texts: What was the situation of homosexuals in the early Soviet Union?

texts:
Between 1917 and 1930, homosexuality was decriminalised in the Soviet Union. From the Wikipedia article on LGBT history in Russia:

The Russian Communist Inessa Armand publicly endorsed both feminism and free love, but never directly dealt with LGBT rights.[6] The Russian Communist Party effectively legalized no-fault divorce, abortion and homosexuality, when they abolished all the old Tsarist laws and the initial Soviet criminal code kept these liberal-libertarian sexual polices in place.[7] During this time, openly gay persons were able to serve in Russia's new Soviet government.
Yet, the legalisation of private, adult and consensual homosexual relations only applied to Russia itself. Homosexuality or sodomy remained a crime in Azerbaijan (officially criminalised in 1923), as well as in the Transcaucasian and Central Asian Soviet Republics throughout the 1920s.[8] Similar criminal laws were enacted in Uzbekistan in 1926 and in Turkmenistan the following year.[9] Criminalisation of homosexuality during this time was exclusive to nations of the Soviet Union associated with "cultural backwardness."

The Wikipedia article really only considers the legal situation, apart from the unsourced statement openly gay persons were able to serve in Russia's new Soviet government.
What was the situation for gays in this time period in practice, specifically in the RSFSR? Did the fact that homosexuality was legalised as one of the first countries in Europe mean that it was a preferable place for practicing gays to be compared to countries in Western Europe.  In Western Europe many countries didn't legalise homosexuality until decades later? Or was this just a law that looked nice on paper, but had no meaning in practice?


texts: What was the policy on academic research being published beyond the iron curtain?

texts:
If a little background to my curiosity were to help: when I was studying logic as a philosophy student, we covered the topic of defining probability, where we looked at Kolmogorov's axioms of probability. Of historical interest, Kolmogorov was a Soviet logician/mathematician; despite this, he managed to influence people in like fields on the other side of the iron curtain.
Effectively, I imagine that there must have been at least some academia passing between the two sides. (In some instances due to academics defecting to the other side, like Leontief - although I ask that we put these cases to the side for now.) On the other hand, it does seem somewhat improbable to me that there would be a complete freeflow of academic work. Off the top of my head, I imagine that Russians might not want Americans seeing their nuclear equations, and vice versa. Furthermore, there may even be a restriction on certain economic academia in communist countries (and some restriction on communist literature at least in the US during the period of McCarthyism), but these are clearly restrictions imposed by the country itself, i.e. the country has access to the literature, but it blocks its citizens from viewing it; which makes this, to some extent, secondary to the issue at hand.
Primarily, I would be tempted to claim that there are at least some harmless fields, such as some forms of literature research, philosophical inquiry, etc. that there is no reason for preventing the flow of information for. Curiously, I would have thought that there would be some restriction on mathematics due to its potentially destructive use, or at least its ability for one nation to get a scientific advantage over the other. (From this, I would also guess that a lot of scientific research was restricted to its side of the iron curtain.)
So my question is the following: what was the policy on academic research being published beyond the iron curtain?
Secondary to this, though not of prime importance, there are other similar questions that come to my mind: were there different policies adopted by each side? Were there academic conventions facilitating discussion between academics on both sides? And, perhaps least importantly, who did the translation?


texts: Was slavery in the United States legally limited to blacks?

texts:
Was slavery legally exclusive to race? That is, could blacks and only blacks in the United States be considered slaves under the law?

As an example, if an owner were to import into the United States a slave of another race, would their ownership status over said slave have been recognized?


texts: When did toys first become "Made in China"?

texts:
I'm continuing to read about the history of toys.

The U.S. imports between 50%-75% of its toys from Chinese manufacturers (depending on the year), and my understanding is that they many western countries follow similar practices. I've been trying to nail down the earliest origins of this trend, and how it developed historically, but have had little luck separating the history of toy making from the long history of U.S.-Chinese economic relations in general. Any help would be appreciated; thanks for your time.

Bonus Question: I'm guessing the answer to this question begins with China being reopened in the 70s, but was there ever any significant toy trade prior to the revolution of 1949?

Bonus Bonus Question: Based on comments made below, if anyone wants to expand their answer to also include more general information on the history of toy imports from east to west, that would also be great, and possibly worth a bounty. But as per site rules the original question stands as is.

Bounty Edit: The bounty is already reserved, when the 24 hour requirement is up I'm giving it to J Asia for providing such an extensive answer. All of the answers were great however, so thanks to all three of you.


texts: Were pregnant women regarded as particularly attractive in 19th century Europe?

texts:
I have now read two books from the 1800s in which single young men flirt with married pregnant women. (The first was Anna Karenina, in which Veslovsky flirts with Kitty Levin. The second was Middlemarch, in which Captain Lydgate flirts with Rosamond Lydgate.) The first time I encountered this, I just thought it was strange. When I saw it a second time, I started to wonder if there was a cultural value I was missing.
(Without offering a personal reflection, I'll observe that the tone of this Wikipedia article suggests that attraction to pregnant women is a fringe thing in the present-day English-speaking world.) But historically, were pregnant women widely regarded as particularly attractive—to the point where it became a literary trope?


texts: Term for one culture having a large influence over surrounding cultures?

texts:
Is there a somewhat established term for one culture (not state) having a comparatively large influence over surrounding/neighboring cultures?

I’m not talking about the volitional political or military influence or control of a country, where the terms hegemony or soft power (“when one country gets other countries to want what it wants”) come to mind. Rather, I mean when surrounding cultures voluntarily imitate, adapt, import and include the fashion, architecture, technology and ways of thinking and writing of the other culture, even if this is not desired or especially promoted by said culture. (Of course, military power may very well preceede the phase I’m looking for. And in turn the phase I’m looking for may very well preceede becoming a soft power. But neither are necessary.)

Examples in the West are probably the Roman Empire (vis-à-vis the Germanics), the Catholic Church and later the French and then British high societies, as well as the American Way of Life after WW2. Or the influence of Chinese culture over surrounding peoples.


texts: How did Allies secure southern flank during "Race to the Rhine"?

texts:
As I read about western front during the WW2 there is usually big topic about the "D-Day", then clearing Normandy (capturing Cherbourg), then liberating Paris and then authors quickly move to "Race to the Rhine" and "Market-Garden".

All the maps usually cover only this area:

However, as we know, France was divided in two states:

There surely were German forces in the southern part of occupied France; eg. there was a submarine base in La Rochelle.

The Wikipedia article about the city says:

  A German stronghold, La Rochelle was the last French city to be liberated at the end of the war. The Allied siege of La Rochelle took place between 12 September 1944, and 7 May 1945; the stronghold, including the islands of Ré and Oléron, was held by 20,000 German troops under a German vice-admiral Ernst Schirlitz. Following negotiations by the French Navy frigate captain Meyer, and the general German capitulation on 7 May, French troops entered La Rochelle on 8 May.

So the surrender took place at the very end of the war, still having German forces behind.

Another article mentions:

  The allied siege of the pocket of La Rochelle lasted from September 1944 to May 1945, without heavy bombardment. La Rochelle remained in German hands until the end of the war, much as other Atlantic harbours such as Brest, Saint-Nazaire, Lorient, Gironde-Nord, Gironde-Sud because the main thrust of the war was more concerned with focusing on Germany itself.

So some garrisons were separated from allied forces, but I'm not sure if Allies should not expect some mobile forces, from Vichy France too, as the other Allied assault, Operation Dragoon, which took place at the similar time as Overlord, was performed nearby Marseilles, so the central France, (cities like Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand, Orleans), could have also been a good place to start a counter-offensive.

Did the Allies secure the central France or maybe they did not fear any danger? Why then?


texts: What were pre-internet stock books called?

texts: I listened to a podcast recently where someone described looking up quarterly business and stock reports in a big book at the library in the days before the Internet. What were these books called? I'd like to collect some.


texts: Solá, a Basque, was the last Spanish governor of Alta California, serving from 1815–1822 at the Presidio of Monterey. Did he have a wife and family, there or elsewhere?


texts: I would like to know how communities have coped with addiction problems in history, especially with regard to alcohol and gambling. How did the community define such people? And what they did to solve the difficulties they created by this addiction?


texts: Why was the Marian reforms' inclusion of landless masses necessary?

texts:
The Marian reforms of the late Roman Republic changed Rome's military into a standing, professional volunteer force and greatly enhanced its effectiveness, thereby ensuring Rome's dominance for centuries to come. However it also came with significant social consequences, being a major cause of the Republic's transition into the Empire. This is due to the inclusion of landless masses into the military; previously only those who owned at least so much land could be conscripted, and by the late Republic the military suffered from severe manpower shortages.

My question is, what were the causes of those manpower shortages? Why were the eligibility requirements adequate for the early Republic and not during Marius's time? Marius's immediate motivation may have been that he was tasked to fight a war without men, but the problem was chronic - apparently the property limits were reduced from 11,000 to 3000 sesterces by Marius's time.

Did Rome suffer from a shortage of eligible landowning citizens, and if so why? Rising inequality?
Did Rome face a different strategic situation - e.g. more powerful enemies - and required a proportionally larger military?


texts: What percentage of first births were illegitimate in 19th century England?

texts:
One peculiarity of Victorian England is the rather very high number of illegitimate births and premarital conceptions relative to the periods before it. Illegitimate births and premarital conceptions reached their highest recorded level during Victorian times, as around 1650, less than 1% of all births were illegitimate and only 16% were premaritally conceived. In sharp contrast, in 1852, 6.8% of all births were illegitimate and over 40% were premaritally conceived. In certain areas in the United Kingdom, however, the percentages were even higher. In Eastern Scotland, over 60% of all births were premaritally conceived. Many rural areas in England also similar percentages.

Wrigley in his history on English populations has estimated through reconstitutions that for the period 1800-1837, about 37.6% of all 'first' births were premaritally conceived. He however points out that about a quarter of all 'first' births were illegitimate, implying the majority of first births occurred in a premarital context. I do not quite understand this, since only 6.8% of 'all' births were illegitimate, how can around 20-25% 'first' births be illegitimate?

Furthermore, in Michael Anderson's article on the social implications of demographic change for this period, he points out similarly to Wrigley that "an estimated 20 percent of first births were illegitimate and over half of all first births were probably conceived outside marriage".

Is there any more detailed data available about this? We have much information about premaritally conceived 'first' births for the 1500s onwards but less so about 'first' births that were illegitimate. For example, is there any source which points out what percentage of such births were illegitimate in the 1850s or the 1830s and can present some statistical continuity or change? So far, we have only the '20 percent' figure available. It would be helpful for anything more detailed to be obtained on this matter.


texts: Has there been any court cases regarding the Third Amendment to the United States Constitution?

texts:
I just read a comment that implied that a law that hadn’t been used in a while was no longer relevant.  Which made me curious as to what was the oldest unused US law that could still be considered relevant (not things like witchcraft or drinking after dark which would be judged to have been overridden by later laws). I immediately thought of the 3rd Amendment (no quartering of soldiers).

Has the US government/military ever tried to violate the 3rd, and if so when?


texts: To what extent were Jinnah's statements and speeches before 1938 recorded? Have they been digitized?

texts:
Jinnah's speeches and statements from the 1938 Patna conference onwards are well recorded, and are available relatively easily. But Jinnah maintained an active political life even before that, and his positions from that period (before 1938) are not so accessible.

In this context, is there a record (digitized or otherwise) of Jinnah's statements.

I am specifically interested in the speech Jinnah gave at the 1938 Muslim League conference in Patna. There are excerpts from that (extempore?) speech floating around. But is anyone in possession of the full text of the speech.
Cheers


texts: Why was Goguryeo able to expand rapidly under Gwanggaeto's rule?

texts: While watching a Korean drama called Gwanggaeto, the Great Conqueror and seeing how the king is praised by Koreans, I am curious to know what historical factors led to Kokuryŏ  being able to conquer its neighbors


texts: Why didn’t Britain use its vast navy to get past trench warfare?

texts: Before the start of World War I there was a large arms race between Britain and Germany and although Britain didn’t come out with the largest army – they had by far the largest navy in the world. This raises the question, if British had such a large navy why didn’t they use it to evade the German trench lines and attack unsuspectingly from behind? The trenches couldn’t possibly exist in the oceans! Britain could’ve easily used its navy to either surround or outflank the German trenches.


texts: Why didn't the Ottoman Empire remain neutral in WW1?

texts:
From reading the web, I understand that the Empire was in a terrible state.  This was the result of several decades of losing battles, nationalistic uprisings, and opposition to reform that resulted in the Ottoman Empire being the original reference of the "Sick man of Europe". Sultan Mehmed V knew this and wanted to remain neutral as there was little possibility for a largely agrarian society to triumph over industrialized powers.

However, for some reason, Mehmed's advisors wanted them to join the war. As a result of pressure from them, Mehmed eventually relented. This really confuses me, as there seems no reason for the Sultan to agree, or for his advisors to want a war when their position was so weak. Apprently they had lost many of their weapons in the Balkan wars a year earlier and were unable to replenish them.

Could someone provide more color on this?

EDIT:
I've already read the wiki page, but it only says that they couldn't remain neutral, not why. Looking at the map, I doubt the central powers would have wanted to open another front when they are already surrounded. Considering that Russia's military was poorly armed at the time, I believe they would have preferred to focus on fighting the Germans.


texts: Who is the last known non-natural US citizen who would have been eligible for the Presidency?

texts:
The United States Constitution states (relevant part highlighted):

  No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

As the title states, who is the last known person to have been eligible for the Presidency without having been born a US citizen?


texts: Historically, have African nations had a higher proportion of coups than nations on other continents?

texts: The president of the Central African Republic was recently ousted by rebel forces. According to atlanticwire there have been over 40 coups in the past 60 years. Do African nations have a higher propensity for coups?


texts: In comparison to today's tanks, how powerful were various WW1 artillery pieces?

texts:
This is a two-part question:

Which, if any, WW1 artillery pieces would be able to damage or destroy a modern tank presuming it got a direct hit.  That is - what can today's armour NOT protect against that existed before that armour was designed
What is the destructive power of today's tanks compared to various artillery pieces from WW1


texts: Approximately what was the short-term economic loss to Britain as a result of the Revolutionary War being lost?

texts:
Is there any research that shows what the economic impact was to the British economy stemming from the 13 Colonies obtaining independence?

It could be either a narrower estimate of purely tax losses or, ideally, the overall economic impact, including positive or negative effects on trade, etc...

This does NOT include the costs of waging the war itself.

I'm looking for short term impact (say, within 10-20 years of the war).


texts: What is the origin of Gladiatorial Games?

texts: There are several accounts of Gladiatorial Games being organized during the Roman period, but are there any indications that they existed before the Romans? Please include references.


texts: Were certain soldiers considered to be neutral by both sides?

texts:
Not sure how to word this...

I remember back in high school learning about World War II, and I distinctly remember that my teacher made a mention that "medics would often have to clear the battlefield, and they would have like a red cross symbol on them to identify them as such".  Were these "medics" not considered targets by the enemy?  Meaning, did both sides consider these soldiers "neutral"?

I also remember people saying that medics were also given "access" to No Man's land, and the enemy would not shoot them because they were getting bodies or something, so they would have a temporary ceasefire to allow both medics on both sides to gather the dead.

Does this also apply to anyone else? Like did war photographers have special clothing/insignia to signify they were neutral to the war? Or was it just a shoot on sight policy sort of thing?


texts:
Why have British tanks not changed very much? The USA have moved from the VSS, VVSS, HVSS (Lee and Sherman) suspensions to the torsion bar suspension (T26 and Patton family), USSR - from twin bogies (T-28) and christie suspension (BTs and T-34) to the torsion bar suspension (T-44 and it successors), Germany - from springs, bogies and christie suspension (Pz I, Pz II) to the torsion bar (Panther, Tiger and modern Leopard), etc., but Great Britain changed christie suspension (Cromwell, Comet) to... bogies (Centurion, Chieftain). Another oddity is the rejection of smoothbore tank guns and HE/HE-FRAG APERS rounds (only HESH).

What the reason? Conservatism of the british military or tactical considerations?


texts: When was the last time there were border controls, customs, or border patrols inside what is now the contiguous US?

texts: Reading about the complexities of Europe has made me wonder about when American (internal) borders were less porous. Also, were the borders between the 13 colonies completely open? Or did they at least have had customs houses to collect trade tariffs?


texts: Travel route from UK to Boma (Congo territory) in the 1880s

texts:
I’m researching for a possible story on the Congo in the 1880s. I’m having a hard time establishing the route and time spent going from a port in England to Boma in the former unclaimed Congo territory (later Congo free state/Belgian Congo).

So far I’ve found this excellent thread How long would it take to travel from England to western Africa in the late 1890's?
and the image I’ve attached. However I’m at a loss when it comes to the specific route to Boma or equivalent.

Any databases or documents I could examine? Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks


texts: Around 1640s, at what time did people eat Christmas dinner?

texts:
To my knowledge, in the past, people used to go to bed earlier; usually at sunset.

My question is, around 1640s, when candles were used to light the interiors of buildings, at what time of day did Catholics at home eat Christmas dinner in Holy Roman Empire (particularly in Bohemia)? During daylight or after dark?


texts: Are there contemporary records of why flappers used cosmetics to create thin, upturned eyebrows?

texts:
What were young women trying to express when they applied cosmetics in this style? The cartoon character Betty Boop has a similar look, which could convey any number of things: hesitation, girlishness, dreaminess, being starstruck. Thus far I can not find any first hand information on what exactly movie stars and flappers of the 1920's were trying to express.

In order to avoid a subjective answer, I have read a few diaries and memoirs written by women of this era to find first hand accounts, but so far they have not yielded anything specific. Next I found books about the history of cosmetics, which initially looked promising. Unfortunately they only detail the products and methods needed to obtain the look in question.

This particular ‘look’ was used by early film stars, who popularized the use of cosmetics among their fans. If their fans were trying to emulate movie stars, then what were the stars themselves trying to achieve?


texts: Has anti aircraft artillery ever repelled an air attack?

texts:
Anti aircraft artillery has been developed as soon as during ww1, but it seems, according to my research, that it has never been very efficient. In fact, it has never repelled an air offensive, and rarely air raids (I only recall of the Yom Kippur war).

Do you have examples of an anti aircraft artillery that has repelled an air attack and inflicted heavy losses to it, for a period of time and not only by chance?
If yes, why did the anti-aircraft defense succeed at that time?


texts: After the fall of the Roman Empire, where did their armor go? Was it used by any dark ages forces?

texts:
It is my understanding that the plate armor manufactured in the time after the fall of Rome was far inferior to anything that the Romans used in their legions. (Of course, if I am wrong on any of this feel free to correct me)

I'm wondering if any of this armor was used by any military or other forces in the Dark Ages (early middle ages), and if not, what happened to it? Surely the number of soldiers equipped in this armor would ensure that at least one group utilized the remains left behind by the Empire? Or was it simply left in the dirt or deep in some vault somewhere, waiting to be discovered by historians later on?


texts:
In 1948 the UN voted on a two state solution for Palestine. 33 for the resolution, 13 against, and 10 abstains. It seems like the vote wasn't close. But what would have happened if the results were flipped? What would have happened if the UN voted against the two state solution? If I am not mistaken, after World War Two, and at the onset of decolonization, the British were trying to rid themselves of the Palestinian colony. Would the British have been forced to take back Palestine as a colony if the UN was not in favor of the two state solution?

This question is not a hypothetical. The answer will explain the status of Palestine in 1948, who owned it, and what the nations of the world, especially those not in favor of Resolution 181, had in plan for Palestine.


texts: Who is the earliest person recorded in history?  Whose fame has survived the greatest amount of time to come down to us today?


texts: Are there any examples of technologies have been lost over time?

texts:
I've read before about various technologies being lost over time, either due to war or famine or just time. I'm interested in knowing more about what sorts of things have been lost, and how.

I've read about Damascus steel before, although recently seen places that offer it - apparently the same as the original process.

Bonus points for tech we still haven't regained!


texts: What new technology/tactics allowed the breakthrough of the trenches in WW I western front?

texts: Reading the answers to this question about WW1 Western Front, it appears that breaking through the trenches was a very difficult task to do. How did the Allies finally make it? Was it the invention of new tactics and technology? Or was it just the numerical advantage caused by the entry of the Americans?


texts: Did the HEIC operate in the West Indies as well as the East Indies?

texts: Did the Honorable East India Company (HEIC) operate in the West Indies as well as the East Indies and, if so, did they face competition from other English or British chartered companies?


texts: Did any contemporary sources write about Jesus?

texts:
Did anyone write about Jesus at the time at which he was alive?

I can't find any sources from the time in which he was alive after a quick preliminary search.


texts: Were the borders of British India deliberately poorly demarcated?

texts:
In India (at least), the British authorities demarcated its borders in a very poor way. For example:

Siachen was neither given to Pakistan nor to India.
Aksai Chin was not demarcated; they considered the natural elements to be a good boundary between India and China.
They took Sikkim from China and put it into India.
They didn't demarcate the Indian-Nepalese border.
They ended the Indian-Pakistani border at wrong place, (Sir Creek). As this place changes everyday, it was a poor choice to end the border.

Was this simply because demarcating the large territory was a job the British failed to do properly and effectively? Or did the British authorities intentionally create problematic borders in order to obtain some kind of advantage?

Is there any historical evidence like letters between officials that clarify this point? Also, was this done with other countries too?


texts: Prior to 1790, before dentist chairs, did dentists put the patient's head between their knees?

texts:
I read here (and similarly in a book of facts from the TV series QI), that in the 1700s, the dentist would have held your head between his knees as he operated.

I have read that before dentist chairs, they had stools with no head rest, though that link says you'd have sat on the floor.

So, besides the question of is it true that dentists would hold the patient's head between their knees.. and are there sources re that?

I don't quite understand the position of the dentist and patient prior to chairs with head rests.   How would this have worked with a stool?

And how would this have worked on the floor? If a patient leans back fully then the dentist would have to be on his knees himself to hold the patient's head between his knees.

And if the patient leans back partially then the dentist would have to arch his back a lot to operate. So what position would the dentist and patient have been in in those days before head rests on chairs?

So, in the days when the patient would've been A)on the floor and B)on a stool.


texts: Who first combined the lateen and square sails that led to the carrack?

texts:
In the middle ages the square sail was used in the Atlantic cogs, whereas in the Mediterranean the lateen sail was used due to its more flexible use.

The combination of both sails into one ship happened in Iberia and led to the Age of Discovery, as it enabled oceanic expeditions to be undertaken.

This discovery appears to have happened around the time of Prince Henry the Navigator, and he certainly made good use of it.  Was he involved in the development of this ship?  If not, who came up with the idea of putting the two kinds of sails together?

There were a lot of other incremental developments that led to the carrack, but for purposes of this question I'm only interested in the merging of the two types of sails.  Wikipedia just glosses over this aspect.


texts: Will Hegelian or Dialectical historiography regain any relevance into the contemporary historical discourse?

texts:
Much of contemporary Western historiography and historical analysis is dominated by either the Post-Modern or Marxist approaches.  Of course, Karl Marx was deeply influenced by George Hegel, however, Hegelian Dialectics is still an independently original school of historical thought and analysis. Can Hegelian-(NON-Marxist) dialectics regain its influence within contemporary historical discourse or has such a school of a thought gone the way of the dinosaurs?

Will Hegelian/Diaectical Historiography be revitalized in the near future? In other words, are there any signs within the recent historical literature or curricula which indicate a Hegelian renaissance? From my what I have seen and currently see, it does not appear to be the case. Perhaps you disagree and can provide me with some evidence which does indicate that there is a Hegelian or dialectical renaissance?


texts: What is the role of towers in Romanesque architecture?

texts:
I'm currently reading some books about romanesque architecture. I would like to know the roles of towers that many religious buildings have. I have some guesses, so I would like you to tell me if these guesses are true or wrong.
First example : St. Pierre Cathedrale (Treves)

We can see small rounded towers. My guess, everytime, that kind of tower is used for stairs, eventually to defend the building at some point.
The squared towers, my guess, are present as a symbol of the gate of the celestial Jerusalem, but for what else are they used ? My personal experience pushes me to say: for bells, but bells don't occupy the whole tower.
Also, I'm curious if the ground section of a tower is linked to its height.
Another example : St. Michel (Hildesheim)

As we can see, there are only crossing towers and small rounded towers. I guess, the squared towers are used for bells too.
the part in italics contains mistake, see the comments
To finish, it seems (maybe I'm wrong on that point) that temples used before Christianity, Romans/Greeks (pagan) had twin towers (like the one we can see on the picture of St. Pierre). So I would like to know if the celestial representation of Jerusalem has its origin in Roman/Greek temples (pagan).


texts: Why didn't Japanese infantrymen and samurai use shields?

texts:
Shields were considered useful in Europe until the development of full plate armor. Despite the fact that they never had anything comparable to plate armor, shield use was apparently abandoned by the Edo period. The freestanding tate was used to protect archers, but aside from this, shields don't seem to be used at all.

Some argue that shield use was obsolete by the Edo period because they were clumsy, and because Japan lacked Hellenistic influences. While I'm not sure I agree with that, I am unable to evaluate that assertion.


texts: A Rake's Progress: What is that weird hat-like thing?

texts:
In the second pane of A Rake's Progress, Tom Rakewell is wearing something that is not a wig on his head. But what is it??

(source)

It's bugged me on and off for years that he seems to wearing a - what? A tea-towel, a hairnet? a stocking?


texts: Could medieval soldiers be organized into a Roman style legion order of battle?

texts:
Is there any reason why medieval soldiers could not have been organized into the order of battle of the Roman Empire by a ruler or empire that chose to do so? Integrating crossbowmen, longbowmen, spearmen, light cavalry, heavy cavalry (Knights), etc.

I know the Komnenian era had a relatively organized army in the Eastern Roman Empire, but they were not at the scale of the professional standing armies of the Roman Empire from my understanding nor were they organized into an order of battle as organized as that of the Roman legions. Perhaps an expert on the subject matter could explain if the Komenian era Eastern Roman Army was as organized as the Roman legions or not.

Is there a reason that the Legion order of battle model could not be applied to medieval warfare though adjusted for more cavalary? The tactics and strategy would of course change. The table of organization would also likely change from the structure of the Roman Legion as a medieval Legion would integrate more heavy cavalry, crossbowmen, longbowmen, etc.


texts: Why isn't there a single trace of Germanic influence in Iberian Languages?

texts:
In this question, I would like to make a comparison between two settlements that occurred in the Early Middle Ages in Europe, that seem to be very similar, however they had very distinct outcomes linguistically speaking.

The settlements in question are the Gothic/Vandal invasion of Iberia and the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. I shall talk first of the latter:

Britain had been controlled by the Romans for almost 400 years, and the population was mainly Celtic, with a Latin-speaking governing elite. I suppose that the language spoken in Britain at this time would be some sort of a mix between Celtic languages and Latin, similar to what happened in other areas of Europe where romance languages developed (e.g., France).

Then, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes started to arrive to Britain (at the same time the Romans were leaving for good) and drastically changed the language of the country, from Celtic languages/vulgar Latin to the Germanic Old English. In later centuries, with the influence of Latin, Norman, Old Norse and other languages this language would evolve to modern English.

Genetic studies show today that approximately 20-40% of British DNA is Anglo-Saxon, so we could expect a normal mixing between the immigrants and the native population at the time, and not a massive immigration of Germanic tribes nor the Saxons completely wiping out the native populations. Even so, English survived.

Now, I'd like to talk about the invasion/settlement of Iberia by the Goths. We had an area controlled by the Romans for a long time and other native tribes as well. Germanic invaders came and established their kingdoms. It is important to notice that the Germanic Kingdoms in Iberia lasted until 711 AD, when the Muslim Conquest happened. So we had approximately 300 years of Germanic rule in Iberia.

However, we know that the languages of Iberia are romance languages (Portuguese and Spanish), which shouldn't be very intriguing as I expect that the number of immigrants was slightly less significant than the number in Britain (I'm not aware of the numbers in the Iberian case). My first question is Why is that? Why did Iberia remained Latinized, even after the Germanic and Muslim conquests?

And for me the most surprising is that (as a native Portuguese speaker I can say): The Germanic traits were completely wiped out of Iberian languages (if they ever existed).

Why is that? What is the major difference between the Iberian and the Anglo-Saxon settlements that made in one case the Germanic language to be the most dominant language, and in the other case made the Germanic influences in the language nearly undetectable?


texts: What were the effects of the Black Death in the Muslim world?

texts:
What were the effects of The Black Death in the Muslim world?

Both Wikpedia's page on The Black Death's migration and The Black Death have information regarding the effects of Black Death in the Muslim world without any sources attached to them.


texts: Does the Presidential term occurring after a death in office have a name (USA specifically)?

texts:
I'm working on a project involving US Presidents and their term dates etc. If a President dies in office, how is the new President's term until the next election year referred to? Is it simply 'The first term'?

For example, LBJ's presidency between the death of JFK in 1963 and his inauguration in Jan 1965. Was the latter date the commencement of his first term or his second term?


texts: What happened to Soviet POWs taken by non-German armies on WW2 Eastern front?

texts:
I have initially posted this question in relation to the Romanian army, which was second to the German on the Eastern front, but I have updated the title to include all other non-German armies on that front.

On Wikipedia I see an article on Romanian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, but not one on the reversed situation.

I find the same situation when searching on Google "Soviet prisoners in Hungary".

I know the treatment of Soviet prisoners by Germany was very harsh, amounting to extermination.

I know Romanian forces participated in the initial success of Germany on the eastern front and took some prisoners (like those mentioned here, here, here, and in other articles on the same website, here, etc).

Somewhat vaguely, from my own family I heard about some eye-witness (or rather actor) of events where Romanian soldiers had been ordered to summarily execute Soviet prisoners.

Information on Romanian army being involved in mistreatment and killing of civilians - especially Jewish - is easily accessible (like here or here) - drawing a trend that might have also included other Soviet population and prisoners - but information on Soviet prisoners taken by Romanian army specifically is not easy to find.

Were Soviet prisoners taken by Romanian troops immediately or later put under German custody? (Maybe related to Was Romania under German command during WWII?.) or did they remain under Romanian custody? Were they sent to Germany (and Poland) camps, camps in Romania or simply behind front lines?

What about POWs taken by Hungarians?

As for other Axis members, I imagine Italians (and the French legion) were far enough from their own territories to leave any such task to the Germans, while Bulgarian army didn't took part to the attack on USSR.


texts: Why did people in 18th century wear wigs?

texts: In many movies (and also drawings) that take place in the 18th century people use wigs. Why? Was it necessary?


texts: Why did a Venetian colonel defect to the Ottomans during the siege of Candia?

texts:
Following up on my interest in the Knights of Malta, I got to reading about their part in the Cretan War which went on from 1645 to 1669. This led me to the siege of Candia. This started in 1648 and the Venetians and their allies (including the Knights of Malta) were holding well.

But in 1667, according to Wikipedia, Colonel Andrea Barozzi, who was a Venetian military engineer, went over to the Ottomans and gave them some useful information on how to attack the Candia fortifications.

I'm wondering why he did this, if he was bribed or if he offered the information in exchange for money or position or something, or maybe he just decided to join the side he thought was winning.

I did some searching but couldn't find anything more than the information in the Wikipedia article, except the koules page but even this doesn't say why he betrayed his own side or what reward he got.

One other thing I found was a Wikipedia page on the Barozzi family. Maybe it's his family but he's not mentioned there.

(There's no Crete tag so I just used other relevant ones)


texts: What was the structure of the Russian army following reforms in 1917?

texts: Found that although it's apparent that old titles were abolished it is unclear as to whether this was merely formal while retaining a hierarchy of command or whether the army did work collectively.


texts: What evidence connects Aaron Kosminski to Jack the Ripper?

texts:
I realize that in 2014, a writer claimed to have solved the Jack the Ripper case naming Aaron Kosminski as the ripper.

Although many seem to dispute the claim that DNA evidence linked Kosminski to the crime, others believe that Kosminski was the ripper.

Is there any resources BEFORE this DNA evidence naming Kosminski as a suspect?  I am curious to read the case against Kosminski prior to the DNA testing.


texts: What is the oldest precisely dated event?

texts:
I'm wondering what is the oldest date we can precisely place on ancient events. Ideally, I would like to know the oldest human event that we know (at least today) the exact day it happened (with respect to our own modern calendar).

My best guess would be something linked to a solar eclipse, though there tends to be uncertainty on which eclipse the event is associated with.

What is the oldest but precisely known event we know of, and how do we know its date?

Precision:

I want a human event that we can date as of today. An eclipse itself doesn't count, but any event that we know happened during the eclipse (or e.g. the next day) counts. The event does not need to be intentionally recorded, though my guess is it most probably was.


texts: What languages did Anthony van Dyck speak?

texts:
Anthony van Dyck, the celebrated painter, was born and raised in Antwerp in the beginning of the 17th Century. One would assume, then, that his mother tongue was some version of Dutch.
At the age of 20, he traveled to England, where he was received at the King's court. How did he communicate with the King and courtiers (well enough to get a commission, we're told). What language did he use?
Later, he traveled extensively in Italy, meeting with, and receiving commissions, from Genoese aristocracy. He visited Palermo, where he painted a bunch of pictures.
He returned to England and spent some years there, and was well-compensated there for his work.
He also visited France, where he painted a portrait of Cardinal Richelieu.
Did he speak English? Was he fluent in Italian? What about French? How and where did he learn all those languages?


texts: What did it mean to be a "Jacobite" at the turn of the 20th Century?

texts:
I'm currently reading the Ursula Buchan's biography of John Buchan, the Scottish writer and politician.  (Buchan, U, 2019, "Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan", Bloomsbury, London)

I've reached a section dealing with his university days at Oxford in the late 1890s, which includes a quote from a contemporary student newspaper article which refers to Mr Buchan as being a "Tory-Democrat-Jacobite" in terms of politics:

  "Our Idol [Buchan] is a very good business-man. and publishers world-famous for robbery have wagged their heads over him, owning they have met their match. He has found something good in everybody. All the same, he can be called upon to be angry when for a right cause. This has been proven by recent experience. In politics, he is a Tory-Democrat-Jacobite. Legitimacy is his ruling passion...he collects etchings. He dislikes ladies, and he hates dancing. He has no high opinion of the literature of today, on the principle, no doubt, of 'we makes it.' He does not like to hear about his own books; he refuses to be classified as a literary man. His works have a large circulation in the United States, where the newspapers have portraits of him as a tall, melancholy man with unkempt hair and beard."

What did it mean to refer to a late 19th/early 20th Century Briton as a "Jacobite"?

Does this mean that there was a residual Jacobite tendency which continued for more than 150 years after the failure of the last major Jacobite rebellion?  Or had it evolved over time to mean supporting broad political causes which had historically been associated with the Jacobite tendency?  And if so, what were these political causes?  was it similar to what might be called High Toryism?

I'm assuming that Buchan wasn't an actual supporter of violently restoring the Stuart dynasty.


texts: Why is Hungary geographically important to travel between Europe and the Middle East?

texts:
In learning a little about the People's Crusade and the First Crusade, it seems Hungary is important as a sort of gateway to the east. The crusades must pass through Hungary in order to get to the east, and must even apparently convince a well guarded gate to let them pass through the country.

Similarly, in modern times, I recall it being an important gateway, this time from the east, with refugees needing to pass through it in order to get to Europe.

So why is Hungary so important for travel between the west and east? I don't see any obvious reason why it should be, looking at a map.


texts: I am currently reading Acemoglu, Daron & Robinson, James: Why Nations Fail, which made me want to read more about the Glorious Revolution of 1688. I am particularly interested in an economic perspective and works looking at how inventions helped drive economic growth and eventually lead to the industrial revolution. Is there any good book that deals with this particular angle that you would recommend?


texts: What happened north of the Alps after the Romans "left"?

texts:
I am hearing again and again in history documentaries and other such sources that the Romans abandoned their territory of Raetia and Noricum. After that Germanic people flooded in and settled there.
I have been researching this a lot and did not find any evidence for the Romans retreating (even if they did officially, there would still have been a lot of people who had stayed behind to keep their land), nor any evidence that a huge Germanic immigration took place. There are a lot of things that point to the Romanized Celtic population staying and building the nobility, while perhaps some Germanic people immigrated. This gives me enough reason to doubt the common opinion I hear on the media and makes me question the sources (which I found very little of to support either side of the claim).

Since I'm sadly lacking the sources I'm asking you:
What is the currently accepted theory and what are the sources (especially things like digging sites, artifacts and first hand accounts) to this conclusion?

My sources:

Bavarians (Wikipedia) (Most information I could find, but I don't have those books that are linked as reference)
Noricum (Wikipedia)
Vindelici (Wikipedia)
Raetia (Wikipedia)
Roman Empire (Wikipedia)
History of Bavaria (Wikipedia)
Regensburg (Wikipedia)
Salzburg (Wikipedia)
Augsburg (Wikipedia)
Limes Germanicus (Wikipedia)
Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (Wikipedia)
Marcomannic Wars (Wikipedia)
Alemanni (Wikipedia)
Goths (Wikipedia)
Theoderic the Great (Wikipeia)
Also some books I don't know the name of anymore


texts: Why does the Puerto Rican flag look so much like the one of the U.S.A.?

texts:
Here's a picture a the Puerto Rican flag:

Is there a historical reason why it looks pretty much like the flag of the U.S.A.? I mean, there are white and red stripes (differing only in quantity), one star (one state, i.e. the state of Puerto Rico, so also only differing in quantity; the U.S.A. has 51 of them, though Puerto Rico isn't one of them and the citizens of Puerto Rico have the U.S.A. citizenship), but instead of a rectangular form in which the stars of the flag of the U.S.A. are placed, the Puerto Rican flag has its star placed in a triangle.

So, is this just coincidence, is it a form that is just popular or is there a historical reason for it?


texts: Are there any examples of people being able to predict the consequences of communication revolutions?

texts: I often read predictions about future technologies from analysis companies like Gartner Group. These studies often strike me as awfully linear in their view on development. I would, therefore, like to know examples of people who have been able to predict the consequences of technologies that have radically changed communication. I use a very broad definition of communication, to include transportation infrastructure, so predictions on the impact of things like a postal service, the train, the automobile, telegraph or a modern thing like Twitter are all interesting.


texts: Why did the Chinese not use military power to force out early Portuguese, Dutch and English trade encroachments?

texts: From what I understand, during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese were more advanced in trade and warfare than the Portuguese and Dutch who tried to (and eventually succeeded in) take over the Asian trade. Why did the Chinese or other powerful Asian stakeholders not overpower/tame/control the weaker and brash early European traders?


texts:
Question:  What country has had territorial disputes with the largest number of neighbors/other countries at the same time? To What result.
Many countries have undeclared borders one of the longest between India and China recently erupted in violence.  Qatar and Saudi Arabia involved themselves in a mini war over their undeclared borders during the first gulf war in which 3 died.
Border Disputes on the Arabian Peninsula
A 1992 clash between Saudi Arabia and Qatar claimed three lives; Qatar accused Saudi Arabia of attacking a border post at Khafus, while the Saudis stated that the clash took place inside Saudi territory between Bedouins from the two countries.
In WWII a major reason for the outbreak of World War II was Germany's territorial disputes/ambitions against Czechoslovakia, Poland, France and to a lesser extent Austria.
My question is which country has simultaneously had the most territorial disputes with different neighbors and what was the result?


texts: Do historians use Rig Veda as a reliable source of historical event?

texts:
Rig veda is the oldest text in Hinduism, it is as old as 1500 BCE.
It contains many historical reference so, do historians use the historical accounts mentioned in the Rig Vedas as reliable sources of historical information or events?
"reliable "as a good source of historical information like. All the historical events mentioned in the Rig Veda happened in real life or they are mythology. Like battle of ten king, it is mentioned in the Rig Veda.


texts: What happened to rural gas stations in the US?

texts:
When driving on the rural byways of the rural Midwest one will find gas stations scarce. But if you look closely enough, in every town, down to the tiniest of unincorporated ones, you will find a place where a gas station once was. Sometimes the building is still there either being used for another propose or simply derelict. Sometimes the lot is empty and the only remaining trace is a small, oval-shaped concrete divider which obviously supported a gas pump at one time.

In the larger towns with more than about 3000 residents the small gas stations have been replaced by larger convenience store gas stations. But in the smaller towns the gas stations have disappeared altogether with no fuel available at all.

If anything our consumption of petroleum has increased by many times. When did these stations begin disappearing? What happened in the oil industry or American culture that made these businesses no longer viable?


texts: What is the history of the popped collar?

texts:
A popped collar on a polo has become the symbol of Frat Boys and wannabes everywhere.  Especially in the "Jersey Shore" culture.  I initially thought maybe it was tied to New England preppy style (the collar blocking the wind from being on a boat)

You can also see it in some cheesy 80's movies.

When did the popped collar trend start and why?


texts: Why were all Y-12 operators of Manhattan Project women?

texts:
I have searched a while and I have not found any evidence of why all operators at Y-12 had to be women.

I am interested especially in in two aspects:

Who was the person from inside of the project that came up with this initiative?
Why women and not man?

Info + images on wiki


texts: Was there actually a project by the Nazis to create supernatural monsters/weapons?

texts: In many American sci-fi/fantasy fictional works, there's a trope about Nazis creating/attempting to create/use supernatural weapons/monsters (examples Hellboy movie, Indian Jones movie etc.) What, if any, is the historical basis of this trope?


texts:
Can anyone render this passage from Lorenzo Valla's original Latin translation of Herodotus into modern text? I'm not looking for a translation, rather, I need to have the typographics normalized. There are too many words I can't decipher because they are printed with 15th century conventions.

The passage in question is on page 80 of the linked original, Thalia Liber (Chapter Three) and begins on line 38 with "Aegyptios autem" and concludes on line 40 with "deuorata emori." (I think.)

I'm just not familiar with either Latin or the printing style of the period. Link to text


texts: What were the “passports” that diplomats requested when declaring war?

texts:
From Andrew Roberts’ Napoleon: A Life, on the 1803 outbreak of war between Britain and France, after Britain demanded Malta and Napoleon then wanted to know whether this demand was an ultimatum threatening war:

  In fact Whitworth [the British ambassador to France] merely asked for his passports, the traditional ambassadorial request prior to a declaration of war.

This passage from the same book, about a later war, suggests that asking for passports isn’t merely a symbolic gesture, but associated with leaving the country:

  Metternich [Austrian ambassador to France] remained in Paris until the last possible moment before requesting his passports, perhaps in order to continue gathering secret intelligence.

Indicating that a request for passports doesn't necessarily mean war, although supporting the idea that they are usually connected, Tolstoy writes in War and Peace:

  Balashev [a Russian envoy to the invading French] recovered himself and began to speak. He said that the Emperor Alexander did not consider Kurakin's demand for his passports a sufficient cause for war; that Kurakin [the Russian ambassador to France] had acted on his own initiative and without his sovereign's assent, that the Emperor Alexander did not desire war, and had no relations with England.

This also comes up in British ambassador Edward Goschen’s account of the outbreak of WWI:

  I said that in that case [Germany refusing to withdraw its troops from Belgium] I should have to demand my passports. After expressing his deep regret that the very friendly official and personal relations between us were about to cease, [Arthur Zimmermann, German Under Secretary of State] asked me casually whether a demand for passports was equivalent to a declaration of war. I said that such an authority on international law as he was known to be must know as well or better than I what was usual in such cases.

Are these “passports” the equivalent of what we today understand to be passports? If so, why are the diplomats asking a foreign government for their passports? As far as I can tell, passports have always been issued by the bearer’s own government, and not by the country they are visiting. This I think would be even more true for diplomats, who are even less subject to the jurisdiction of the country they are visiting than ordinary tourists.

Could these so-called “passports” be what we today call an “exit visa”, sometimes issued to visiting aliens? As far I can tell, exit visas are a 20th century concept. And if these “passports” are exit visas, that just raises further questions: How would a country replace its ambassador with another one without accidentally declaring war? Did John Adams risk war with France when he left for Holland? etc.

And why is “passports” used in the plural in all these passages?


texts: The Roman economy was heavily reliant on slaves, which means they had a LOT of them, which would lead one to conclude that at least some of them would run away. So who hunted escaped slaves? Did Rome have specialized people whose sole occupation was chasing and capturing escaped slaves?


texts: Why did Colonel General Franz Halder write a diary?

texts: I'm currently analysing the reliability of an extract of Halder's diary. I wanted to gather some extra context surrounding it so i know whether he was trying to be honest about his life, or whether he expected people to find it after his death (he would therefore shine himself in a good light). That is why I am wondering what purpose did he hope his diary would serve.


texts: How did South Korea become one of the most developed nations on Earth?

texts: What I've learnt from South Korean history (roughly, from one of my liberal arts classes) is that because of their geographical disadvantage, they were invaded by China and Japan numerous times in the past. Moreover in the modern history, the Japan empire colonized Korea during WW2 and the peninsula was more or less a fireground of the US and China right after WW2. Without a doubt South Korea was one of the poorest nation in the 60s and 70s, but since 80s, the country have developed rapidly and just like some indexes (GDP and HDI, etc) indicate, the nation has become one of the most developed nations in the contemporary society. It made me really curious while all other developed nations, except S. Korea, had abilities like infrastructures, colonies, resources, technologies etc. My question is what happened in the 80s or 90s in S. Korea? How the nation became so successful?


texts: Why did the US, Britain, France, Denmark and Sweden vote against the UN resolution that condemned Nazism and SS glorification?

texts:
Why the US vote against UN resolution 61/147 that condemned Nazism and SS glorification?

(most European countries abstained)


texts: Can anyone tell me what currency this is? I think it's Japanese but I'm not sure from when or even where. Someone in my family brought it back from the service.


texts: Was the British Army a millionaire factory in the early 20th century?

texts:
I'm reading "Kenya Diary" by Richard Meinertzhagen where he relates his experiences as a junior officer in the British army around 1902. At one point he states that during his 5 year service in East Africa he saved about 3000 pounds, because he had no expenses to speak of. I fed that figure into several inflation calculators and that comes to 350,000-400,000 pounds in today's money. If that's what the British army was paying its junior officers at the time it seems a military career would be a very reliable way of getting rich. AFAIK modern day soldiers are not very well paid so there are three options:

Meinertzhagen is mistaken/lying.
I got my economics wrong somehow (quite possible).
The British army was a really good place to be in around that time.

Which is it?


texts: What rank was second in command on a U-boat?

texts:
As the title states, I am curious what was the second in command of a German U-boat during World War 2. This would be the rank that would take over as Captain if something were to happen to the actual Captain.

Please state source found, I haven't found a hierarchy of leadership aboard a U-boat.


texts: How can the impact of moving the Brazilian capital be analyzed?

texts:
Around 50 years ago Brasília became the capital of Brazil. The distances between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro - where the biggest part of the population live - from Brasília are big enough to have silently influenced the destine of the country in my opinion.

It's still difficult to protest in Brazil. Most people can't go to the capital with ease. For a lot of people even the capital of their own states lies hundreds of kilometers away.

Not only that: having the national political institutions isolated makes it difficult to know what's being decided there hence you can't even protest because you are not aware of the changes about to take place.
Another possible consequence of the moving was the weakening of political power of the aristocratic elite (in control since the beginning) which can explain the spread and increase of socialist ideals. Compared to the US I think the Brazilian elite doesn't have much political power anymore and we have more socialism and I think the reason for this is Brasília.

Social media has given the population the possibility of uniting to show their discontent while protesting locally. But this is the case only now. I wonder how big was the impact of having taken the national political institutions away from the population and how it could be measured.

Any insight on this issue would be welcomed! I find this subject very interesting and would like to analyse it in the future with real data. Maybe I'll start by relating economic development to the distance of the population to the capital for each country.


texts: is Ubaid 0 actually related to Eridu and Ubaid I-IV?

texts:
Most sources state 5400 B.C. as the beginning of the Ubaid period. The Ubaid period is further divided by them into Ubaid I-IV. Wikipedia lists Tel El Oueili (6500 B.C.) as "Ubaid 0", thus placing the Ubaid period back considerably.

Since the Ubaid period is characterized by the development and spread of Eridu's culture, I always assumed that the period existed expressly for that reason. Am I wrong in this? It seems like some people might be equating it with "the oldest thing in Mesopotamia", therefore making any earlier discoveries "Ubaid".

Is Ubaid 0 at Tel el-Oueili a cultural predecessor to Ubaid 1? Also, my previous understanding was that people moved below the 5 inch isohyet in Mesopotamia after they developed irrigation, circa 5500 B.C. Does Tel-El Oueili turn this theory on its head, or were they hunter gatherers?


texts: What does this image symbolize or mean and who is in the image?

texts: Aztec painting shown below sent to me by a friend trying to figure out who it is in the image, as well as what the image itself represents or symbolizes and the meaning behind it all as well as the story behind it all.


texts: Who is second from the left in the photo of the Salonika Trial Indictees (1917)?

texts:
In the wikipedia entry for the Salonika Trial, which proceeded from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, there's this photo:

  Indictees at the Salonika trial, after the verdict.

Does anyone know the name of the person who is second from the left?

Thank you!


texts: What was the purpose of creating the Weimar Republic?

texts: I listened to a podcast recently called Dictators by Parcast Network. In a particular episode about Hitler, the speaker said The Weimar Republic was created so that it could take the blame of Germany's defeat in World War I. But how can that be if the Republic was founded a couple days before the end of WW1?


texts: Did Charlemagne's Christian conquest of Germany cause the Vikings to hit back at Britain?

texts:
A documentary on The Dark Ages says that Vikings invaded the British isles after Charlemagne of France conquered some of Germany and forced the Germans to convert or die in the years 783-804.

The Germans had a religion similar to the Norse with Wodan (Odin) and an Donar (Thor).

The Vikings invaded Lindisfarne island in 794 and set about conquering a lot of north west Britain.

Do historians accept that the Viking age in the UK was instigated by the Christian conquest of Germany?


texts: Circa 1000, what name would locals in England use for invaders?

texts:
If I am living in England around 1000 and some Scandinavian raiders show up at my village to pillage our farms, which phrase would I be most likely to be saying:

"Oh no, here come the Vikings!"
"Oh no, here come the Northmen!"
"Oh no, here come the Norsemen!"
"Oh no, here come the Danes!"
"Oh no, here come the raiders!"

And would it change if it was a foray of people from the Danelaw?


texts: What are the oldest Celtic and pre-Celtic settlements/oppida in France/Belgium?

texts:
I am looking for a list of old Celtic and pre-Celtic settlements/oppida in France/Belgium and the period during which they were found. I found some information on Wikipedia on cities in France that existed during Roman times, but nothing about the period they were found (see French Wiki), and also an interesting Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire but again nothing about the time the towns were erected.
Could anyone give me a good reference that also provides periods when the settlements were found? The older they go back in time, the better.


texts: Whom does this statue to the left of the cordonata leading up to Piazza del Campidoglio depict?

texts:
I was in Rome last week. There's a couple of mysteries I need help solving, and this is one of them. The statue looks like this:

It stands modestly to the left of the cordonata and you might even miss it when you ascend towards the plaza.


texts: How blockadable was the Strait of Gibraltar before Operation "Torch?"

texts:
I'm going to take it as an article of faith that if one power, e.g. Britain, controlled both the Rock of Gibraltar to the north, and the Algerian coast to the south, that this country would be able to blockade the Strait of Gibraltar.

Up to the "Torch" landings, however, the ability to "control" was split, with Britain controlling the Rock of Gibraltar, and (German-controlled) Vichy France occupying the Algerian coastline.

Did that mean that neither side could blockade the Strait because it was a "push?"  Or was it true that Britain was able to blockade the Strait more against the Axis than vice-versa because of her superior navy, part of which was based on the Rock of Gibraltar?  (My understanding was that the Allies had pretty much smooth sailing through the Strait, while Axis ships had to "sneak" through it.)

This questions is different from the one about why the Germans didn't blockade the Straits because I wanted to explore the problems that both sides, Allied and German, had in blockading Gibraltar. I am under the impression that the Allies could establish only a "partial" blockade of Gibraltar until they could close off the southern (Algerian) shore following Torch.  And likewise, that Germany and/or Italy could establish a "minimal" blockade or anti-blockade by establishing, e.g. air bases in Algeria (although they never got around to doing so).


texts: Did Gustavus Adolphus ever speak of making himself Emperor?

texts:
Such an assertion is made on p. 91 of Richelieu and the French Monarchy by C.V.Wedgwood. There are no footnotes, this being a book for the general reader, so I would like to have a corroboration for this (to me, surprising) claim.

P.S.
I do not mean to impugn Dame Wedgwood's scholarship. She was a great historian. Still, it's good practice to look for corroboration in such cases.


texts: What did General John Sullivan's sons do?

texts: I'm researching General John Sullivan and need to know what his sons, John (1767-1819) and James (1768-1796) did for a living and how they died. I've looked and looked and only found birth and death dates as far as information on them.


texts: What was the attitude of leaders of the Ionian Greeks towards Persia?

texts:
The root cause of the Persian wars was the expansion of Persian empire into Ionia and annexation of Ionian Greek cities into the empire. That led to some discontent, and finally into the Ionian Revolt, the Burning of Sardis etc. At this point, clearly at least some of the Ionian cities resented the Persian rule.

Then, in the (second) Persian war, we know that the Persian army, and especially navy contained Ionian forces. Artemesia of Halicarnassus was one of the prominent naval commanders and consultant of Xerxes. He reportedly praised her for bravery. Also, he is said to have praised the bravery of Ionian navies over the Phoenicians during the battle of Salamis. Here, it seems that Ionian cities were pretty much loyal to Persia.

Then, at the end of second Persian wars, in the Battle of Mycale, Greeks appealed to the loyalty of Ionians, and as a result, they were stripped off their weapons by Persians because of suspicion. At this point (at least by my preliminary research), it's not clear what Ionians felt about Persians, but clearly, Persians didn't trust Ionians as much as they did at the battle of Salamis.

Afterwards, Ionians joined Athens in the Delian League whose primary stated objective was to liberate Ionian cities and take revenge on Persia.

It seems to me that the attitude of Ionians towards Persia changed a couple of times during this time. Was this genuine, or were they simply too helpless to do anything during the Persian rule?

Also, why did Persians (or more specifically, Xerxes) trust Ionians during the second invasion, even though they had revolted and shown resentment in recent past? Similarly, how did mainland Greeks view towards the changing attitudes of Ionians towards Persians? Here, I guess it's relevant that at the eve of the  formation of the Delian League, when it was proposed that the Ionians should migrate to some safer place, it was opposed by he Athenians and instead, it was decided that they would help them defend their homeland.


texts:
In Herodotus, Book II, there is the following passage:

  The pillars which Sesostris of Egypt set up in the various countries
  are for the most part no longer to be seen extant; but in Syria
  Palestine I myself saw them existing with the inscription upon them
  which I have mentioned and the emblem. Moreover in Ionia there are two
  figures of this man carved upon rocks, one on the road by which one
  goes from the land of Ephesos to Phocaia, and the other on the road
  from Sardis to Smyrna. In each place there is a figure of a man cut in
  the rock, of four cubits and a span in height, holding in his right
  hand a spear and in his left a bow and arrows, and the other equipment
  which he has is similar to this, for it is both Egyptian and
  Ethiopian: and from the one shoulder to the other across the breast
  runs an inscription carved in sacred Egyptian characters, saying thus,
  "This land with my shoulders I won for myself." But who he is and from
  whence, he does not declare in these places, though in other places he
  has declared this. Some of those who have seen these carvings
  conjecture that the figure is that of Memnon, but herein they are very
  far from the truth.

Is there any indication of what these monuments might be or whether they still exist in the places Herodotus describes?


texts: Did the Yamnaya have a particular breed of dog? Did that breed spread with them?

texts:
Using domesticated horses and wheeled wagons, the Yamnaya seemed to have conquered, if not amalgamated with, people from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent.

Is there any research on dogs they might have had with them?

If so, did Yamnaya dogs impact local dog populations as the Yamnaya spread east and west from the steppe?

EDIT per comments
My research is limited to reading "The Horse, the Wheel, and Language" by David W. Anthony, watching this NOVA episode, and reading about the Yamnaya on Wikipedia.
Almost all of the content, deservedly so, is about horses, their domestication, genetics, bit wear on the teeth...etc.  I found myself wondering if those peoples also had dogs, used dogs, had particular dogs...etc.


texts: During internment, how effective was the US at identifying and detaining Japanese-Americans?

texts:
Not all Japanese-Americans were interned - Japanese-Americans in Hawaii weren't interned. However, for areas where the US were systematically interning all Japanese-Americans, how effective were the US at identifying and detaining them?

I know that some tried to avoid it, such as Fred Korematsu, but don't know any statistics.


texts: When was grass seed first imported specifically for aesthetic reasons?

texts:
Wikipedia states that the term lawn dates to no earlier than the 16th century, and that in early 17th century Europe the concept of a closely cut lawn was born. I understand that certain luxuries were imported/exported and traveled great distances throughout this time period. Was grass seed ever considered one of these luxuries? If not, then when was grass seed first imported/exported (anywhere in the world) specifically for aesthetic reasons?

Note: Although I mentioned Europe in my question, I am not interested solely in Europe or the 16th-17th centuries for that matter. Perhaps, an example can be found even before this time period? Perhaps, it's only a recent concept?


texts: What did women wear during the Rashidun era?

texts: What did women wear during the Rashidun caliphate?


texts: Were British fears of Russia using Afghanistan as a staging post for an invasion of India unfounded?

texts: I know that "The Great Game" was originally concerned with Russian-British competition in Central Asia, but my question is was this competition and British fear founded on anything? My understanding of Russian history at this point leads me to believe that the Tsarist empire was not in a position to try and undertake such a massive task. Perhaps I am mistaken about this, but I would like to see evidence supporting, or disproving, the British concerns.


texts: Were there socioeconomic reasons for the decline of Athenian democracy?

texts:
Historians often emphasize socioeconomic causes when describing the fall of the Roman republic, which began centuries before Augustus won the civil wars. For example, the sudden influx of wealth and slaves, uprooting of the peasant agricultural class, rapid urbanization, the poor treatment of the legions, urban unrest over grain, the financial corruption of the elites, etc.

By contrast, I've usually seen the end of Athenian democracy as a series of contingencies, driven by chance events and personal actors: Athens is crippled by the Peloponnesian War and the plague, and then Philip II and Alexander lead Macedon into Greece.

My question is, can one give a good account of the decline of Athenian democracy, in the approximately hundred year span between the Peloponnesian War and conquest by Macedon, that explains it in terms internal systemic socioeconomic weaknesses, building over time, comparable to though clearly not the same as the above example of the decline of republican Rome? What, at least in a brief sketch, does such an account look like?

I've edited this question to narrow the scope, and give brevity and clarity.


texts: Why was only the Silver medal awarded for music at the 1932s Olympics?

texts:
At the 1932s Olympics, Chzechoslovakian composer Josef Suk won the Silver medal in the music category: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Suk_(composer)

I'm wondering why no gold or bronze medal was awarded?

If there is only one viable entrant, wouldn't that win gold automatically?


texts:
For centuries in the Middle Ages, in many regions of Europe there were not kings, but dukes, archdukes, etc. For instance, in Italy one had the Archduke of Tuscany and the Duke of Piedmont (until 1720) or the Duke (Doge) of Venice, etc. They were completely autonomous entities, but they were not kings. Apparently in some cases, this mattered a lot: the Duke of Piedmont gave up Sicily in 1720 in order to get Sardinia, with which he could finally be considered King of Sardinia (which included Piedmont, Liguria, Savoy etc).

My question is: What prevented the Dukes and Archdukes from saying, "well, from tomorrow, please call me a king"? Why was becoming a king so important for the Duke of Piedmont? What could he do as a king that could not as a duke?

I know that in theory the Holy Roman Emperor was his master, but as far as I can see, the German emperor had no practical influence on most of these states for centuries and I doubt he would have had anything to say if the Duke wanted to be called a king.

Did the Pope have influence on this? Maybe they really would not have accepted it and would have moved in with their troops. If so, why? Is just being called a king more threatening for the emperor, the Pope, or the other states, than being a duke?


texts: 1959 Supersonic Transport Aircraft Committee (STAC) report (on Concorde)

texts:
I am looking for the 1959 STAC report. This 1977 Atlantic article stated that the report was, at that time, still being withheld by the UK government, probably out of embarrassment.

I think this UK Gov webpage might be it, but unfortunately it says "This record has not been digitised and cannot be downloaded."

Does anyone know what the status of this report is? Is it now publicly available — and if so, where might I find it? Thanks.


texts: How was the Order of the Golden Fleece involved in the trial of Egmont and Hoorne?

texts:
Egmont and Hoorne, both Knights of the Golden Fleece were arrested by the third Duke of Alba, put on trial, found guilty of high treason, and executed.

As knights of the Golden Fleece, they called upon their immunity and trial by their peers. As far as I understand, the order agreed to this, and requested for them not to be tried by the "normal" jurisdiction.

This request was denied.

However, Philip II of Spain, who presumably was the recipient of that request, was not only a member of the order, he was the Grand Master of the order.

In what way was Philip II involved in the trial, the execution, and the request for release of Egmont and Hoorne?


texts: How did 18th-century gubernatorial elections in Vermont compare to similar elections in other states?

texts:
In an disorganized way I have been reading various things about the 18th-century history of Vermont and I wondered whether their way of choosing and installing governors was unique, or the same as what was done in other states, or to what degree it was similar.
Both during Vermont's years as an independent country and during the years immediately following, elections for legislators and for governor were held each year in October.  Then the legislators assembled in whichever town was serving that year as the place where they meet.  The governor whose one-year term was about to end presided over the opening of the legislative session.  The legislature's first order of business was to count the votes for governor.  That took all day.  When the total was known, if one candidate out-polled all others combined, then that person, if present, got sworn in as governor and then presided over the rest of the legislature's session.  If no one had a majority (as happened in 1789) then the legislature chose someone to serve as governor.  Apparently the governor's term did not end on a pre-specified calendar date, but rather whenever the process of electing his successor was complete and the successor was sworn in.  If the successor was not present (as happened in 1790) then the outgoing governor continued to preside until his arrival.
My question is to what extent all this resembled or did not resemble the processes used in other states?
(To clear away possible confusions, I should add that Thomas Chittenden was elected every October from 1778 through 1788, and then again from 1790 to 1796.  He died in August 1797 with about seven weeks left of his term.  Moses Robinson was governor from October 1789 to October 1790.  Vermont's admission to the Union on March 4, 1791 happened during Chittenden's first term after his comeback.  Vermont's admission did not interrupt his term, nor those of any other officers of the state; the 1786 Constitution of Vermont simply continued in effect.) (Chittenden was also elected in March 1778 as the first-ever governor of Vermont, it having been decided that thereafter legislative sessions, and therefore governors' terms, would begin in October.)


texts:
I've just watched the wonderful movie "Gettysburg" and couldn't help noticing the stuff in the opening about the letter...  That the Confederates had prepared a letter that should be put on President Lincoln's desk as soon as Lee's army had destroyed the Army of the Union.

Is it known what was in this letter?


texts: Why was 'Captain' named for 2 different ranks?

texts:
"Captain" is named by most Anglophone navies for their OF-5 rank,

and by their armies for their OF-2 rank Captain.

Pictured at the top are 2 US Navy, 1 RNZ, and RAN Jennifer Wittwer  Captains. Then CPT Tania Donovan, US Army, Prince Harry, and a RNZ Army Captain.

What caused did the same noun "Captain" to be named for two wholly different ranks?
Wasn't this ambiguity blindingly obvious? Isn't it obviously, avoidably, and unproductively confusing to use the same noun for two different ranks appears so obviously, avoidably, and unproductively confusing?
Why wasn't another noun picked for either OF-2 or OF-5?


texts: Why did Cao Cao slaugther the inhabitants of towns?

texts:
Cao Cao besieged Yongqiu for some months and eventually conquered it,
  after which he massacred its population, along with Zhang Chao and his
  family. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Miao

Was it common for Chinese warlords to massacre civilians like this, or was Cao Cao an exception?


texts: What were the reasons that the British colonies in North America rebelled but not others?

texts:
I know more about the American War of Independence than about other British colonies, but I have begun to wonder why was it just America.  The British had colonies in other places but there doesn't seem to have been any rush to war for freedom as there was in America.  What made these colonies special?  In some respects I've thought of the following:

Taxation, with or without representation, was a motivating factor.  Yet all colonies would have been taxed in some respect so I don't see why this one was singled out, unless the burden was placed more on the colonies here due to the protection needed in the wars for France
The Heterogenous nature of the colonies, immigration had occurred from various countries, though not in large amounts, but even though many here were British they were not a homogenous group that would maintain a close link with the "mother country"
The British would want to maintain colonies here that were profitable and would not want to lose them, especially after protecting them from France (see first point) so they needed to money to pay down war debts

There was that close connection to England that many maintained, George Washington was known to have many goods imported, so if it was just an American identity that spawned here why not in other colonies at the time?  The Carribean colonies were just as isolated, and in some way heterogenous, the Indian and Chinese colonies were in lands that were large and in a period of time later became free of British influence but it was not from colonists.

Are there any books or is there research on this subject at all?


texts: When did individual graves and modern cemetary and tombstones become common place?

texts: There is already a question on when the tombstone was first recorded, but my question is when did the modern Western concepts of cemeteries with organized plots and tombstones and other markers with their names and dates become common place... not just for the noble, rich, and otherwise notable individuals but for the 'common man' with a modest life?


texts: What distinguishes the mesolithic period from neolithic and paleolithic?

texts: It seems like neolithic is distinguishable by the fact that it involves the development of agriculture and all of the advancements that came with that. Paleolithic is a very long period that encompasses almost everything up until that time... so what is Mesolithic? Is it just sandwiched in between the two because we like things better when they come in threes?


texts: Why did trench warfare accept deadlocks?

texts:
As someone who has never studied military history or strategy I find it very hard to understand how and why both sides got locked into relatively short lines of heavily defended trench warfare with little prospect of gains for either side.

As an example the Battle of the Somme is reported as an approximately 15 mile front (here). There must have been less heavily defended and dug in points close by, which would have allowed things like cutting supply lines or attacking from the rear.

Why did nobody seem to back off much or launch other attacks around the sides? It seems that the stalemate and immense cost of advancement were accepted as the only way. Or are side attacks something that did happen and are less frequently reported in popular media/culture?


texts: Was German ever an official language in the USSR?

texts: What can be said about historical perspective of this document, seemingly composed in German?


texts: Did Palmerston contribute to Louis Philippe's downfall?

texts:
I am reading this book and have come across a slightly puzzling passage on p. 154:

  [Palmerston] kept on good terms with Louis Philippe of France until he
  felt, in 1846, that Louis was taking an unreasonable line about French
  claims to the Spanish throne. He made his resentment plain, and within
  two years Louis was an exile in England.

What could have the author had in mind? He seems to ascribe to Palmerston a positive agency of some sort in removing Louis Philippe but I've never seen such a claim in other sources. Perhaps he means that Palmerston failed to support Louis Philippe in his hour of need when revolution against the latter broke out, but then, again, I cannot imagine how Palmerston could have materially helped the French King to hold on to his throne.

So am I missing something or had D. Thomson committed a Post hoc ergo propter hoc?


texts: Is it true that the Jewish people signed O instead of X at Ellis Island?

texts:
I was trying to understand the etymology and history for the word 'kike'. With discovering some stuff on the Internet.

After searching on many sources, I found out that Jewish people on Ellis Island signed 'O' instead of 'X' because of relevance towards Christianity. Apparently, the religious slur originated from 'kikel' which means circle.

According to Oxford University Press's blog. https://blog.oup.com/2009/10/ethnic-slurs-kike/

  The second hypothesis turns round the Yiddish word for “circle” and has two variants. According to the main of them, on Ellis Island those immigrating Jews who knew neither English nor the Roman script were asked to put an X near their names, but looked upon it as a picture of the cross, a symbol of their former persecution, and instead put a circle. One of the variants of the Yiddish word for “circle” can be transcribed as kaykl, and this is said to be the etymon of Kike. Could the English speaking officials on Ellis Island isolate one Yiddish word in the speech of the Jewish people they dealt with, use it mockingly, and make it famous? I am afraid that we have here an example of the rich Ellis Island folklore that produced a Jew Shaun Ferguson and a Chinese man Sam Ting.

Another thing was this

  According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it may be an alteration of the endings –ki or –ky common in the personal names of Jews in eastern Europe who immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century.[2]

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kike

So, what is true? Did the Jewish people really sign O instead of X? Is there more information about the whole of the subject?


texts: Who was the first retailer in Monterey, California?

texts: There were no businesses in the Spanish presidio at Monterey. Trade goods from the missions and passing ships came through, but there wasn't much to buy. Outside the fort, what was the first fixed-location retail business to start up in Monterey?


texts: Can anyone find "War Department General Order No. 207, 3 July 1863" in which "prisoner conduct after capture" was mentioned?

texts:
I started following rabbit hole after rabbit hole while I was looking in to the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, and I wound up on the report of the Secretary of Defense’s Advisory Committee on Prisoners of War (August 1955), which can be found here:   On page 5 of the report (14 of the PDF), the following paragraph appears:
"Prisoner conduct after capture was mentioned in War Department General Order No. 207, 3 July 1863. Among other things,the order provided that it was the duty of a prisoner of war to escape. This order apparently was intended to curb widespread practices of surrender and subsequent parole to escape further combatant service. Prosecution for misconduct was based on three criteria:
-misconduct where there was no duress or coercion.
-active participation in combat against Federal forces.
-failure to return voluntarily. "
Now, at this website I have found a General Orders 207, but it is dated On December 17, 1862. Furthermore, I don't think that is the whole General Order, but I can't find the full text.
I also found a catalog for The Civil War Circulars and General Orders Collection, The Civil War Museum in Kenosha, Wisconsin that lists two General Orders with the date 3 July 1863 here:  They are documents 62, 63, and 64, which are General Orders 206, 205, and a copy of 206, respectively (found on page 7).
So, my questions are 1) Which General Order is the Committee Report referring to 207, 206, or 205? 2) What is the text of that General Order?


texts: How far into the past was significance ascribed to the Golden Ratio?

texts:
I think everyone knows about the golden ratio or the divine proportion (I got to know more about it after reading the wikipedia article on it). It's present everywhere in nature and also in the human body.

When I googled for golden ratio, I found links to a lot of myths behind it. I would like to know how important it was historically. Also are there any religious references?

How did people know about the golden ratio in ancient times? Some of the articles I read were about how important it was to ancient Greeks and other civilizations but none of them talked about how they found it and why they thought its important to use it in everyday life.


texts: What was the American response to the Sino-Soviet border conflict?

texts: In 1969, detente with either the PRC or USSR lay in the future. All three countries were hostile towards one another. Was the USA pleased its two rivals were tearing lumps out of each other, or were they scared because of the possibility of a nuclear war? Did they officially support the claims of either side?


texts: What races are being depicted in this American WWII cartoon?

texts:
No racial intolerance - it causes dangerous disunity. We're all Americans!

The cartoon, recently publicised by this tweet, has seven children dancing around a US flag.

The child in the yellow shirt is intended to represent an African-American child. What races are represented by the six other children, especially the three children with black hair clockwise of the African-American child?

Also, what races within the USA were the US government trying to prevent racism against during WWII?


texts: Why did the offices of Shogun and Emperor never merge?

texts:
The position of Emperor of Japan was, as I understand it, strictly hereditary, due to the necessity that the Emperor 'descend' from Amaterasu. Thus, the Shogun was not eligible to be Emperor, and despite his great military power would probably not have been accepted as such if he had simply declared himself Emperor.

However, couldn't he have done what Sejanus schemed to do as Tiberius' Praetorian Prefect? Apparently, his plan was to marry into the ruling Julio-Claudian family, not only to enhance his own status, but so that presumably one of his descendants might wear the Imperial Purple one day.

Why didn't the Shoguns try anything like this? Being Shogun is great, but being Emperor and the most powerful military force had to have been better. Was there something that prevented marriage into the Emperor's family?


texts: Who is the officer/soldier in a cave that received a morale boost from a spider?

texts:
Today on the radio, I heard about a commander or an officer who was in a cave waiting for a battle to start and he was feeling that he will be defeated because of the large enemy forces (he was in a negative morale). However in that cave he saw a spider trying to build a web, but every time it built it, the wind destroyed it, but the spider didn't give up and he kept trying until he successfully built it, so the commander took the spider as an example that he shouldn't give up and engaged the battle with good morale.

I know there is not enough in my question and I did some google search, search2, does anyone what is the name of that man? (in the radio he state his named might William but he was not sure). what is the name of the battle ?


texts: What was the value of a thousand talents in Roman Palestine about AD 33?

texts:
My question is simple, "what was the value of a thousand talents in Roman Palestine about AD 33?"
It is my impression that a thousand talents would have been a vast amount of wealth for that time.  Is that correct?
Added 04-15-2021.
And just for fun, here is a link to a similar question:
https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/63583/how-much-would-300-pounds-money-value-weigh-in-medieval-england[1]


texts: Where can I find a reliable method of translating English to Ancient Egyptian?

texts:
Having no prior knowledge of the language I am working on a project that requires me to name things using languages similar to ancient Egyptian. So far I have been using this website:

http://karathutmose.tripod.com/dictionary/dictionary1.html#A[1]

I assume I cannot just piece things together and have them be readable however what I am working on is fiction and so it doesn't need to be 100% accurate. I do however want to make it feel authentic and for that to work I need to be able to name things with them being able to be translated back.

As a bonus question What other languages that can be translated to English share characteristics with Ancient Egyptian pronunciation?


texts: What universities existed in Dutch East Indies, and how available were they to the native population?

texts:
In the introduction of his translation to the historical novel Footsteps, the translator Max Lane (who  is also described as a researcher on Indonesia) said that in the beginning of the novel, the book's hero:

  ... arrived to study at the only school of higher learning in the Indies for Natives, the medical school for native doctors

I figured this medical school is the STOVIA, Dutch acronym for "school for the training of native physicians". I wonder about the statement on its being the only school of higher learning for Dutch East Indian (Indonesian) natives.

How many universities (or equivalent) existed in the Dutch East Indies at the time of the novel (1901)? How available were they for the natives? And for extra context, I'd also appreciate if the answer covers where the racial/ethnic discrimination come from, was it from the Dutch government policy, or was it the private policies of private universities? In general how does the quality/quantity of these universities compare to those in the Netherlands itself?


texts: How did Imperial military discipline compare to the Swedish in 1632?

texts: During Albrecht von Wallenstein's second appointment as supreme commander of the Imperial Army, how did the discipline among the Imperial ranks compare to the Swedish under Gustavus Adolphus? Specifically, what about at the time of Lutzen?


texts: Was there a noble cause to Genghis Khan's campaign?

texts: Genghis Khan has a reputation as a ruthless warlord and genocidal maniac, but I've heard rumors of him being a politician interested in unifying local tribes and bringing peace to the region. Was there a noble motivation to his campaign?


texts: What did squires do in the middle of a medieval battle?

texts:
According to wikipedia, a normal squire daily job included:

  Carrying the knight's armour, shield, sword,
  Holding any prisoners the knight takes,
  Rescuing the knight should the knight be taken prisoner,
  Ensuring an honorable burial of the knight in the event of his death,
  Replacing the knight's sword if it were broken or dropped,
  Replacing the knight's horse or his own horse, if either be injured or killed,
  Dressing the knight in his armor,
  Carrying the knight's flag,
  Protecting the knight if needed,
  Taking care of the knight's horses,
  Accompanying the Knight to tournaments and during the time of war to the battlefield,
  Ensuring the armor and weapons of the knight were in good order

But I'm not sure how he could perform these job during a battle. My understanding is that in a battle, knights normally acted as the heavy cavalry, who were required to ride in formation, hold certain position and charge when necessary. Did the squires just trail behind? How could he manage stuff like carrying the knight's paraphernalia, replacing the knight's horse or weapons, protecting the knight  etc. when there was a battle going on, the knight was in his own formation, and he was also supposed to protect himself?


texts: My Grandfather-Nationalist boarding schools in Nazi Germany

texts: My grandfather's family were of South African nationality ( English mom, German dad by country of birth)  and were visiting German relatives when the war began. My Grandfathers dad wouldn't join the party and so my granddad and his brother were put in an institution of some kind. He called it a boarding school for - as he put it " Bad Germans." To re-educate the children. It was by his account a horribly abusive place. He stayed there for a year or so until his dad rescued them. He never really recovered from it. Can anyone give me any information about these places?