
Any good book recommendations on the Abolitionist movement in the US? Curious to read more about the wide spread of viewpoints among different abolitionist groups
I am aware that attempts to transcribe Ancient Egyptian names is something of a roll of the dice, what with the vowel issue, but the game Egypt 1156 B.C. appears to have had some actual research behind it, what with confirmed historical figures appearing in it, though spelled differently.
That said, one of the characters appears to have a name that's a bit more spelled differently than the others. Is "Amerout" a legit or logically attempted transcription of Tamerit, daughter of Ramessesnakht? I mean, it seems like it would be, but I'd like to know the quick logic behind it that chops off a whole consonant.
Recently there was a post on reddit with Richard Nixon talking about the two possible courses for Russia at the fall of the Soviet Union. That sent me into a bit of a rabbit hole of listening to Nixon speak on international relations. I'm not American, so I was not too familiar with him, and was surprised at how fascinated I was by him. I found him to be very articulate and informative on things I wasn't very familiar with.
I come to this thread wondering if anyone here has any people from the last century they think to be similar. Somebody who is interesting to listen to and informative. Basically I'm looking for another rabbit hole to go into
Hmm, I just had to think about this, but does anyone know if there's a newer book about history/historiography worth reading written by a British (!) author after 2000s' Richard Evans In Defence of History?
In other words, something that is not part of the "traditional historian vs. pesky postmodernists"-debate that was prominently carried out by Evans vs. Munslow / Jenkins? I find it hard to believe that, after twenty years, there's nothing more recent out there.
Dear Historians,
I am researching Ottoman/turkish masks for a film production. There is a request for an Ottoman mask which is to be placed in a museum. While researching i found that most of these masks look to be from either a later era or where used by people like the seljuks. So my question is: Did the Ottomans have a tradition of masks in either art or warfare from which i can draw some historical accurate inspiration?
As a history buff i would hate to make something historical inaccurate.
In the Song of Ronald are the characters Estramariz and Astramariz synonymous?
Hi guys I need your help. I have a faded memory of an info I've got at some point in my life but I cannot trace it back. I recall a story about a herd of animals - maybe some kind of native bovine - that defeated the conqueror. It feels like it would have been somewhere in central Asia and maybe an event of contemporary history, but, again, I'm not sure at all. Thank you in advance!
What is an up-to-date book on stonemasons/crafstmen involved in medieval building that I can use to track down the research history of the topic?
Hi, I keep trying to ask this as a thread question but they keep deleting it for being a "short answer", so here goes.
Can anyone identify the first violent event in the conflict that culminated in the American Revolutionary War in 1775? I know there are events like Culpeper's Rebellion that occurred nearly 100 years before the ultimate war. What were the events before that, and why did they occur?
I'm trying to determine how little conflicts build and build to a war like that, that occur sometimes hundreds of years before the war that defines the conflict. Does this make sense?
What makes someone a "warlord"?
What is it called when a colony influences the colonizer?
I was googling “Reverse colonialism” but all that showed up was stories about Western countries being colonized by greater forces (i.e. H. G Wells - War of the Worlds)
I’m looking for the name of the phenomenon where a country’s culture is influenced by their colonies (i.e. Indian Food in the UK)
Were Norse Vikings often raiding as soldiers for a king or something, or were they usually just working on their own as a sort of gang?
What are some books about the spread of Mahayana Buddhism, preferably with a detailed look over its spread in Central Asia
The Persians already had scale armour and the Celts knew how to make chainmail even before Philip II's time. How had nobody thought of making an adhoc jack of plates by sewing sheets of metal in between the linen of a linothorax
What kind of bag was Tank Man, the famous protestor at the Tiananmen Square massacre, carrying? Paper, plastic, cloth, something else?
Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask this question, but can anyone recommend me any general English-language reading on daily life in late Ming/early Qing China? When I go searching, I can find lots of very specific books and articles but they're not especially accessible to the layperson.
How long has yellow and red been associated with Spain?
(Referring to those of the Netherlands but if it was a universal thing across countries then such an explanation would be fine as well).
I'm under the impression 19th-century Netherlands "consuls" were a fairly different thing from what the term means now. I've seen the term "merchant-consuls" used as well but only in passing.
Mostly wondering: A) Was it a political, commercial, or else, sort of job as opposed to diplomatic?, B) What functions did they perform and how important were they considered?, C) Were they regularly Dutch themselves or was it common for them to also be foreign?, D) How did they obtain and/or were appointed to such positions?, and E) Was it term-based, life-long, etc.?
I got these tiny Lenin pins (lapel pins maybe?) from a old communist cafe in Denmark the other week. I would like to know how replaceable they are before I wear them out and potentially damage or lose them. But I've been having a hard time finding a comprehensive archive of soviet/communist pins. Can anyone help identify them?
The back inscription reads 30K. Could be the suggested price in Kroner, so maybe it was made in a Nordic country.
Is there a list somewhere on the internet of all of the known and declassified Casto assassination attempts?
What is "The West" (as in Western Civilization) west of?
My guess is Jerusalem, but I'm not sure.
Do you know this book? Old book of brief, contemporary, eyewitness physical impressions of ancient and historical figures.
It describes, among others the Caesars, Monarchs, Presidents, etc. I saw it once, years ago, and cannot for the life of me recall title, or author. It was something along the line of “How they really were.”
Would any historians among you know of this book?
Thanks.
Did Germany really have such advanced technology during World War II?
I feel like I've seen a lot of conspiracy theories and even fiction stories/novels that start with "____ took technology from Germany after World War II" which led to advanced technology in the conspiracy theory or alternate reality fiction story. With all those references I've seen, we're they really that advanced for the time?
What were Mao's gulags called?
So Hitler's penal sistem were Lagern (German for camps) Stalin's were Gulags, but Mao had...?
What was George Stinney Jr's last meal on death row? He was the 14 year old that was wrongly convicted and executed via electric chair in 1944. Can't find anything.
How to know what is the consensus in history (especially when it's a more recent one after certain research)?
An Odd Coat, we think it is 60-50 years old. No tag, no identification of any kind. Would love to know more about this coat. Seems to have some sort of pellet lining the inner part of the top collar. Dark red is the primary outer color, and the accent is red, some lines and the bottom of the pockets are that color. On the top middle, going down from the inner edge of the shoulders is a milky gold "V" the meets down in the middle. Buttons for the pockets, the center, cuffs and also for a waist strap. I think it was a women's coat as there were feminine products in the pockets. Bought the coat at a historical society sale, they did not know much about the coat either, it was a donation. Picture in the link below.
Odd Coat. - Chess Forums - Chess.com
The products in the pockets didn't have much identifiers, very generic items, like pure hand sanitizer napkins.
Are there wars in which 3 different belligerents fought?
I mean I always see 2 participants like Allies vs Axis, Allied Powers vs Central Powers, Coalition forces vs France and its client states. Are there wars in which there were more than 2 different Powers?
Why did Russia not only refuse to aid Poland during the Warsaw Rebellion, but also refused the US and Britain access to supply Poland?
Did the title of Grandee exist in Portugal as well? I could only find detailed information on the rank in Spain. A source (ideally in English) where I could read more, I would enjoy. I started wondering this from an anecdote about da Gama's navigator spitting Almeida Viceroy of India in the face, and him answering that he was not insulted by such behaviour by such an unimportant person. So as a bonus question I am curious if there is any truth to that story?
Because of its ties to a critical battle of World War 2, I would think the locals would give me an unequivocal answer: how do you pronounce Milne Bay?
In The Game God of War What Kind of Toga Is Kratos Wearing?
Additionally, what are those symbols? Do they mean anything? Are they actually Greek designs? Or are they all just made-up and the creators took liberties?
Do any population counts/estimates of the State of the Teutonic Order exist? Specifically, the mainland, not Livonia.
I have been unable to find any sort of counts/estimates, whether for the whole country, or for one specific region. (Except for some cities, but those are unhelpful.)
Population counts in the Polish voivodeships of Danzig, Malbork, Kulm, and Warmia, and in Royal Prussia shortly after the Teutonic Order's existence may also work, if the population lost in the Thirteen Years War is not too significant.
When European explorers were arriving in places like South America, Africa, and Asia, how would they even begin communicating to the indigenous people? Would there be a lot of pointing and miming?
I recently ran across this quote from historian Jean-Louis Margolin (see p452 here, but I found the article through wikipedia). He is talking about the Chinese land reforms of ~1946-1952 and says this:
Violence was not a pre-condition for land redistribution,
citing some other examples of way-less-violent land reforms.
Can anyone offer arguments for or against this claim? What do other historians think?
I can think of two ways to interpret Margolin's claim:
a) he means that, in general, you can have land redistribution without a lot of violence. (I think his examples definitely demonstrate that.)
b) he means that this particular Chinese land reform did not require (that much) violence.
Given the context, I think he meant something more like b), because he's using this statement as part of his argument that Chinese communist leaders chose to use violence for reasons that were not just limited to redistribution, and more generally to argue that Mao is bad (and because similar statements appear in this paper, like "much simpler ways to industrialize China or to eliminate his adversaries inside the Party did exist"). If you disagree with my interpretation, let me know.
I'm also guessing that most historians would not explicitly argue "yes, it was necessary" or "no, it was not." I find that historians generally don't like to make statements like this (Margolin notwithstanding), but I was thinking that maybe some historians (besides Margolin) have done things like looking at various land reforms, what drove their outcomes, and why they were designed the way they were.
How much graffiti was found in Pompeii? I can’t get a straight answer from the web. Also, how much of this was political graffiti?
How much was the Chinese intervention in Korea expected?
Hello. I would really appreciate any bibliography about Ferdinando I de' Medici. Anything related to him is very much appreciated, and it can also be a simple biography.
One more question - why castle chambord (France) have only two outside towers and other two behind are missing even there are foundations?? I can't find any info about it.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/ChateauChambordArialView01.jpg
When Caesar began the Roman Civil War, he said "The die is cast", a quote from a play. How highbrow / upper-class was this play? In modern terms, was he quoting Shakespeare, or Star Wars?
What is the history of this Japanese song which apparently refers to Kamikaze pilots? Is this a post-war creation?
Why didn't Empress Elizabeth sit on a horse like men?
https://secretvienna.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Sisi-the-royal-horse-whisperer-.jpeg
She was a modern and timeless person, so why was she sitting on a horse in such a stupid way?
