texts: In Europe, why were hereditary dynasties more prevalent in the medieval world than in the ancient world?

texts:
I know that at least in Western Europe, the various dynasties that held the title of Holy Roman Emperor claimed descent from Charlemagne. In France, the Capetians were the first to call themselves Kings of France and when the direct male line died out, the Bourbon and Valois dynasties were cadet branches that took the throne as a result. Even well past the middle ages, there were numerous succession wars that dealt with the concept of legitimacy and blood to vacant kingship titles (The Hundred Years War and the War of Spanish Succession are probably some of the most well known ones).

I don't know the history of the Ancient World as well but it seems to me that blood and family were not nearly as strong sources of legitimacy. While I understand that clans were powerful forces, I understand that many Roman emperors did not produce hereditary sons and instead designated or "adopted" somebody as their successor. Dynasties when they did exist, seem a lot more short lived and prone to decades of military coups and military leaders rather than having any coherent dynastic line that existed throughout the span of the empire. It seemed like having control of the army was a more legitimate source of power than any claim to blood or membership in a family.

Can somebody explain why the concept of dynastic legitmacy seemed so different between the two eras?


texts:
After the Pisonian conspiracy, if would make sense for Nero to have someone test his food for poison before eating it. But I cannot find evidence of food tasters for Roman Emperors.
Any help would be appreciated!


texts: What are some examples of nations that involuntarily gained independence?

texts:
I just read that Singapore gained their independence not because they wanted to, but because the Malaysian Parliament voted unanimously (without Singapore representation) to expel Singapore from Malaysia.

I'm wondering if there are any other instances of nations becoming independent because they were kicked out of their former country?


texts: What is the relationship between the Kurds and the Balochi?

texts: Does anyone know how did the Balochi people, who nowadays live in South-eastern Iran and Western Pakistan, but speak North-Western Iranian languages (i.e. related to Kurdish), arrive there and what is their relation with the Kurds, except that they speak a similar language?


texts: Was Alexander the Great ever an emperor?

texts:
Why is it that in the many biographies of Alexander the Great, the lands where he ruled over is described as his "empire", but he is only a "king of Macedon"? Was he ever recognized in or after his time as an emperor?

The motivation behind this question is that I remember a Chinese polymath once claimed that the title 大帝1 in 亞歷山大大帝2 is a misnomer because Alexander had never declared himself an emperor.

EDIT: Alternatively, to make this question less vague and hopefully also less opinion-based, what were some of the most supreme titles (that existed or did not exist) Alexander the Great adopted?

1. Him taking the meaning of great emperor rather than the more generic great ruler, which could include great king also.
2. What the Chinese call Alexander the Great.


texts: Wanderwort origins and the Indus Valley Civilization?

texts:
I have noticed that there seem to be many words that have travelled the globe due to trade, such as the word orange or rice, which have plausible origins in proto-Dravidian. Meanwhile, it is hypothesized that the language (if it is a language, which some people argue against) recorded in the Indus script is a Dravidian one. All this makes me wonder if these numerous possibly-Dravidian Wanderworts are indicative of the Indus Valley Civilization's success in trade.

This page of Wikipedia lists 7 English words with possible Dravidian origins, notably:

Orange, through Old French orenge, Medieval Latin orenge and Italian arancia from Arabic نارنج naranj, via Persian نارنگ narang and Sanskrit नारङ्ग naranga-s meaning "an orange tree", derived from proto-Dravidian.
Rice, via Old French ris and Italian riso from Latin oriza, which is from Greek ὄρυζα oryza, through an Indo-Iranian tongue finally from Sanskrit व्रीहिस् vrihi-s "rice", derived from proto-Dravidian.
Sugar, through Old French sucre, Italian zucchero, Medieval Latin succarum, Arabic: سكر sukkar and Persian: شکر shakar ultimately from Sanskrit शर्करा sharkara which means "ground or candied sugar" (originally "grit" or "gravel"), from proto-Dravidian.

So, is it likely that the Dravidian language that these words came from is the language of the Indus Valley Civilization? Is this a poor, uninformed idea? or, alternatively, am I late to the party and this is already intuitively obvious to historians? What are your thoughts?


texts: Did samurai wear hakama long enough to hide their feet?

texts:
There is a prevalent idea within some martial art (Aikido for one) that Hakama were worn low enough to hide the footwork of a samurai involved in combat. After all, if the feet are hidden, it is harder for an opponent to predict where the attack will come from. For example, see this answer on MA.se about Hakama….

I strongly suspect that "samurai wore long enough hakama to hide their feet" is a modern urban legend. It does not sit well with the Japanese cleanlinesses: They remove their footgear and wash their feet before heading indoors yet have hakama that trail the ground picking dust and dirt…

I am looking for historical primary source, the more martial the better, about the accepted length of a hakama for a samurai.

Clearly, this might have varied between time periods so I am tagging this as sengoku and meiji restoration to narrow the time frame.


texts: Historical precedent for using bodyguards as special forces?

texts:
In many sci-fi stories such as Star Wars (before TFA invalidated it) featured emperors, leaders, and senators with personal bodyguards trained in martial arts and advanced weaponry that also doubled as special forces. For example, the Fel emperors in the linked wiki would often send their Imperial Knights on daring missions. In more canon material, the Knights of Ren seem to serve the same (albeit in a darker manner) purpose in TFA. Is there a real-world precedence for this or did hollywood/writers make this up?
Edit:
Perhaps I was not clear. By special forces I mean crack soldiers often deployed to take high-value targets/complete various missions behind enemy lines.


texts: What attributes did Yahweh have before becoming a monotheistic deity?

texts: Did it "belong" to another people before he was adopted by Hebrews? Is there any anthropological reconstruction about all this monotheistic thing?


texts: How many RAF and USAAF/USAF airfields were built in the UK between the mid-1930s and 1960?

texts:
Whenever I fly over southern or eastern England I see a lot of runways, many of them disused.  The majority were built during WW2 for the RAF and USAAF, others date back to the early cold war years.  New airfields were built in many parts of the UK at this time.  Is there a record of how many new RAF/USAAF/USAF airfields were constructed between, say, the mid-1930s and 1960?

I can find lists of current and former RAF and US stations, but it isn't clear whether a particular station was also an airfield, and much of the dating information is incomplete.


texts: In what ways were the creators of the USA's system of government inspired by Roman government?

texts:
Classicism in the broadly British world system was well established by the time of the first revolutionary riots in British America

The elites of British America predominated in the construction of the USA and also had unusual access to classical education.

In what ways did the governance of Rome inspire their ideology about the governance of the USA, then under revolutionary construction?

Did the American mobility, the riotous mob, have any classical associations in their demands regarding the governance of the revolutionary USA under foundation?


texts: Did Martin Luther actually nail a copy of his 95 Theses to a church door? What do we know and not know about this?


texts: When did USA start to help developing countries?

texts:
In 2006, the United States government gave $23.53 billion in overseas development assistance.
When did these programs start?


texts: When did European building interiors partitioned into rooms become commonplace?

texts:
My visit to Versailles many years ago confronted me with an alien concept of interior architecture: everything was a large hall, including the bedchambers, and getting to another part of the palace required passing through all these spaces that in a modern building would be rooms separated off of access hallways.

Wikipedia implies that the concept of separate rooms and halls as we know them didn't develop until sometime during or after the middle ages:

  In a medieval building, the hall was where the fire was kept. With time, its functions as dormitory, kitchen, parlour and so on were divided off to separate rooms or, in the case of the kitchen, a separate building.

This is painfully vague though. When did it become normal in Europe for upper-class buildings' interior to be composed of separate rooms off a main hall instead of a single multi-function grand hall? Or, to state the question differently, when did the multi-function grand hall that served as dormitory, kitchen, reception hall become uncommon and antiquated? Accuracy to the century, or the span of transition centuries, is plenty for my purposes.


texts: Who were the first "businessmen" to rival the kings throughout the world?

texts:
The merchants seem to have existed for as long as human history. But when did they begin to "take over" the kings? By that I mean, by the time of the "tycoons" like the Oil and Train people of the 1800's / industrial revolution, it seems to me the kings were already overpowered by businessmen. The American revolution of 1776 also meant merchants (?) were overpowering kings. But what about by the time of the first businesses in the early 1600's like the East India Company and such. They were subsidiaries of the kingdoms it seems to me, but I don't know much.

But before that, like during the 800s CE to the 1500s CE, what was happening with the merchants and their relation to kings? Did the pirates and vikings and such gain as much power as the kings in some places? What was their relation to the kings? When did merchants officially equal or rise above in power to the kings in different places in the world? If I need to narrow the question down, I would wonder in Europe, but I am also interested in China and India.

Basically I am trying to paint a vivid mental picture of how the merchant class gained power equal to or above the kings in Europe, China, and India (or anywhere else). Who were the key merchants (what were their names or ethnicities), and what did they do to aid in this transition?

Also as a tangent, would be helpful to know which books dig deep into this.


texts: At the time of the drafting of the Constitution, who can and cannot vote was left up to the states. Despite leaving it up to the states to decide, did any of the Framers view that criminals, either in imprisonment or after their time, can or cannot vote?


texts: What was used to pay taxes in Medieval England

texts:
Was coinage issued by the Kings (Queen) used to pay taxes in Medieval England?

If so were these silver or gold coins or base metal ?

And how did the use of tally sticks fit into the tax system


texts: What were German contingency plans in case Hitler was killed?

texts:
There were several attempts to kill Hitler, most famously probably the 20 July plot.

So… what would have happened, if that e.g. succeeded?

Now, as I do not want to ask a question about alternative histories and speculations, let me clarify the question a little:

Were there any plans by Hitler of who would follow him if he died?
Was there any "crisis squad" or people who were responsible in that case?
Did they even think of that/accounted that or thought this would never happened?
Is there any indication that this would have caused a crisis or problems/unrest in the population?
Were there any indications by others e.g. close to Hitler that could have adopted power?
Can one estimate how much disruption would have caused that? Nearly nothing with just someone following up or could it e.g. have shortened World War II?

So of course one cannot say what would have happened, but surely there must have been some "backup plan" or so? Or one could estimate how important he was for Nazi Germany and whether he could have been easily "replaced"…


texts: What were the advantages and disadvantages to the creation of Vichy France, from the Nazi point of view?

texts:
After the defeat of France in 1940, Hitler concluded a deal with the French that saw the creation of Vichy France.

What was the reasoning behind this resolution?  Oviously there must have been some benefits for the Germans but were there any disadvantages to the agreement?

Please put forward the pros and cons and what the effects (if any) there were to the war as a whole.


texts: Was the American Civil War the first to include multiple multi-day battles?

texts:
Looking at wikipedia reveals that there were plenty of multi-day battles in the American Civil War.

I looked at its article on the Crimean War, which as far as I know

was the previous significant war, and didn't find any there.

In fact, I only know of three multi-day battles before the

American Civil War: Thermopylae, Barkan, and Leipzig.

  Did multi-day battles first become somewhat common in the American Civil War?

Obviously, sieges (one force contesting control of a castle, fortress or fortified town or city,
against a force most of which stayed inside it) frequently lasted multiple days starting way

before then (perhaps as far back as recorded history?), but I'm not interested in those.

I suppose, to be more precise, I could ask:

Was the American Civil War the first war with at least 4 multi-day battles (not sieges) occuring within 10 years of each other, or with at least 3 multi-day battles (not sieges) occuring within 1 year of each other?


texts:
So I was watching Downfall last night (good movie by the way) and I noticed that whenever Hitler walked around, the movie always showed him with his left hand behind his back and it was always kind of shaking, especially when he was doing things like praising his soldiers and generals etc.

Did Hitler actually do this? If so, why? Is this some sort of Nazi gesture? Was he sick?


texts: Did German submarines communicate with allied convoys during battle?

texts:
In the movie Greyhound a German submarine communicates with an allied convoy during battle by radio to intimidate the crew.
Are there historical accounts of such behaviour or is this purely fictional?


texts: Was there a time when George Washington discovered some of his soldiers absolutely refused to swear loyalty and obedience to the Continental Congress?

texts:
I'm trying to pin down the details of something which I believe once happened to George Washington, before the end of the American War of Independence. Back around the late 1980s, I was reading a book I'd found in a library. It was talking about the political system of the United States of America.

According to the author, as filtered through my imperfect memory, once upon a time the following sequence of events occurred:

It was sometime during the Revolutionary War. General George Washington had already been appointed Commander-in-Chief of the rebel forces.
A regiment (I think) of volunteers turned up at Washington's current field headquarters, wherever that was. The commanding officer of this newly-formed unit introduced himself to General Washington, and stated that he and his men were here to follow Washington's orders in the struggle to break free of the British Empire.
Washington said something along the following lines: "Thank you, Colonel. Now, please have all your men prepare to swear an oath of loyalty and obedience to the Continental Congress."
The colonel said something along the following lines: "I am sorry, General, but I cannot do that. Every man in my regiment has already sworn an oath of loyalty and obedience to the sovereign state of Maryland!"
The unspoken implication was approximately this: "My men and I will follow your orders, General, because our legislature has chosen to join in this Revolution, and it recently voted to send us here to fight under your command. Until further notice!  If word comes to us, a month from now, that the legislature has reconsidered, then it will become our sworn duty to pack up our things and march home, no matter how you or the Continental Congress may feel about losing our services so abruptly!"

As I recall, the author was citing this early example of friction between "loyalty to your home state" and "loyalty to a Congress representing many states"  in order to illustrate a general point about how the question of where to draw the line between "broad federal authority" and "states' rights" was already a knotty problem in American politics long before the events that triggered the Civil War.

In recent years, I have occasionally Googled, trying to pin down just when this happened. I have not been successful. You should bear in mind that I am not quite certain that it was a "regiment" that showed up on Washington's doorstep, nor that these volunteer soldiers were from the state of Maryland (as opposed to Delaware or some other state). I just think I remember it being "a colonel commanding a regiment from Maryland" who absolutely refused to swear an oath to obey the Continental Congress . . . but after 30 years or thereabouts, my memory may be very blurred!

Does anyone recognize this anecdote? Can you tell me if it really happened, and if so, where I can learn more about the details of that incident? (For instance, the author of the book, near as I can recall, did not inform his readers of precisely what Washington ended up doing about this troublesome situation after the colonel had explained his position. I've always wondered!)


texts: Who were these two 1961 Soviet pilot defectors?

texts:
During the Viet Nam War, a Soviet pilot nicknamed "Victor" defected from an airbase near Baku, crash landing in Iran in an L-29. In the USAF he was named "Defector Source 306".

An earlier incident of the same type is described in the Wikipedia in the following words:

  In 1961, a disappointed Soviet pilot flew his Sukhoi Su-9 interceptor
  to Abadan, Iran. Only very sketchy details about this incident are
  known even today, but the plane and the pilot were quickly picked up
  by officers of the Foreign Technology Division (FTD) of the United
  States DoD. After being disassembled within 24 hours the Su-9 was
  transported to the USA, while the pilot followed shortly after. Cold War Pilot Defections, Wikipedia

What was the identity of these two pilots?


texts:
Were there mercenaries or notable vigilante type groups around for World War One? Particularly Europeans? I was wondering if all nations were strict about their militaries and whether civilians would have been permitted to pick up a rifle and help out in any circumstances.

I do mean mercenaries as organized private companies. But also, was there anything stopping other individuals from fighting alongside? I guess what I'm getting at is, was the war fought by people other than those under a government military, regular or militia?


texts: Eastern Europe during middle ages, a world view

texts:
I am a Belgian man conversant in Dutch, French, English, German (so English is not my first language), therefore you read many mistakes.

My question is this: in our class and country it seems that all progress and novelty came from what  is now western Europe. examples?  art (roman Gothic  )
social history (chivalry/ bourgeois/freedom of Peasants and city people)
religion ( investiture  battle / monk movement in Cluny  and Citeaux crusades. ..)
There is, of course, the fact that a part was influenced by Byzantine empire.
So my question is: what is the significance/originality of eastern Europe. What should I know  and what books should I read to fill a gap. The idea stands that eastern Europe was a copy of west Europe. Please view this mail  not as an arrogance stand but as a way to broaden  my restricted view


texts: Is the name of "Diocletian" just a coincidence?

texts:
Ok, so apparently the splitting of Rome into two sections was the fault of a guy named "Diocletian".  His first order was to split the empire into two.

Is it just a coincidence that his name begins with the prefix "Di" as in two? Is his name just a nickname? Was "Di" used in his language as a prefix for two?


texts: What social response could be expected in the Roman world after a temple collapsed?

texts:
I've been reading Ritual Landscapes of South-East Britain (2008, David Rudling). In a chapter on the Wanborough, Surrey Temple complex the author discusses how one temple was built in the late first or early second century and within a short amount of time (no more than 50 years) it had collapsed due to structural weakness. Immediately afterwards another temple was constructed adjacent to the previous.
This got me thinking about how the population would have reacted to this, I'm aware that no source from Roman-Britain discusses the topic, but, do we have any accounts from the wider Roman world discussing or reporting the collapse of a temple? What was the immediate reaction? How was this incident understood? Were any punishments meted out?
Ideally this wouldn't include responses to natural disasters, as the apparent cause (e.g. volcano, earthquake) would have been obviously different to a structural fault.


texts: Why didn't Britain or any other European power colonize Abyssinia/Ethiopia before 1936?

texts: It is well mentioned while reading books on Africa or, the colonization or “scramble” for Africa, that two countries, Liberia and Ethiopia/Abyssinia, had retained their sovereignty as independent countries from European powers. Liberia was not colonized because of support and protection by the US. But how did Ethiopia turn out to be independent?


texts: Was there an export industry of papyrus from ancient Egypt?

texts: While researching the orphism question I came across a mention of the Derveni Papyrus. While its content is highly interesting, I got curious as to how a papyrus showed up in 4th century BCE Macedonia to begin with. Was it grown locally? Was it imported from Egypt? If the latter, then are there known references to such a trade, its volume, etc?


texts: Why was the German system of interlocking plates not used after WWII for armored vehicle construction?

texts:
During World War II, Germany constructed many armored vehicles using a system of interlocking plates. This is visible at the seams of armored vehicles. The welds are not a straight line, instead the edges of the plates are complementary "teeth" which fit together. This then allowed the teeth to be welded together.

If you look at the following photo of the Jagdpanzer 38, you can see this design along the front of the hull. This particularly design was produced for a while after the end of WWII, but the system of interlocking plates did not appear in any new designs. Why was it not used after World War II?

Credit for image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetzer#/media/File:Jagdpanzer_38t_Hetzer_TMFM.JPG


texts: Why could China keep most of the lands it conquered after 17th century but European powers could not?

texts:
If we look at the map of Ming dynasty, we see a much smaller China. Most of the northern and western part of today's China was conquered during Qing dynasty. In contrast, many European powers have lost most of their lands which they have conquered after 17th century.

This seems strange to me. Late modern China has lost almost every wars with European powers and has lost many lands in all those peace treaties. Also, late modern China had a long period of extreme chaos and fragmentation, which made it even more fragile. If I were in late 19th or early 20th century, I would have expected that China would be gradually eaten up by western powers (and maybe Japan also). But this did not happen.

So why could China keep most of the lands but the more technologically superior European powers could not, despite winning every wars with China?


texts: How were fortification doors protected against fire?

texts:
Ancient and medieval fortifications are often shown to have wooden gate doors in the midst of their stone walls.  Now granted, these doors are often massive and incredibly thick, but it still seems like a very risky point of weakness for an otherwise imposing structure.  A splash of oil and a flaming arrow seems like it could leave your castle with a giant gaping hole in the wall in a matter of hours.

And yet, that didn't seem to happen.  Or at least not regularly enough to require a different method of constructing doorways through the ages.  Attacking armies often had to bash down the gates with rams, or scale the walls rather than going through the gates at all, to get inside a city, castle, or fort.

Why was that?  What methods were used to protect the wooden elements of fortifications against fire?  I've heard of siege towers being covered by animal skins for that purpose, but never fortification doors.  And while thick doors like that would take a long time to burn through, it still seems like it would be vastly easier to splash some oil and throw a torch than to undertake more "conventional" siege methods.

Unless, as it seems, that wouldn't have worked?


texts: Where can I find illustrations online depicting Idrisi's coffer in the Queen's chamber in the "Khufu" pyramid

texts:
I believe I have found sufficient evidence that points to a block of stone, not necessarily a coffer as stated by Idrisi, being inside the niche in the Queen's Chamber blocking the entrance to the dead-end passage.
I have been attempting to obtain illustrations online from early travelers to examine, so far without success. Does anyone know where I could source such an illustration online, preferably not paywalled?
While on the topic of the pyramids, does anyone have a theory about the insect remains found by Vyse in the relieving chamber? I was struck by it's apparent similarities to our modern-day graphite powder, and wonder if it could have been used in a similar fashion....


texts: What are the immediate legal effects of rendering a royal branch illegitimate?

texts:
I recently came across this video which claims that Edward IV was probably illegitimate, effectively rendering the branch leading to the Windsors also illegitimate. That's quite a bold statement to make, but my question is not as sensational.

I'm not a historian so I won't make any claim one way or the other, but assuming a certain royal branch was discovered to be illegitimate, how would this affect a kingdom (i.e. UK) today?

Specifically:

Would the new head of state need to re-affirm age-old decisions and, if so, how far back would they have to go?
Has this situation ever arisen in the past, how big was the gap (I'm tempted to call it the "Royal Hamming Distance"), and how was it dealt with?


texts: Why did any slaves or former slaves choose to fight against Britain in the Revolutionary War?

texts: Considering the fact that they would have benefited more from a British victory, why would any slaves, current or former, choose to fight against the British?


texts: What are the reasons of the ethnical fragmentation of the Caucasus?

texts:
While investigating on Albania, I kept finding peoples I never heard of before. Notwithstanding my vast ignorance, this was systematic to the point that I started investigating. Take a look at this map: it does not even reproduce all of the ethnic groups. The overabundance is so evident that this question is asked elsewhere on the internet (with no answer, spare that click for later). This website has a comprehensive list of ethnicity, but offers no answers. I was impressed reading:

  According to the Roman historian Pliny, when the Romans came to the Caucasus, they needed 134 interpreters to deal with the jumble of languages they found. The 10th century Arab geographer and historian al-Azizi referred to the area as the “mountain of languages”. Today, this relatively small area (about the size of New England) is home not only to over 100 languages, but to four distinct language families that are indigenous and unique to the region: the Northwest Caucasian family, the Northeast Caucasian family, the Nakh family and the South Caucasian (or Kartvelian) family. In addition, several languages from families common elsewhere – Indo-European and Turkic – are spoken by various groups in the Caucasus region as well. Like the linguistic situation, the ethnic situation too presents a complex and highly mosaic picture, because ethnicity correlates closely, though not perfectly, as we shall see below, with the languages.

We know how several (hundreds?) migrations brought people from Central and East Asia towards Europe and the Middle East. Most of these people established their own rule over some land, but it seems to me that invaders either survived to date as an ethnic and/or cultural majority (Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria, ...) or disappeared as a group - leaving genetic and/or cultural heritage to different degrees (Huns, Lombards, Vikings, ...).

However, when we look at the ethnic map of Europe, there is considerable less fragmentation than in the Caucasus only, especially if one considers the difference in overall extension and population, and that Europe itself contains a fair amount of impervious regions (Alps, Pyrenees, ...)

The question: why so many groups survived (at least culturally) in the Caucasus compared to nearby regions? I'm interested both in geographical reasons and in historical developments (e.g. national states vs empires, political fragmentation vs centralization, ...).


texts: Political opposition groups in the Russian revolution?

texts: Ok, so I do understand that there were the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. In school we learned that Soviets consisted of the peasantry, the industrial workers, and the soldiers. But later on, the soldiers formed together with the workers a worker's government, the Petrograd Soviet, while the Provisional Government still failed to fulfill the demands of the rest of the people, until Lenin was sent back to Russia. What I don’t understand is if you count the soldiers as the ones supporting the Bolsheviks or the Soviet. So do the Soviets belong to the Bolsheviks or vice versa or am I completely off track?


texts: When did India become a major trading center?

texts: As stated on this site, India is unique in that it has easy sea trading routes to every continent, and is therefore a major trading center. When did India become one— during British occupation, after independence, or during some other period?


texts: I see that you have a lot of knowledge and I have been looking for information for several years. Do you know the story of this kamon? It is worn by my wife's family. It's Maruni ken Hanabishi; it is exposed like this in the house of the grandparents


texts: At what age could you hold custody of another in 12th century England?

texts:
My question is as stated in the title. My reason for asking is that I know girls could marry at twelve, and boys at fourteen. I am wondering at what age could each have legal custody of another?

I would assume girls could at twelve because of children, but what about boys? What I mean by custody is like how a parent had custody over their child. If someone’s parents died, and they had little siblings, could the little siblings stay with them, or would they go to someone else?

I mean this as who might say, have the authority to apprentice someone, or approve a marriage proposal, or things like that.


texts: Why did stock brokers go bankrupt after the crash of 1929?

texts: If the sole purpose of a broker is simply to buy and sell for others, why would they go bankrupt?  It's not like they have money invested in the cause, they just play with other people's money (or is it?).  Thanks for your help!


texts: Was there a temple dedicated to Old Age ("Geras") in ancient Athens?

texts:
Camus, in The myth of Sisyphus, mentions that

"There was in Athens a temple dedicated to old age. Children were taken there." ("Il y avait à Athènes un temple consacré à la vieillesse. On y conduisait les
enfants").

Indeed, Old Age is mentioned as a deity in Hesiod's Theogony. It is Geras, son of Nyx (Night).
But I would like to ask for help finding documentation that supports the existence of a temple dedicated to old age in Athens, as I haven't been able to do so in Wikipedia & other online sources.


texts: How high was the morale of non-Soviet Warsaw Pact states' armies and governments in the '80s?

texts: Does anyone with any relevant expertise know the general mood of the armies during the time? Is there documentation of any concerns from high ranking Soviet military officers, or of their Warsaw Pact counterparts, as to the reliability of Warsaw Pact allies in the event of a military engagement with NATO during the 1980's?


texts: Does anyone know the names of schools in 1870/71 London (potentially near Brixton) where wealthy Americans traveling abroad would enroll their sons?

texts: I am looking for schools in the London area operating in the years 1870/71 at a minimum where Americans traveling at length abroad might have placed their teenage sons to further their education. Specifically schools where the boys could board. I also believe the school I am looking for would have been near or in the Brixton area or perhaps Brixton was part of the name of the school?


texts:
I don't recall where I heard in an interview or read in an article that there is a  causation between economic crises and the two world wars, is there is historical truth in that?

For the second war is kind of common wisdom that Germany went into economic crisis because of 1929 stock market crash and then went to start WWII, but for WWI even if there was a lot of regional economical crises there were no generalized and synchronized one like the one started by the 1929 stock market crash.

Is there a correlation or causation between generalized economic crises and World wars?


texts: Were secret treaties ratified? How did they become official while remaining secret?

texts:
Up to early 20th century, secret treaties or secret protocols seemed to be common. For example:

The Russian-French alliance before WW I was partly based on a "a secret treaty in 1894"
The secret Treaty of London in which Britain, France and Russia offered Italy territories in exchange for joining World War I on the side of the Allies
The Soviet-German Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact included a secret protocol on the partition of Poland and other countries between the two powers' spheres of influence

How were these treaties ratified or made official if they were to be secret? Especially if some parties were democracies (e.g. Britain, France) where parliaments—which might include opposition parties—are expected to ratify treaties? Weren't it going to leak once hundreds of politicians knew about it?

If not ratified, how were they made official and enforceable? In countries where government can change hands, how does a government even know their treaty obligations made by previous governments of different political parties? How were they expected to honor the treaty?


texts: What is the relationship (if any) between Skøyen and Skøyenåsen in Oslo?

texts:
In Oslo there are two neighbourhoods called Skøyen and Skøyenåsen
"Åsen" means "the hill" or "the ridge", so Skøyenåsen means "The Skøyen Hill".

Skøyen and Skøyenåsen are not close to each other, though, they are roughly 10 km apart, on opposite sides of the city.
According to some sources and Wikipedia, the word "Skøyen" is of unknown etymology. Is this correct, or is there some information somewhere on the etymology?
Do these two places just happen to both share this name, or is there some relationship between them? Did one give rise to the name of the other? Or perhaps they both just share the same etymology?


texts: Which country was the first to separate (Christian) Church from state?

texts: Which country was the first one , in which the Christian Church was separated from the state? I know it must be in Europe, but I don't know which one exactly.


texts: "...as stated by its atheistic leaders more than 30 years ago" in McCarthy speech

texts:
I read this quote in a speech given on June 2, 1950 by Joseph McCarthy that said:

  "We know that the major aim of communism, as stated by its atheistic leaders more than 30 years ago, is to create a Red China, thence a Red Asia, wash it with a Red Pacific - and then enslave America."

Is there a speech by a Communist leader that insinuates this goal?


texts: What was the mechanized/motorized distribution in German Panzer divisions?

texts:
I've read a lot of organization charts for German Panzer divisions. In most of them, they have one panzer (tank) regiment, one artillery regiment, two or three panzergrenadiere (mobile infantry) regiments, and various support batallions (AA, AT, engineer, recce, etc).

This question is about the panzergrenadiere regiments. Most charts only denote them as "mobile", and that they could be either mechanized (i.e. with armored halftrack transport) or motorized (unarmored truck transport).

Given the difference in (offensive) combat value of mechanized and motorized infantry, I'm curious about the relative amounts of them... some sources indicate that only a single battalion, or even company, was mechanized, and all the rest was motorized. Could this be true? With such a low mechanized proportion, how did they get their effectiveness and legendary status in the early stages of the war?

To a lesser extent, this question is also about the artillery regiment... how much of it was self-propelelled (e.g. Wespe/Hummel) and how much of it was simply towed?


texts: When and why did having long hair become associated with women, and short hair with men?

texts:
It's obvious that having short or long hair is an identity sign for men and women respectively, more or less worldwide.

I wonder why something like this happened, though. Maybe it was a way to differentiate them easily that got widespread, as I don't think people cared too much about how they wore their hair, except that they might cut it to avoid things like lice.

And I don't think it's a genetic trait. I mean, it's just hair, so there must be some historical reason.


texts: Why did General Gürsel plea to forgive Adnan Menderes after overthrowing him in coup?

texts: According to Wikipedia, General Gürsel, one of the key military personnel behind the first military coup in Turkey in 1960, plead to save the life of Adnan Menderes, the deposed prime minister. Why did he plea for his life just after helping overthrow him?


texts: Who is the model in this Edward Burne-Jones painting?

texts: I am preparing a short article on Sir Edward Burne-Jones' Perseus Cycle, specifically the final painting, 'The Baleful Head.' It is crucial that I ascertain the identity of the woman whose likeness was used for Andromeda (see image, above). I suspect it to be Julia Stephen or Maria Zambaco.


texts: What was the court language of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan?

texts: Administrative language of Muslim rulers was usually Persian. But I doubt Tipu's courts used Persian. Was it Persian or Kannada? Even the Nizams started using Urdu instead of Persian after the 1800s.


texts: What flags are on display in “Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States”?

texts: In Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States, there are four flags on display to the right of George Washington. One of these flags is the 13 star United States flag, but what are the other three?


texts: Could a Hellenistic era smith discover the composition of an alloy?

texts: Assuming a smith from the Hellenistic era of ancient Greece was given a lump of metal (specifically a gold alloy) and asked to produce more of the same kind of alloy, what methods would they have available to determine what metals make up that alloy, if any?


texts: During WW2, what were working conditions of factory workers in Russia? By working conditions, I mean things like how many hours per week they worked, how many days off they got per month, if they lived in the factory itself, and how much they were paid or else how much stuff was rationed to them. I'm interested in the years 1941 - 1945.


texts:
After cleaning up a local cave, among lots of trash this ring was found laying underneath.
Can anyone identify this emblem?
Location: Center, Israel


texts: How is it determined what Culture is Period/Dynasty/Civilization part of?

texts:
I'm trying to make a fairly complete history for a con world and I'm looking at historical groups to make the history more realistic and I noticed something... At some point the names of these groups stop being "the whatever Period/Civilization/Dynasty" and start being called "the whatever culture".

Is there a reason for this? Is there a difference between the two, or is it just that we don't have a real name for this group?

Also would, say, Mesopotamia as a whole be considered one culture/civilization even though divided into several nations? Or would it be said that Sumerian Civilization is in or came out of Halaf (Mesopotamian?) Culture?

Also what exactly are/defines the bounds of a "Culture"? Is Egypt, for example, part of the same culture of Mesopotamia? And, if a city state suddenly arose in Hallstatt Culture, would that City-state not be Hallstatt any more? Would all of Hallstatt culture stop existing, because that city-state exists or would they be two separate cultures?

This is a lot of questions all aimed at trying to figure out the distinction of how cultures are defined, especially in the ancient world.


texts: Did Theodore Roosevelt ever say the "things that will destroy America" quote?

texts:
The fullest form of the quote I have been able to find online is from thinkexist.com and goes as follows:

  Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth,
  sincerity, and hardihood—the virtues that made America. The things
  that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price,
  peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of
  soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

However, the linguistic properties of the quote make it feel dubious that anyone would have ever said such a thing in this way in the late 19th or early 20th century, and I have been unable to find any literary citations for the excerpt or any information about the original source.

Did Roosevelt or anyone of historical significance actually say this? If not, where did the quote come from, and why is it always attributed to Theodore Roosevelt?


texts: What is the earliest evidence of vocation and birth based social stratification?

texts:
The caste system in India as practiced today has several layers of complexities, mostly undesirable ones. But it's a reality.
Now, it's commonly accepted that the Indus Valley civilization involved people from parts of present day Europe.
I am trying to understand if this practice has origins elsewhere or if the caste system has it's origins in this sub-continent itself.

An alternative way to put my query is:
What, if any, is the earliest evidence of a practice similar to the caste system in the world?


texts: Which is the first culinary book ever written?

texts: I strongly believe that food is a fundamental part of a country's tradition, so which is the first culinary book ever written?


texts: How strong was pacifism in interwar Germany?

texts:
During the rearmament of Germany operated by Hitler and especially during the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the French Republic stayed by and, in doing so, probably failed to seize the last opportunity to prevent WWII from happening. In France we frequently blame this failure on the trauma of the massacres of WWI and the strength of the pacifist movements in French society that ensued. Incidentally more than a few people  tried to justify their own or other's inactivity during the German occupation of France, some their active collaboration with the occupant, with similar anti-war sentiment. The communist party before 1941, Céline, Georges Brassens among others.
My question is this: Kershaw states that the people of Germany overwhelmingly approved of the remilitarization of the Rhineland, down to the German catholic church.  Why wasn't there a pacifist movement in Germany in 1936? Sure, if there had been one it would have been suppressed by the regime, but Kershaw implies that this popular reaction to the rearmament was genuine and freely expressed. Had there been one immediately after WWI which had vanished by 1936? If so why wasn't it strong enough to prevent the Nazis to come to power? In France the pacifist-lefists successfully opposed the fascist movements of the 30s.  Or is pacifism only for those who win the war with revenge for the losers?


texts: In 1492, what was the shortest distance you could travel to discover the new world from the old world?

texts: In 1492, when Christopher Columbus brought the new world to the attention of the old world. What was the extent of the known world, and what was the shortest distance someone could have travelled to discover the new world - That is, assuming any point on the known world starts at having travelled zero distance, even if you came from spain and travelled to Iceland how far would you have to travel to discover what is now known as the new world?


texts: What did the Russian ambassador to Japan do during his trip to London?

texts:
The Nadezhda stopped September 28th, 1803 in Falmouth, Cornwall to obtain salt meat [Voyage Round the World in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, & 1806, pp. 35]. Imperial ambassador to Japan Nikolai Rezanov took the opportunity to go to London [The First Russian Voyage around the World, pp. 16] and the ship was forced to wait for him; he returned on October 5th.

What did Rezanov (and, presumably, his suite of gentlemen) do in London in those first couple of days of October 1803?


texts: How did cities operate in medieval times?

texts:
Modern fiction is often filled with fantasy versions of the Middle Ages, from Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones, and everything in between, but how did the reality of this trope operate?

There obviously would have been farmers, creating and selling produce in markets, and blacksmiths, fixing horses and making armour and weaponry -- but what about everyone else? How did people afford to live? I realise there was no middle-class in those days, but the average person would have still owned a home.

For example, in a 13th century city like Conwy in Wales: What would the average person have done for money who lived within the city walls? How did their version of capitalism operate?

To put it another way, that might be easier to answer:

What would children have done with their day?
What would wives have done with their day?
What would husbands have done with their day?
And how would they afford to eat and live?


texts: What happened when Alexander the Great overtook most of Afro-Eurasia?

texts:
What was the political and social hierarchies during the Macedonian empire and after its splitting into multiple states? What freedoms and rights were the people given?

EDIT: This is as specific as I can get it. Please leave a comment if you would prefer that I split this into two questions.

These aren't textbook questions, just me wanting a bit of intuition.

Please provide what you can.

Thanks.


texts: What crops were part of the medieval spring harvest?

texts:
I am listening to a lecture series and the professor mentioned a "spring harvest" starting in mid to late March. I think this is a mistake - the winter crops were not harvested until the Summer - but I could be wrong.

was there a spring harvest?
when did it start? (what century?)
what month was it in?
what crops were harvested?

Which lecture series?

I had hoped to avoid this as I do not wish to challenge the lecturer directly, but it is The Medieval World

Why do you doubt the narrative?

The lecturer has already made a number of statements which are between suspicious and downright wrong, especially on matters related to religion.
This conflicts my prior understanding of Medieval farming.

What region are you referring to?

The lecturer generally limits herself to the areas around France, England, and the low countries.

What is the timeline you're referring to?

This part of the course is a bit ambiguous. It is after the enfiefdom of France, probably after the invasion of England by William the Conqueror. That said, I would be glad to know of any such harvest practices. If it is something common only to one particular region or era, that would be appreciated, too.
If I had to put numbers on it, I would say that this is probably between the 11th and 14th centuries, but if there is a sizable pattern anywhere between the 5th and the late 15th that would validate her claim.

What, specifically, do you doubt?

The professor stated that Lent was at the time of year with the least food. This is doubtful as the fasting in Lent was related to milk, cheese, and eggs. These were not staples of the Medieval peasant's diet, nor would they be in short supply. Further, while it is possible that the upper class might have celebrated the restoration of meat, it was less of an issue to members of the lower class. Most of our festival customs come from the lower class and migrate up the social stata.1
The lecturer also asserted that Easter was held after a Spring harvest. I found this strange as winter crops are normally harvested in August. I also could not find a reference to a sprint harvest in these materials.
Finally, the assertion that Easter was the celebration of a Spring harvest conflicts with the nature of harvesting: crops need to be harvested under certain climatic conditions. Easter, however, being a variable date, will often fall outside of this range (harvesting in late April is very different from harvesting in early March).

1. I understand that this particular statement may fall under "common knowledge". If pressed, I can cite sources… just not right now


texts: Did steamboats on the Mississippi have individual cabins?

texts: If you were an upper deck passenger, could you have a cabin all to yourself, or would you have to have a roommate?


texts: What was the consequence of Gestapo being declared a criminal organization in the Nuremberg trials in 1945?

texts:
As read in Wikipedia's article on Gestapo:

Between 14 November 1945 and 3 October 1946, the Allies established an International Military Tribunal (IMT) to try 22 major Nazi war criminals and six groups for crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nineteen of the 22 were convicted, and twelve—Martin Bormann (in absentia), Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Hermann Göring, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Julius Streicher—were given the death penalty. Three—Walther Funk, Rudolf Hess, Erich Raeder—received life terms; and the remaining four—Karl Dönitz, Konstantin von Neurath, Albert Speer, and Baldur von Schirach—received shorter prison sentences. Three others—Hans Fritzsche, Hjalmar Schacht, and Franz von Papen—were acquitted. At that time, the Gestapo was condemned as a criminal organisation, along with the SS.

And then:

At the trial of any individual member of any group or organisation, the IMT was authorised to declare (in connection with any act of which the individual was convicted) that the group or organisation to which he belonged was a criminal organisation. When a group or organisation was thus declared criminal, the competent national authority of any signatory had the right to bring persons to trial for membership in that organisation, with the criminal nature of the group or organisation assumed proved.
These groups—the Nazi party and government leadership, the German General staff and High Command (OKW); the Sturmabteilung (SA); the Schutzstaffel (SS), including the Sicherheitsdienst (SD); and the Gestapo—had an aggregate membership exceeding two million, making a large number of their members liable to trial when the organisations were convicted.

So around two millions people were part of a criminal organization, from which they could go to trials. To what extend did this happen? Did it only happen to specific individuals when someone would point them in specific accusations? Or were most of them just 'let go' if they weren't part of the biggest hierarchy of the organizations?


texts: At the beginning of English Civil War, why did Parliament take a hard line with neutrals, thereby effectively helping Royalist recruitment?

texts:
In Cavaliers and Roundheads, Christopher Hibbert notes the problems King Charles I had recruiting men for his army. Even in late August 1642, he had “scarcely more than 1,000 men” and was greatly outnumbered by Parliament forces. According to Hibbert, while in Nottingham (generally hostile to the king),

  The King became so depressed that emissaries were twice sent to London
  to seek terms for peace.

Then, on the 6th of September 1642,

  Parliament . . . declared that all men who did not support it were 'delinquents' and that their property was to be handed over to sequestration committees.

Hibbert continues,

  This meant that many of those who would have been happy to remain
  neutral were virtually obliged to fight . . . Men who feared that their
  fortunes might well be lost if parliament won now undertook to fight
  for the King.

Almost immediately, volunteers began to boost Charles’ numbers – by mid September, 3,200 men had enlisted. By the time of the Battle of Edgehill in October 1642, the Royalists had almost achieved numerical parity. Wikipedia mentions an ultimatum from Parliament but it is unclear if the article is referring to the Sept. 6th declaration (and the article seems to be based on a 1911 publication and little else).

Why did Parliament make this declaration on the 6th of September? Did Parliament simply miscalculate? Or was there another reason? Alternatively, is the impact of the declaration being overstated? Were there other factors which contributed to the increased enlistment in the Royalist army?


texts: What English company founded in the 1200s filed for bankruptcy in the 2000s?

texts:
I heard a news story about an English company that had been successful since about 1200 and filed for bankruptcy in the last ten years. I heard it reported on NPR's Morning Edition, in early spring of 2004 I believe. I'm quite good at using Google, but have been completely unable to find a reference to it. I found the story interesting since it is very unusual for such a successful enterprise to fail after 800 years. Any hints on how to find the company name would be appreciated (I'll accept a sufficient hint as an answer).

BTW, I was listening to Ithaca, NY radio station WSKG.

[Response to comments:]
I'm pretty sure it was a merchant/store and not merely an inn/pub or guild. There was definitely a mention of a singular head, owner or CEO of the company. I'm pretty sure it was a family business or private enterprise, though it might have been publicly traded more recently. Perhaps it rebounded or was restructured more recently, since I can't find any news items in my searches.


texts: Why did the Roman Republic never set up a civilian police department?

texts:
I was recently reading about conflicts between Clodius and Pompey. Clodius first but subsequently Pompey as well, used - what I would characterize as - armed gangs. The power of these gangs was such that Clodius was able to intimidate the Senate.

This and other instances of mobs careening through Rome led me to wonder why the Senate never established a police force? It seems hard for the modern mind to imagine a city half the size of Rome, today, without a police force.


texts: Tricolore: Why have the colors been chosen that way?

texts:
The French flag, the Tricolour, was installed as France's national flag shortly after the Revolution in 1790. Its colors are Red and Blue - which are the colors of the flag of Paris - and White - which was the colors of the Bourbon rulers.

I understand that Blue and Red were taken for the national flag since these colors, being a symbol of Paris, had been used by the citizens during the storm of the Bastille. However, why was White added afterwards? All three colors do not seem to have a particularly revolutionary meaning, and wasn't especially White a symbol of the Ancien Régime the Revolution seeked to abolish?

Was there any discussion among the Revolutionists concerning the flag at all? Were there any other proposals for the national colors? Why was the color combination as it is today chosen in the end?


texts: What were the reasons for making Prohibition a constitutional amendment?

texts: What were the reasons that the Prohibition in the United States was passed as a constitutional amendment, rather than a normal federal law, or a set of state laws?


texts: Were there any surveys done in the middle ages of England and Wales for the areas not covered by the Domesday book?

texts:
The Wikipedia page on the Domesday Book (completed in 1086) states that the City of London, Winchester, Westmorland, Cumberland, Northumberland, the County Palatine of Durham and some other areas / towns were not covered for various reasons.

A survey of County Durham was done in 1183 (Boldon Book) but there is no indication as to whether other surveys of a similar (or even roughly similar) nature were done in England and Wales during the middle ages.

As the Domesday Book was frequently referred to over the following centuries in law courts (at least) and as one of the books was rebound in 1320 and again during Tudor times, it was presumably considered to be quite some value. If no such surveys were subsequently done, do we know why?


texts:
Last summer my little brother dug up this piece of jewelry with his metal detector in France (near Vichy). It's roughly 5 cm from top to bottom. It has no hallmarks.

From what time period could this piece date? It is made from pure silver, and was buried about 20 cm deep in the ground in the middle of a piece of forest. As far as I could find, it looks like a (Victorian?) pocket watch fob from the early twentieth century. Is it possible that this is indeed that old?


texts: How long have culture wars/cultural dichotomies been around?

texts:
It seems that most contemporary societies have some sort of cultural dichotomy or culture war going on.
In the West it is Left vs. Right.
In Middle Eastern countries it is Secular vs. Religious.
In India it is Hindu-nationalist vs. Multi-cultural Indians.

At first I was tempted to assume that this started because of the counter-culture in 1960s (and then spread to other cultures and got modified accordingly).

But then I realized that a lot of this ideological tensions predate the 1960s by a lot of time. In the Middle East, Secular-Nationalists vs. Religious dates to the early 20th century.

In Europe, Monarchist vs. Republican has been around since the French Revolution, etc....

So when exactly did having a cultural dichotomy/culture war mindset in any given society start? Was it the enlightenment? Or has it been always the case, since the beginning of civilized times (i.e. it is in a sense part of the human condition)?


texts: Epoch of an item marked with anchor symbol with the letters N and D

texts:
I found in an antique shop in France the item seen below and would like to know more about the age and origin and material based on the logo/mark.

The seller told me it is from the Napoleon III epoch (~1850s) and pointed to the anchor logo on the top-left of the item with the letter N and D.

If it helps here is some more information about the item: I'm unable to determine the material of the frame. I don't think it is plastic but it feels a little bit like it.

The statue is, according to the seller, ivory-ish (in French he said: ivoirie). I can't tell whether this is correct or not.

From the state of the object I have doubts that this is 150 years old in addition I think it was (re-)assembled to its current form (recently). It is after all a present for the first communion ("souvenir de 1ere communion").

So, back to my question: Is this logo/mark something special or known? Is it a maker-sign? Can it be used to identify the epoch of that item?

(Click for a larger version)

EDIT: In the meantime I figured out that the figure represents virgin Mary. In addition to @RISwampYankee's comment, the logo could also be a family emblem or the one of a school.


texts: Are there any accounts from crew of sunken submarines?

texts:
Are there any accounts (written or in other forms) from sunken submarines where the crew was unable to escape? The only ones I am aware of are notes written by the crew of the Kursk after it sank, the contents of which do not seem to have been released in full and which probably do little more than outline the situation and list of survivors anyway.
Many submarines have been recovered after sinking and returned to service, or examined to learn more about the accident. Have any accounts by the crew been recovered and published?


texts:
In the movie Greyhound, at the end, the fleet requests an oral report of the incidents in which the captain says "My escort group sank three others...".
But in the movie it is seen that Greyhound sank at least 2 subs and helped in the sinking of another two (marked one with fire for a plane to drop bombs and finishing another on the surface that was previously forced to emerge due to a depth charge from another cruiser).
Is this an error on the script? How were complete and partial kills accounted in WWII?


texts:
The generic tendency in naval history has been that deeper ports are better as they allow larger ships to dock at the port. The importance of deeper water ports increased rapidly in the 19th century when ship designed started to incorporate steel and to build larger draught vessels—this development has, in a way, carried on up to now. There is one instance which I've found where a shallow-water port was desirable (below). Are there other examples of naval bases being deliberately situated in shallow-water harbours post-1801?
The one example I know about involved disregarding Darwin as a potential submarine base in favour of Tjilatjap:

Yet the depth of water could be accounted a disability. One of the reasons (given by the American submarine force commander) for withdrawing the tenders from Darwin to Tjilatjap was that if they were sunk by air attack in Darwin harbour the depth was such that it would not be possible to raise them.
—Hermon, 'Volume I – Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942'

In general, an example of a shallow port being a limitation:

Catherine the Great had planned a relatively ice-free naval base and port at Baltic Port, now Paldiski, west of Revel, but it had proved too shallow and contemporary technology was not up to dredging it.
—Greenhill, 'The British assault on Finland, 1854-1855'

The definition of "deep" vs "shallow" is a tough one. Modern specifics note that 10m is the lower boundary for "deep". The question's focus is on history, however, and I don't think the same applies. Overall, for the arguments to count there should be contemporary evidence from the decision-makers that describe the relative benefits of the military port with regards to its depth, with depth the primary consideration.
Modernising existing older military establishments also doesn't count. In many cases, countries had to get by with what they had access to and the shallow-water harbours were the only available ones. For example, the development of Wilhelmshaven sees gradual dredging to accommodate the increasing cruisers and battleships in the late 19th and early 20th century. Yet, the Germans didn't have (as far as I know) a deep-water harbour that would have been open to the North Sea.


texts: Did the Germans have a team equivalent to the one from Bletchey Park in the UK during WWII?

texts:
There is a lot of information about the British code breakers at Bletchey Park and the work they did for cryptography, computing and the war effort.

Still, I haven't heard a lot about a German counterpart. Why is this? Did the Germans have a code breaking facility similar to Bletchey Park during WWII? If not, why?


texts: How do present-day Austrians look back at the 1938 Anschluss?

texts:
When in Salzburg, I was surprised to learn that actually not too many Austrian people know about "The Sound of Music". Some Austrian colleagues never heard the song "Edelweiss". In fact, Wikipedia states that Austrians avoided the musical for a long time. The only reason I can think of is that the musical is set in the time around the 1938 Anschluss. At that time, a majority of the Austrian people agreed to the annexation.

So here I want to ask, what is the current general opinion in Austria about the Anschluss? Guilty conscience? Being forced to go to the war? Or it was a right choice at that time only if they had won the war?


texts: Plantations in the West Indies like coffee, sugar, tobacco and cotton was important in the 16,17,18 and 19th century and the colonial powers made a lot of profit from them. In the late 19th century the American and Caribbean plantations some how lost their importance. Why exactly is that? Is it because the colonial powers started new colonies other parts of the world and therefore started new sugar, coffee and tobacco import from there ?


texts: How accepted were public displays of affection in medieval France?

texts:
Were a man and a woman allowed to kiss/hug/hold hands in public? Did it differ depending on whether they were married or not? What about if they were engaged? If it was forbidden, what punishment did they receive?

Edit: I am interested in 10-13th century nobility.


texts: In many medieval RTS games soldiers come out of a building named 'Barracks'.  Where did medieval soldiers actually train ? Did such specialised buildings exist ? Most peasants probably got no training at all, and nobles trained at home I suppose, but what about levy troops that did train ?


texts: Which trade ship did not return to California from China?

texts:
The Baltic German captain Otto von Kotzebue wrote (from "California Through Russian Eyes", Gibson, ed.):

  An attempt was even made to launch, at the Californios' own risk, trade with China, but it failed. The fact is that a ship with a rich cargo was entrusted to a North American captain. He sold the cargo in China but reckoned that it was more profitable to appropriate both the ship and all of the money earned, and so he did not return.

Is this story true? What cargo was thus stolen and by whom?


texts: Did a ritual of pushing 60-year-olds off a bridge really exist in Archaic Rome?

texts:
I've read about the archaic Roman practice of killing 60-year-olds by pushing them off a bridge, in a book by historian Eva Cantarella, namely Perfino Catone scriveva ricette - I greci, i romani e noi ("Even Cato wrote recipes - The Greeks, the Romans and us"). It wasn't translated in English however.

The proverb sexagenarios de ponte deici oportet (it is necessary to push 60-year-olds off the bridge) seems to confirm the existence of the ritual. However, after some research, I've found sources claiming that the debate on the existence of this ritual hasn't ended yet. Interestingly, already during the Late Republic, it seems the Romans weren't sure about the origin of the proverb, and some authors tried (unsuccessfully) to prove the ritual never existed.

Is there a general consensus today? If so, when is it believed that the Romans started replacing the then-elders with the Argei, a kind of dummies?


texts: What was the English Civil War called during the Protectorate?

texts:
Between 1642 and 1651, Charles I and Parliamentary forces fought for control over England, Scotland, and Ireland. The Parliamentary forces won and established the Commonwealth of England. During this period—from the end of the war to the Restoration—what did they call the war that had just ended?

Today, we call it the "English Civil War" or, occasionally, the "War of the Three Kingdoms", but these both strike me as names that would be favored by the royalist side. A quick search on Ngram shows that "civil war", "rebellion", and to a lesser extent "revolution" appeared often in books during the conflict, but all of them dropped off as soon as it was won.


texts: Why are only the Normandy landings referred to as D-Day?

texts: Thinking about the anniversary of the Normandy landings, I was struck that the terms D-Day and H-hour were used to denote the start time of all allied military operations. Are there any specific reasons why the term has stuck to the particular operation of the Normandy landings?


texts: In the Bakumatsu period, was there any way to identify which clan a person belonged to?

texts: Was there any way to identify which clan someone belonged to (other than when they wore their formal wear with their mon/emblem on their attire). In other words did they carry something on their person such as a sword branded with their emblem or distinct clothing that would make them instantly recognisable of that clan?


texts: What is the oldest road in the world that has been in continuous use?

texts:
My suspicions are that a road in Rome, Italy, likely has a strong claim, or perhaps a road in Egypt. It just needs to be a road that has been in continuous use for traffic, whether it was some form of vehicle or pedestrian, through the present day.

Per the concerns raised by some of the comments the requirements are:  regular upkeep, some sort of system of paving, some sort of control over the road by a city.


texts: How to identify this coin with a bust on one side and the letters S and C on the other side?

texts:
I believe this coin is Roman but I'd like that confirmed. Can anyone give an approximate date and any other information possible (maybe difficult as it is quite worn). It measures between 2.5cm and 2.7cm in diameter.

I'd also be interested to know (if possible) what it could have bought at the time (e.g. a loaf of bread?, a pair of shoes?).

-----------EDIT------------

Examining the coin in bright light under a magnifying glass, one can detect more than in the photos. Specifically, one can see 4 letters (circled below).

There are two letters inside the yellow circle AV, presumably the first two letters of 'AUGUSTUS', though I'm not sure this helps much.

Perhaps more useful are the letters in the white and blue circles. These letters look too far apart to be from the same word. The one inside the white circle looks like 'T' while the one inside the blue circle could be P, R or possibly even B.

If the second letter is R, I'm wondering if the two letters in the white and blue circles could be the first two letters of T R P (TRIBUNICIA POTESTATE)...


texts: What differentiates a priest, a clerk, a capellanus, a subdeacon and a rector?

texts:
I have been looking at the list of rectors of Eversholt church, Bedfordshire, from http://bedsarchivescat.bedford.gov.uk/Details/archive/110033099. The various people listed there are each described as one of: (with dates through which this description appears)

clerk (1290-1702)
priest (1331-1493)
subdeacon (1227-1293)
rector (1374-1680)
capellanus (1420?-1507)
B.A.
M.A.
B.D.
A.M.

I'm guessing that BA, MA and BD are degree qualifications.

What's A.M.?

Were clerk, priest, subdeacon, rector, capellanus also forms of qualification? Or different job titles? How do these people differ? Does this indicate that they performed different jobs at Eversholt, or were these the jobs they had before they became rectors of Eversholt?

Thanks!


texts: What percentage of modern day Turks are of Bulgarian/Circassian/Greek/Serbian descent?

texts: I asked a question before about Greek Muslims and what happened to them, I wonder also what percentage of modern day 'Turks', especially the light skinned ones in western Turkey, are of Balkan descent?


texts: How historically accurate is "Good King Wencenclaus"?

texts:
The popular Christmas carol "Good King Wencenclaus" is about a King Stephen who was very kind to a poor beggar. Was this King Wencenclaus an actual king of history, and if so, which one?

Also, are there any records of this king being kind to poor beggars?

Please provide good sources if you answer.


texts: When was the last promotion in the British Peerage?

texts:
I suspect that I ought to say "elevation", rather than promotion, but I think that the question is clear.
According to Debrett's :

The five titles of the peerage, in descending order of precedence, or rank, are: duke, marquess, earl, viscount, baron.

When was the last time that someone holding one (or more) of these titles was raised/elevated/promoted to a higher title?


texts: Why did Meriwether Lewis think that William Clark was coming to help him just before he killed himself?

texts:
It is well known that Meriwether Lewis suffered from some kind of mental illness, and that the his symptoms were especially pronounced during his final days of life, in the weeks leading up to his death by suicide.  There are also suggestions that, along with many other signs of mental instability, Lewis had begun to fantasize that his old friend William Clark was coming to save him from his afflictions.

  his Servent reports that [ ] “on his way to nashvill, he would frequently “Conceipt [conceive] that he herd me Co- meing on, and Said that he was certain [I would] over take him, that I had herd of his Situation and would Come to his releaf ”
  -  Letter from William Clark to Jonathan Clark, November 26, 1809; quoted in The Death of Meriwether Lewis, James E. Starrs & Kira Gale, p. 243

This account comes to us in what is at least the third hand;  the servant, presumably John Pernier, related the story to Captain Gilbert Russell, the commanding officer of Fort Pickering, at Chickasaw Bluffs, Tennessee, who later wrote a series of letters to William Clark.  When Lewis had arrived at Fort Pickering, he was "in a state of mental derangement", and apparently drinking quite heavily;  after he attempted to commit suicide, Russell "detained" Lewis in his personal quarters for about two weeks for his own safety.

I have also heard that in his last hours, among other ravings, Lewis claimed that Clark was on his way to find Lewis and help him, but I haven't been able to find the source of this claim.

Did Lewis have any reason to believe that Clark was coming to see him, and/or render some sort of assistance to him?


texts:
So I'm researching the time of the french colonial rule in Mali at the moment.

But there are some thing I don't understand, especially the part where the Mali region gets "added"(?) to french-sudan. Do you know of any map that shows all the different phases? Especially the phase where Mali was invaded by the french but not yet added to french-sudan. Can anyone explain how the whole region became the mali it is today?


texts: Is there a reason for a Queen's husband not to be referred to as King?

texts: While watching the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II events going on recently, I noticed that the Queen's husband is referred to as 'Prince'-- not 'King'. Upon researching further, I found that Queen Victoria and Mary III's husbands were both referred to as Prince, and not King. Is there a reason that a male marrying a Queen would not receive the title 'King', while a woman marrying a King would be elevated to the title of 'Queen'?


texts: I'm certain that ancient man knew of wind and of our need to breathe, but when did air as a distinct material become obvious? I notice that the four classical elements are water, wind, fire, and earth. As no other gasses were known until the chemists replaced the alchemists, when did air as a medium become known? Did Newton know of air?


texts: How were the Morisco refugees from Europe received in North Africa, given that they were foreigners and Christian?

texts:
On 1609 Spain ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos, the descendants of Spanish Muslims who were force-converted to Christianity in 1502. Presumably many of them went to the Muslim lands in North Africa. How were they received there? Since it was more than a century after the 1502 conversion, these Moriscos must not have beem the original converts, but rather their descendants who were born and educated as Christians. According to the Wikipedia articles, there expelled Moriscos numbered about 300,000.

How did the destination countries receive such a large number of people? From their point of view, not only the Moriscos are Christian, they are also foreigners from a country they're at war with. Did those countries welcome them? Were they treated differently from the native citizens, like as something like immigrants or refugees today? Did they convert to Islam and if so how easy/forced was the conversion?


texts: Why couldn't the Ottoman Empire modernise at the same time as Meiji Japan did?

texts:
It appears to me that Japan modernised during the late 19th century to come to a level of advancement comparable to Western powers was, unlike Ottoman Empire

Japan had universal compulsory education
the level of penetration of technology in governance and commerce.
Japan's power projection in late 1800's and early 1900's.

It was able to throw its weight around in 1905 against Russia, and had become the third naval power in the world before 1930.
While the Ottoman Empire did not have widespread industrial development, and had undeveloped regions such as Arabian provinces.
It was when Ataturk came to power that modernisation of Turkey began, I'd say. But that was about half a century later than Japan.
Speculations
Was it because Ottoman Empire was eclipsed by the West gradually, and earlier didn't see the importance of modernising; compared to Japan, which was raised from its sleep abruptly by Commodore Perry's visit? For arguably, the Ottoman empire had more resources at its command, and had a functioning bureaucracy, unlike Japan, which was feudalistic and had to undergo a process of centralisation. It was in continued contact with the West, and with the ideas and innovations. The defeats during Napoleon's expeditions should have been an alarm bell for them.
Was it because the threat to them wasn't existential, as they were extended protection and propping up by France and Britain? Unlike Japan, which had witnessed the Opium Wars and was more anxious.
A British quote from 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon

Our habit was to keep our hands free, though we made ententes and friendships. It was true that we had an alliance with Japan, but it was limited to certain distant questions in the Far East.[a]
The [Ottoman delegate] replied that Empire was the Japan of the Near East (alluding to Meiji Restoration period which spanned from 1868 to 1912), and that we already had the Cyprus Convention which was still in force.

What were the factors which made the ruling class of Japan care about overhauling the status quo, and which allowed them to succeed in this, where in comparision the Ottoman Empire seems to not have succeeded?
Or is it that they were in parity more or less, in

administration

industrialisation

education

military
and Japan stood standing because it was far away and wasn't defeated in WW1?


texts: What was the first recorded instance of sex or violence being inappropriate for children to see?

texts: When was the first time in history (that we have a record for) that sex and/or violence became inappropriate for children to see and/or know about (more than it was inappropriate in front of adults)? Do we know what caused this?


texts: Why did the Royal Society in 1771 believe that a continent further south than Australia should exist?

texts:
In reading the wikipedia article on Captain Cook's 2nd voyage, I noticed the
comment:

Despite this evidence to the contrary, Alexander Dalrymple and others of the Royal Society still believed that a massive southern continent should exist.
[p. 182 of Hough, Richard (1994). Captain James Cook. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-82556-1]

What was the reason for this belief by the Royal Society? Had there been uncomfirmed sightings previously, or was this belief predicated on theoretical predictions?

Don't be confused by names - The Terra Australis of the time referred to modern Antarctica, not Australia.  Cook had circumnavigated New Zealand and charted the east coast of Australia on his first voyage, already establishing that the landmass of modern Australia was of continental size. My question is about (contemporary evidence for) the belief in an additional continental mass further south, that would later prove to be modern Antarctica.


texts: Who governed while Alexander The Great was away conquering Asia?

texts: I was just watching a video that mentions Alexander The Great at the edges of his empire, but then I was wondering who was governing back home while he was gone, I mean it took forever to travel back then so, there must have been someone or a body governing.


texts: What were the most important causes of the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials?

texts:
Basically what the title says: what were the most important causes of the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials?

We are having a discussion over this topic in one of my history courses, and a classmate argued that the drive for wealth, power, and status can explain why the trials occurred in Salem.

I don't really see how that can be used to argue why Salem experienced what they did, as the drive for wealth, power, and status are pretty fundamental in why people do what they do throughout history.

I'm of the opinion that Salem was caused by an array of factors, including tension between townspeople, poor crop yields caused by climatic anomalies, and in general, irrationality that plagued humans during this time period due to their lack of knowledge about the scientific world.

Is there anything that I'm missing that would help explain Salem, and in general do you believe the factors I listed are strong enough to overcome my classmate's broad interpretation of the subject?

Thanks!

P.S. This is not asking which types of people were suspected. Not sure why stack exchange thinks those questions are the same.


texts: Why did so many Italians emigrate to Argentina?

texts:
On 13th of March, 2013, archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, became new pope of Catholic Church. He was born and raised in Argentina with Italian origins.

There are more than 24 millions of Argentinian citizens who have Italian roots, making it around 60% of the country population. They came to South America in different generations. Many of them during the great European immigration wave to Argentina at the end of 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Italian immigration was an important part of that, as between 1880-1920 Italy was facing social and economic disturbances.

As for the overall reasons of immigrating to Argentina, articles linked above mention in the first place the open immigration politic of the Argentinian officials, who wanted to raise the country population. Checking Constitution of Argentina from 1853 we'll find there article 25:

  The Federal Government shall encourage European immigration, and shall
  not restrict, limit, or obstruct, by taxation of any king, the
  entrance into the Argentine territory of foreigners coming to it for
  the purpose of engaging in the cultivation of the soil, the
  improvement of industrial business, or the introduction and teaching
  of arts and sciences.

But I'm pretty sure there had to be also particular reasons for Italians to chose Argentina, which I'm not aware of. Where there any other reasons for the immigration of so many Italians to Argentina? Why did they chose this particular country?


texts: Why didn't mercenary combat after the middle ages lead to the collapse of the ruling class?

texts:
The structure of society and warfare were closely connected to each other in the feudal system. The land belonged to the crown, the king assigned it to lords in return for military service, and in the case of war, the lords had to come with an agreed upon number of troops from their own estates.

However, this changed completely in the Renaissance and early modern period. The knights no longer ruled the fields. For example, the 30 years war was fought nearly exclusively by mercenary armies. As the war dragged along, the kings were out of money, and the mercenary armies sustained themselves by sacking or extorting cities. Late in the war, the opposing armies did not fight much with each other, they avoided another, maneuvered around for years, and many such armies lived off from what would be described today as a protection racket.

How can it be, that in this turbulent period of time, the ruling class remained stable, so that the "enlightened absolutist" monarchies what followed this time period were ruled mostly by the same families who were in power since the middle ages? I would have suspected, that the kings and the HR Emperor owned only a small number of own troops, and the biggest mercenary leaders could have risen to power. What stood in their way? Why couldn't have Tilly, for example, orchestrate a coup, similarly to what happened through modern times in South America or the Middle East?


texts:
In every movie, cartoon, comic or any other fictional sources I have read or watched that involves sea pirates, it is always shown that their favorite beverage is rum.

I want to know why sea pirates are always associated with rum. Is it the truth that in the Golden Age of Piracy, sea pirates used to drink rum? Or is it just another random concept conceived like mice like cheese? Is there any scientific reason associated with it?


texts: How Effective Were German SS Units Compared to Non-SS Heer Units?

texts:
As World War Two progressed, Hitler ordered the formation of more and more "SS" or "Schutzstaffel" divisions.

I am aware that these units often had priority for reinforcements and supplies, but how effective were they in combat compared to non-SS formations?  Did they have better/more training for example?

Was it cost-effective for Germany to have so many SS units later in the war?


texts: Did healers in medieval Europe use moldy bread in poultices for wounds?

texts:
In a Song of Ice and Fire, injured characters are frequently given a poultice made of, amongst other things, moldy bread.

  We drowned the wound with boiling wine, and closed you up with a poultice of nettle, mustard seed and moldy bread.
  A Storm of Swords

Was this a real medical practice, or is this something George R.R. Martin came up with himself?


texts: Is there any evidence of pre-European contact spread of Eurasian-origin diseases in Australia, e.g., from Kilwan traders?

texts:
I know that Indonesians had been in touch with Aboriginals, and that the Cholas made it to Australia as well. Even coins from the East African Kilwa Sultanate have been found in Australia!

If there was contact between the Aboriginals and travellers/merchants from these Eurasian–African countries, this should have given the Aborigines immunity to some Old World diseases. Is there evidence of such disease transmission in Australia?

The Indian Ocean trade was very large and much more diverse and profitable than any other trade route at that time, including the silk road. Trade ports from East Africa (including the Kilwa Sultanate, Ethiopia and the Swahili Coast), the Islamic World (Middle East, Egypt, and Parts of Africa), India, China, and Southeast Asia (including the Srivijaya and Mahajapit empires, and mainland Southeast Asia) got richer and better at seafaring. This lead to great seafaring technologies.

The Swahili Coast, Srivijaya, Mahajapit, and many more kingdoms along the Indian Ocean came about due to this reliable trade. These kingdoms definitely knew about Australia, due to its proximity from Indonesia and how great exploration was at that time. Were there any tribes that were resistant to European diseases?

Source: A video about the Indian Ocean trade.


texts: What is the historical significance of the Tryzub to Ukrainian diaspora?

texts:
The Tryzub appears on the coat of arms of Ukraine. What is its historic significance to the diaspora?

I am aware this is the symbol of the sea god Poseidon of Greek mythology, for this reason I wonder if this symbolic meaning is shared or if there may also be any significances with Slavic paganism.


texts: Where can I find annual population estimates for each US state, from 1865-1899?

texts:
For 1900 onwards, the US Census Bureau has population estimates for each US state, for each year.

There are also decennial censal counts for 1860, 1870, 1880, etc.

But where can I find population estimates for each US state, for each year from 1865-1899? It seems that there are no official US Census Bureau estimates.

Using the decennial counts, I can certainly make crude interpolations, but I am hoping that someone somewhere has constructed more precise estimates (as the US Census Bureau has done for 1900 onwards).


texts: What does "Depot Battalion" mean in Hart's Annual Army List?

texts:
Copies of Hart's Annual Army List are available online, and consist of a list of all British army officers employed in a given year.

Some of the listings are self-explanatory (e.g. so-and-so with the 77th regiment), but others simply read "Depot Battalion". See the third entry on this page for an example.

What does it mean to be posted to a Depot Battalion in this context?


texts: Is it true that the catalyst was a conflict about a tree right on the border? I heard it from a teacher at a US university as he was teaching a course about nation-states in and out of war.


texts: Was the enclosure responsible for the supply of factory workers in 18th and 19th Century England?

texts: Were the enclosures of rural land responsible for the supply of workers to factories in the 18th and 19th century in England?


texts: What is Machiavelli wearing in his painting?

texts:
This may not be completely relevant to this board, but what was Machiavelli wearing in his painting? I have looked and I couldn't find anything like it. Was his black "overcoat" only around in his time, or is it still worn today?

Here is the painting to which I'm referring.


texts:
One of the answers to What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world? made an interesting statement:

  in terms of metalworking, the lack of easily exploited tin deposits in
  the Americas means that a bronze age never took off. There was a
  copper-working culture surrounding the Great Lakes, and it pre-dated
  the chalcolithic in the old world by a few thousand years, but this
  lasted only as long as the accessible copper ore did.

Which New World civilizations had knowledge of combining tin and copper to make bronze?  How much tin would have been readily available to pre-columbian civilizations?  Did the Copper Age really start in the New World before it started in the Old World?


texts: What is the oldest known depiction of Isis with wings?

texts:
Some of the oldest known references to the goddess Isis are inscriptions, like the Pyramid texts.
However, I have been interested in the visual depictions of the Egyptian gods and how they change throughout the millennia.

The oldest sourced image of winged Isis I have been able to find is from the tomb of Ramses III.

Wikipedia's section on the iconography of Isis says that Isis is usually depicted with wings when the image represents her protecting the dead. However, I have been unable to get a hold of the book referenced as a source, so I don't know how far that practice dates back. (The book is "The origins of Osiris and his cult" by J. Gwyn Griffiths)

In summary, I would like to know if there is a depiction of Isis with wings, older than the one in the tomb of Ramses III?


texts: Was the term 'renaissance' used during said period?

texts: Just as the title suggests, was the term for the renaissance years coined and used during those years, or is it a modern word used retrospectively?


texts: Did Benjamin Franklin say "Holland is not a nation but a shop"? Why?

texts:
Several letter-writers to (serious) Dutch newspapers have quoted Benjamin Franklin as having said: "Holland is not a nation but a shop". Why did Franklin say this (if he did)? Google finds the above-mentioned newspapers but little else.
Link to NRC (liberal-leaning quality newspaper) (paywalled) and my translation.
Original Dutch:

op het Binnenhof, speciaal bij de VVD, de EU er vooral te zijn om onze aardappelen wat makkelijker te kunnen verkopen, waarbij ‘vrijheid’ tot ‘vrijhandel’ wordt gereduceerd. „Holland”, zo vatte de grote Amerikaanse staatsman Benjamin Franklin al ruim twee eeuwen geleden ons vaderlandse pseudo-vrijheidsideaal kernachtig samen, „is not a nation, but a shop.”

My translation:

In the Binnenhof [seat of government] especially with the VVD [Liberal party, main government party] the EU exists primarily to sell our potatoes more easily, so that 'freedom' is reduced to 'free trade'. The great American statesman Benjamin Franklin summarized our fatherland's pseudo-freedom ideals concisely as "Holland is not a nation but a shop".

Other references seem similar.


texts: Were there bows employed by tribes living in the desert, and if so, what were they made of?

texts:
For tribes that inhabited desert areas (e.g. Arabian Peninsula, Sahara, etc...), there seems to have been a problem: a good bow would likely require materials that would be hard to come by in the desert (wood from trees).

Is there an evidence that this was indeed a factor influencing the use of bow and arrows as military technology by tribes living in such conditions?
If that's not the case, what did they use as far as materials to make the bows? The arrows?

I would prefer an answer that references a generic research that shows analysis across cultures, but would be OK with answer that cover a single tribe/culture. However, it must be one that did NOT have easy access to wood for bows (e.g. Levant area doesn't count, obviously, despite having some desert landscape).


texts: Why did Stephen Ambrose believe that the election of Aaron Burr would have led to the end of the USA?

texts:
I'm reading Stephen E. Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage", and in pg. 50, he writes (emphasis mine):

  On December 5, 1800, Lewis was promoted to captain. That month the states selected their delegates to the Electoral College. In February 1801, those delegates created a political crisis when the count came out seventy-three votes each for Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, with sixty-five votes for Adams. The tie threw the election into the House of Representatives, where another deadlock followed, as the Federalist caucus decided to back Burr. In other words, the Federalists would not accept the outcome of the election, in which the people's choice of Jefferson was clear.

  So intense was the partisanship of the day, so much did the Federalist hate and fear Jefferson, that they were ready to turn the country over to Aaron Burr. Had they succeeded and made Burr the president, there would almost certainly be no republic today. Fortunately for all, Hamilton was smart enough and honest enough to realize that Jefferson was the lesser evil. He used his influence to break the deadlock. On the thirty-sixth ballot, February 17, 1801, Jefferson was chosen president and Burr was elected vice-president.

Ambrose doesn't offer any clarification of his claim that had Burr been chosen as president, there would be no republic today. Why would Burr's presidency have led to the end of the USA?


texts: How were artisans trained in Ancient Egypt?

texts:
I would like to know how artisans like potters and blacksmiths were trained to specialize in their trade in ancient civilizations. In particular, I am interested in how this was done in ancient Egypt.

Was there anywhere else they could get training besides their relatives, friends, or neighbors?
Could they possibly travel to a different city-state to receive training?


texts: Did any Moors accompany Hernando de Soto in his exploration of Mississippi?

texts:
I was reading about Hernando de Soto and saw William Powell's painting (Relevant bit cropped and added below):

The odd thing (Marked with a red arrow) is the man who looks Moorish and is dressed in Moorish Military attire unlike the other people in the party. Of course the painting was created some 300 years after Hernando died so it can hardly be considered historical evidence. Not to mention, it is unlikely that the Spanish would have allowed the converted Andalusians to dress in that fashion. But that made me think if there were any Moors (That is, the Conquered people of Muslim Al-Andalus) who accompanied him in his expeditions.

I have looked about (Perhaps not that well, American history is not my forte) but all the mentions of Hernando and Moors that I have found are in context of his upbringing and the downfall of Muslim Andalusia in 1492, eight years before he was born or the Moors that came with other Conquistadors.

So my question is, did any Moors accompany Hernando de Soto (specifically him, not any other Conquistadors)? If not, why did the painter William H. Powell paint a Moor there?


texts:
The resolution allowing for admission of Texas into the Union states that Texas may split into 5 different states, though it is unclear whether this needs congressional approval.

What I am wondering is why? Why Texas given this right? Why were no other states allowed to do it?


texts: Have there been any significant developments in the "Norman Controversy" on the origin of the Kievan Rus?

texts:
I've been reading Riasanovsky's "A History of Russia" (2nd edition, so fairly out of date), and it comes out strongly against the Norman theory. Today though, most sources seem to lean heavily towards favoring it, and given the evidence it seems to make more sense in general.
What is our current understanding of the origin of the Kievan Rus?